Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Did you know that your home router is broadcasting free Wi-Fi to the whole neighborhood?

Published Feb 6th, 2014 10:49AM EST
Comcast Router Wi-Fi Hotspot

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

You’re probably a good person who tries to help your fellow man whenever you can, but did you know that you might be lending your home Internet connection to anyone and everyone in your area? Last June, Comcast became the latest Internet service provider to offer up its subscribers’ home Internet connections to any other Comcast customers who might be in the area. By default, newer Comcast routers enable a second public Wi-Fi network that anyone within range can connect to using their Comcast account login credentials. As Minnesota’s Pioneer Press recently learned, however, not all Comcast customers knew of the change and some of them were horrified to learn about it.

“I didn’t know it had a hotspot,” Ronaldo Boschulte told the paper in an interview. “That was pretty much a surprise.”

Boschulte was actually unfazed by the revelation — “I think it is a great idea how to expand their service,” he said — but the Pioneer Press spoke with a number of other Comcast customers in the area who were not quite as understanding. The paper said that many subscribers became apprehensive and suspicious when they found out that Comcast was lending out their Internet connections without their knowledge.

For those unaware, Comcast’s newer Xfinity cable modems actually broadcast two different Wi-Fi networks. One is a private network that is password-protected and intended for use only by the subscriber whose home the router sits in. The second is a public “xfinitywifi” Wi-Fi network that any other Comcast customers in the area can connect to for free whenever they want.

Of note, Comcast says that traffic on these publicly broadcasted Wi-Fi networks will not impact customers’ data speed, and as DSLReports.com notes, the public Wi-Fi networks can also be disabled if users so desire.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.