Comcast/Xfinity will not activate your modem until you give them your
WiFi password (via their App). I did get someone to give me the IP for
the admin account on a CGM4331 (10.0.0.1) and I was able to set it up
manually but they would not activate it until I went through their
app. I assume this has something to do with their "hot spot" where
anyone with a Comcast account can skim your WiFi. Has anyone screwed
with this? Now that I am activated, can I change the password again?
This looks like a horrible security hole I would like to plug.
The guys in Bangladesh don't know or won't say. I can't believe I got
no relevant hits on a web search. This should raise eyebrows.

<gfretwell@aol.com> wrote:

> Comcast/Xfinity will not activate your modem until you give them your
> WiFi password (via their App). I did get someone to give me the IP for
> the admin account on a CGM4331 (10.0.0.1) and I was able to set it up
> manually but they would not activate it until I went through their
> app. I assume this has something to do with their "hot spot" where
> anyone with a Comcast account can skim your WiFi. Has anyone screwed
> with this? Now that I am activated, can I change the password again?
> This looks like a horrible security hole I would like to plug.
> The guys in Bangladesh don't know or won't say. I can't believe I got
> no relevant hits on a web search. This should raise eyebrows.

In a web browser, go to 10.0.0.1 (or whatever is the IP address of the
gateway which is the router in the modem). If you don't know, run
"ipconfig" to see the "default gateway" IP address. From what you said,
looks like the LAN-side IP address of your cable modem is 10.0.0.1.
When you login, the username is likely fixed ("admin"). I don't
remember the default password (maybe "password") which you can change
after logging into the internal web server in the modem. Once logged
into the modem, you can change the passwords to get connected to the 2.4
GHz and 5.0 GHz bands of the wifi modem. You can also change the SSIDs
(names) of those bands to something you prefer to something that's
unique to you.

Comcast techs forgot how to configure their cable modems using the
internal web server in the cable modem. Contracted help centers are
even more stupid. If you escalate a problem, and repeat the request,
they get you to 3rd-tier support.

You do not need to use their app to provision your cable modem. When
calling in, refuse to use their app. Lie that you don't have a
smartphone to use their app, and have them manually provision for you.
The provisioning determines how many channels are bonded to provide the
bandwidth at your service tier. Bonding multiple channels is how
bandwidth is increased up to your service tier. Not having enough
channels in an old modem is why you have to get a new modem with more
channels to bond to get up to your bandwidth up to what you're allowed.

https://us.hitrontech.com/learn/cable-modems-explained-channel-bonding/

As for the "xfinity" hot spot, that doesn't use your bandwidth. That
uses channels in the modem that are not assigned to you. That traffic
is isolated from your network. Yes, it goes through your cable modem,
but has no effect on your bandwidth nor on your monthly quota. Whether
you want to help other Comcast users is your choice. To get the hot
spot disabled, you have to go online to disable it in your account
settings. Since they keep changing the navigation through their online
settings, I can't tell you where it is now. I had to call them to
request the hot spot get disabled in my account. One time they did it
themself. Another time they showed where to find the setting in my
online account.

On Thu, 21 Mar 2024 20:33:01 -0500, VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> wrote:

><gfretwell@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Comcast/Xfinity will not activate your modem until you give them your
>> WiFi password (via their App). I did get someone to give me the IP for
>> the admin account on a CGM4331 (10.0.0.1) and I was able to set it up
>> manually but they would not activate it until I went through their
>> app. I assume this has something to do with their "hot spot" where
>> anyone with a Comcast account can skim your WiFi. Has anyone screwed
>> with this? Now that I am activated, can I change the password again?
>> This looks like a horrible security hole I would like to plug.
>> The guys in Bangladesh don't know or won't say. I can't believe I got
>> no relevant hits on a web search. This should raise eyebrows.
>
>In a web browser, go to 10.0.0.1 (or whatever is the IP address of the
>gateway which is the router in the modem). If you don't know, run
>"ipconfig" to see the "default gateway" IP address. From what you said,
>looks like the LAN-side IP address of your cable modem is 10.0.0.1.
>When you login, the username is likely fixed ("admin"). I don't
>remember the default password (maybe "password") which you can change
>after logging into the internal web server in the modem. Once logged
>into the modem, you can change the passwords to get connected to the 2.4
>GHz and 5.0 GHz bands of the wifi modem. You can also change the SSIDs
>(names) of those bands to something you prefer to something that's
>unique to you.
>
>Comcast techs forgot how to configure their cable modems using the
>internal web server in the cable modem. Contracted help centers are
>even more stupid. If you escalate a problem, and repeat the request,
>they get you to 3rd-tier support.
>
>You do not need to use their app to provision your cable modem. When
>calling in, refuse to use their app. Lie that you don't have a
>smartphone to use their app, and have them manually provision for you.
>The provisioning determines how many channels are bonded to provide the
>bandwidth at your service tier. Bonding multiple channels is how
>bandwidth is increased up to your service tier. Not having enough
>channels in an old modem is why you have to get a new modem with more
>channels to bond to get up to your bandwidth up to what you're allowed.
>
>https://us.hitrontech.com/learn/cable-modems-explained-channel-bonding/
>
>As for the "xfinity" hot spot, that doesn't use your bandwidth. That
>uses channels in the modem that are not assigned to you. That traffic
>is isolated from your network. Yes, it goes through your cable modem,
>but has no effect on your bandwidth nor on your monthly quota. Whether
>you want to help other Comcast users is your choice. To get the hot
>spot disabled, you have to go online to disable it in your account
>settings. Since they keep changing the navigation through their online
>settings, I can't tell you where it is now. I had to call them to
>request the hot spot get disabled in my account. One time they did it
>themself. Another time they showed where to find the setting in my
>online account.

This is a software thing in the activation routine and if you do not
use their online setup (it also runs on a PC) you will never get
through activation.
In fact that is the only thing that will run on their modem until you
get activated. Anything you try ends up on the Comcast activation web
page. I had already set up my router and it saw my new SSID, saying
that was the default (nowhere close) and I needed to use their server
to set it up.
The only question is whether I can changes it again after I get
activated but I am going to wait a while because I have so much going
on I don't want to touch something that is working.

The good news is I did figure out the Facebook "sign on from another
device" thing. My DSL was bouncing around, reporting me signing in
from different cities after a switch from Comcast. I got it again when
I switched back to Comcast but I still had the DSL going so I could
sign in from another computer on the DSL and say that Comcast sign in
was valid. I got prompts for that on both machines. Maybe I am done
with that but if you do change ISPs, be sure you make Facebook happy
with the change before you pack up the old router.