Comcast is turning millions of its routers into motion detectors

[u/Tech-100]

https://www.theverge.com/news/981381/comcast-xfinity-shield-wifi-motion-sensing

[u/Michaelzee]

The thing is, comcast uses a modem/router combo. If you do have your own router, you still use their modem/router combo hardware. You still have a router in your house able to turn on the tracking..

[u/m0nk37 → u/Michaelzee]

Put it in a metal box and run an ethernet cable through to your router. 

[u/Michaelzee → u/[deleted]]

I have comcast and my own router, They dont allow you to use your own modem

[u/TheFeshy → u/[deleted]]

You can't do this with their fiber plans, or their bulk agreement plans (e.g. if your HOA does a deal with Comcast.) At the time I tried, they also didn't provide training or information on that fact, even internally, so it was six months of increasingly strange phone calls before a regional manager finally found a database guy who would tell her their system doesn't support it.

Now with fiber straight to home, you've either got RFOG (which is just cable on fiber) or what looks like some form of GPON but still uses DOCSIS for authentication - so you can't just plug in their fiber to your network and use it with your own router.

If you're still on coaxial cable or on a plan that isn't tied to anything like an HOA, I think you can still use a DOCSIS modem; though DOCSIS by design allows the cable company to load its own firmware on it.

But we seem to be moving past the days when I could just put all the ISP's equipment outside the firewall, and into days where I have to literally put it in a metal box too.

[u/Cvpakke → u/TheFeshy]

There is actually a way. You have to modify the code on the sfp transciever. It's somewhat complicated but not impossible. I did it with my sfp boot and was able to use my own router/modem.

Unfortunately, the guide I was using to do this was on dslreports whichis now shuttered. It was for AT&T but it worked for comcast as well, after generalizing it. I'd have to dig through cached pages to be able to find it, or maybe there is another guide out there somewhere.

This is the link, in case you want to find the cached page yourself:

https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r33442912-AT-T-Fiber-Bye-bye-802-1x-you-will-not-be-missed

[u/TheFeshy → u/Cvpakke]

I didn't know dslreports was gone :( I've got a friend who is doing that with AT&T; but they use a much more standard GPON interface without DOCSIS auth. At least, IIRC.

[u/sp3kter → u/Michaelzee]

I have my own Motorola surfboard modem, just call tech support and tell them you are registering a new modem and provide the details they ask for. As long as it’s a modern docsis version it’ll work fine.

And yes I have xfinity, 1gbs/unlimited data

[u/imddot → u/Michaelzee]

I've used my own modem and router for years.

[u/Extension-Two-2807 → u/Michaelzee]

You can buy your own modem and router. What you just claimed is completely inaccurate.

[u/Michaelzee → u/Extension-Two-2807]

And I have my own router, and they denied me my own modem when I resubscribed 2 years ago. Call them and ask right now its thats easy

[u/firestar268 → u/Michaelzee]

Why would you have to use theirs if you got your own router? Just get your own modem

[u/firestar268 → u/[deleted]]

Yes they do. Been with Xfinity Comcast for years and I've always used my own modem and router

[u/Michaelzee → u/firestar268]

Then you have legacy, they do not let you. I've had them on and off for 20 years. My most recent move 2 years ago, they denied me and I have to use their modem

[u/hx87 → u/Michaelzee]

Buy your own modem too

[u/hx87 → u/[deleted]]

I literally have Comcast as my ISP and am using a Netgear CM3000 as my cable modem. Setup was seamless. The only exception is their 2 Gbps plan because the tech behind it is completely different. 

[u/idiot206 → u/Michaelzee]

You can buy cable modems on eBay or Craigslist for cheap. They work just fine.

[u/Intelligent_Fall6219 → u/Michaelzee]

But you don’t connect to the ISP router’s wifi, you connect to your router’s wifi. Therefore, their sensing won’t work.

[u/Woodie626 → u/Michaelzee]

The signal is the tracking there is nothing to turn on.

[u/Yuzumi → u/Michaelzee]

I bought my own modem too. 

[u/theangryintern → u/Michaelzee]

bridge mode turns the wifi off.

[u/DJ_Sk8Nite → u/Michaelzee]

How does this comment have any upvotes?

[u/Michaelzee → u/[deleted]]

Tell that to my ASUS RT-AX86U Pro