Apartments has too many xfinitywifi hotspot signals

[apartmentguy]

I live in an apartment complex and use xfinitywifi hotspots to access internet. However there are sixteen different xfinitywifi signals being broadcasted in my wifi range. My laptop only lists a single xfinitywifi signal in my list of available networks. When connected to xfinitywifi, the access can be nonfuctional depending on which signal im connected to. In my living room there is a signal that works perfect. When in my bedroom there is a different signal that connects but has poor access to internet. How can i connect to a specific working xfinitywifi hotspot?

 

[Ralston18]

Are you using built-in wifi?

Might be worth purchasing a USB wifi adapter and a USB extension cable. The cable is used to position the adapter at a higher point in your bedroom.

Between the two you might be able to improve general reception and broaden the selection of available and steady hotspots.

 

[neverexisted]

You could grab the signal in a good spot and run it into a laptop or desktop and then bridge it thru your Ethernet port then run that into a private router for your home. That way the signal your using stays the same. This would be the easiest solution I can think of.

So just to simplify wifi usb adapter>>compter>>ethernet port on computer>> wireless router= static connection

 

[Eric212]

I am having the same exact issue!! It's not the "strength" of the signal that is the problem, it that the strongest" xfinitywifi signal has a poor or sometimes non existent internet connection, so I am looking for a solution to pick a specific access point to connect to. I will monitor your thread too, here's mine: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2810017/xfinitywifi-hotspot-access.html

 

[Ralston18]

Eric212,

You do have some control and may be able to be a bit selective.

Can you click the wireless icon on your screen and see a list of the available wireless hotspots?

You can download something like InSSider to see the surrounding networks and related information.

Then depending on your OS and adapter you may be go in and configure your adapter somewhat via Device Manager>Properties.

Be careful what you change and keep notes to change back if necessary. And only change one thing at a time.

Most likely everyone around will be doing the same thing - i.e., trying to connect via the "strongest signal". Then that connection will degrade and people will start changing around again.

May take some trial and error work plus a few days to determine what works best. Could change as well.

Note: also copied the above into your original posting.

 

[apartmentguy]

My issue has been somewhat solved since my laptop now reconnects to a xfinitywifi signal with great connectivity. The last, clear step that i took in hopes of fixing the issue was disconnecting from the signal completely for 24+ hours. Afterwards, I just connected to xfinitywifi and it turned out to be a much better connection than what i was previously experiencing.

Before I did the 24+hour disconnection, i was constantly doing the following: using wifi info programs to find MAC addresses and specific wifi info; using command prompt to reset/flush dns and ip configurations; reinstalling and configuring the wifi adapter software properties; and tenaciously researching internet forums and articles about wifi noise and related topics to my issue. I even bumped into eric your post a day after you posted it.

I dont know how long this signal will last for me. Im still not sure if it was the 24+ hour disconnect that did the trick but it seems as if this was my fix.

Very unsure about the following but I would be selective about any particular video streaming you are doing because it seemed as if my good connection would be gone the next day after streaming from certain websites. This has lead me to be more wary of my internet activity, in case certain actions would cause a temporary mac address ban from the better xfinitywifi signal (IF that is the case) but so far everything i saw suspicious that i did before has been in the clear.

 

[Ralston18]

Would not surprise me if the hotspots somehow react to a particular connection generating heavy traffic through the hotspot. After all the goal is to provide convenience and good service to all customers. If one connection/customer starts capitalizing on the hotspot then the other users could end up with degraded service. Maybe some combination of connection time and download volume triggers a sort of QoS reduction. Sort of fits into how the whole xfinity hotspot "service" came about. May have mine turned off but not sure if it really is... Does not show up on the map but then that could be just graphics..... Bit cynical as of late.

 

[jsmithepa]

Apartment (shared) Internet sux. Period.

 

[apartmentguy]

Hi everyone. About one or two weeks ago, my issue resurfaced. I attempted the steps that i believed to fix my internet issues, but unsurprisingly, it wasnt fixed.

After more researching i came across the program NetSetMan. It has a wifi management function that allows you to view all the wireless access points in range. It shows networks with the same ssid separately if the MAC addresses are different. You are able to choose which MAC address is actually functional. Hope this helps anyone with the same issue

 

[Ralston18]

Apartmentguy - Thank you for your postings.

Sounds interesting and I will look into NetSetMan.

One point: MAC's are easily spoofed and the cynic in me senses some exploit opportunities.....

Keep an eye on things.