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Forum Discussion
WiFi setup that will support 100+ devices
Good afternoon!
I subscribe to xFinity Internet and an xFi Advanced Gateway and 3 xFinity pods are set-up in the house. I also have an Orbi Outdoor set up (I believe) as an extender to allow for devices and connecting in the backyard. My house is set up as a Smart home with 2 cameras, 2 thermostats, 4 TV’s, iRobot, Google Home device with 5 google speakers, an hp printer, and a host of light bulbs and WeMo switches. Additionally, when the children and grandchildren are not here, two laptops, two phones, and two tablets are using the Wi-Fi.
My wife and I recently both began working from home and I have noticed that randomly throughout the day one of our laptops will drop off the internet and reconnect after 30 to 60 seconds. I researched the internet, for forums and articles, and found that xFinity only allows about 10, maybe 11, devices to connect to the Wi-Fi at one time. So, it is set up to cycle though the connected devices. Earlier I logged in as admin on my xFinity router and identified 17 on-line devices and another 31 off-line devices.
My questions are: With my hardware am I able to set up my home network to manage 100+ devices; and if so, what would the steps be? Or, if I need to buy another router, what are the two best Netgear routers to meet my needs?
Thank you.
1 Reply
SemperFiRob wrote:
I researched the internet, for forums and articles, and found that xFinity only allows about 10, maybe 11, devices to connect to the Wi-Fi at one time. So, it is set up to cycle though the connected devices.
Would be interesting to see a link to this information. My searches turn up all sorts of statements, "the rep said...", but no links directly to Xfinity.
Honestly, this sounds like a fairly typical situation these days. This explanation sounds like hogwash.
I would start by reading the user manual for the specific model of xFi WiFi router:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/broadband-gateways-userguides The brief information on this page about various models gives the impression that each model has separate limits for 2.4GWiFi connections, 5G WiFi connections, (and 6G WiFi connections for the model that supports WiFi6E). One would hope the user manual provides some explanation for these limits and how they are managed.
This is not exactly a comfortable time to invest in a new WiFi system. Every manufacturer has a wide range of products at every "price point". (Amazon eero, Asus, Google Nest, TP-Link Deco, Netgear [Nighthawk and Orbi], etc.) and Internet Service Providers (Spectrum, Xfinity, AT&T) have their own versions of similar products.
It would be silly in 2023 to purchase a system that does not support 802.11ax (WiFi6). WiFi6E (6GHz) is more of a stretch (a) because they cost premium prices, (b) hardly anyone has even a single device that supports WiFi6E, and (c) the industry is touting "New WiFi7.. Coming SOON" which will depress costs on existing products.
