Comcast Internet Review

Xfinity Internet in a Nutshell

• Offers Service in: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
• Major Cities Covered: Tucson, AZ, Sacramento, CA, San Francisco, CA, San Jose, CA, Denver, CO, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Jacksonville, FL, Miami, FL, Orlando, FL, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Indianapolis, IN, Minneapolis, MN, Saint Paul, MN, Portland, OR, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Memphis, TN, Houston, TX, and Seattle, WA
• Residential Pricing: $24.99+ per month

Comcast Xfinity internet is well-known across the United States for fast internet speeds, great sports packaging for their TV plans, but also for customer service-related issues. Still, Xfinity stands out among its neighborhood competition because of its great deals and fully-featured internet plans.

It’s fair to say Xfinity’s monthly pricing and additional fees are on the higher end of the spectrum. So I’ll take you through Xfinity’s plans, including the features that make their prices worth paying. You’ll also get to see how reliable Xfinity’s network is, additional fees you’ll have to pay, and ways to navigate their customer service.

Is Xfinity Internet Reliable?

Cable internet has come a long way since Xfinity first started. For Xfinity, two things have remained consistent: fast internet speeds and having some of the latest technology. Having a steady internet connection plays a big part in Xfinity’s remaining a top choice for customers. Xfinity’s cable network handles congestion pretty well: My internet speeds slow down when all my neighbors are home, but I’m still able to stream on multiple TVs, use my iPad, and have my phone connected to the Wi-Fi.

The picture below is of my internet speeds at night.

My plan (up to 600 Mbps) has enough speed to support more than 12 devices, but I lose about 80 percent of my speed in the evenings. It’s true that internet speeds fluctuate throughout the day, but that’s something to expect with any type of internet connection, especially cable.

Reliability and peace of mind are worth paying for when it comes to internet service. However, that doesn’t mean I’m a fan of Xfinity’s pricing. Their regular monthly rates and additional fees are higher than what I usually see from cable providers. And it doesn’t help that part of Xfinity’s popularity comes despite complaints about their customer service.

None of the complaints about Xfinity’s high prices and poor customer service have kept Xfinity from being the largest cable company in the nation. Over the last six years, Xfinity has made significant improvements and has earned a spot among the top three ISPs for customer satisfaction.

Xfinity Plans and Speeds

Xfinity offers plans with speeds ranging from up to 25-2,000 Mbps. While Xfinity does have a wide range of plans, you may not have access to all of them, depending on where you live. There’s a good chance you won’t see their up to 2,000 Mbps plan. That’s because it’s a fiber internet plan, and Xfinity’s fiber internet is hard to find: It’s only available to about 20,000 people.

There’s a good number of fiber internet providers that offer similar speeds as Xfinity for lower prices. Cable internet providers charge the highest monthly rates (which is odd since fiber is a better connection). If you’re looking for an affordable plan with Xfinity, I recommend the Performance Pro+ — up to 200 Mbps is enough speed to support a 3-4 person household.

Unlike fellow cable providers Spectrum and RCN, Xfinity places a 1.2 TB data cap on all its plans. That’s a pretty generous cap: You’d have to watch more than 13 hours worth of HD movies a day to exceed Xfinity’s data cap. It’d be difficult to watch that many movies a day, but if that’s your goal, you’ll be glad to know that Xfinity offers an unlimited data add-on for an extra $30 a month.

If you’re a sports fan, NBCUniversal fan, or a new cord cutter, Xfinity’s pricing may be worth it for you. All Xfinity plans come with a free Peacock account, giving sports fans a free pass to everything on NBC sports and the Olympics. Peacock is also home to NBCUniversal exclusive content and on-demand versions of old favorites like Law & Order: SVU. New cord cutters will enjoy the Xfinity Flex, Xfinity’s streaming device that has a voice-activated remote.

Xfinity Internet Additional Fees

Xfinity has the standard internet fees you’d expect with any provider, especially if they have contracts.

These fees are pretty standard, though you may be able to get a fee or two reduced if you track down the right Comcast deals and discount offers. In fact, some of Xfinity's plans are quite affordable, which is why this ISP made our list of the best cheap internet options.

Installation

Most internet providers charge installation fees even though they offer deals to waive them. Professional installation fees typically range from $50-100, so Xfinity’s ($89.99) is on the higher end. The nice thing about Xfinity, however, is that their techs will come and set up internet at night and on weekends.

Xfinity offers self-installation for most of its plans. I recommend self-installing even if it’s your first time. Xfinity’s self-install kit costs $15 and includes your equipment, necessary wires, and instructions on installing everything. I watched the how-to self-install help videos on Xfinity’s website for guidance.

Equipment Fee

I don’t like equipment fees, but I do like having peace of mind. Like their monthly rates, Xfinity’s equipment fees are higher than most at $14 a month. It’s worth paying when you don’t know much about internet technology (or if you just aren’t interested in keeping up with it). I can rely on Xfinity to troubleshoot or replace my modem when there’s an issue, or it’s time for an upgrade.

Xfinity has a couple of different versions of their modem, the xFi Gateway. You can see mine in the picture below.

I have the xFi Wireless Gateway, which you’ll get if you choose the Extreme Pro+ or any lower-tier plans. I know when there’s a problem with my connection since the lights are labeled. I like that it stands on its own — I usually lay modems down on their side since they don’t stand on their own too well. If you get the Gigabit plan, you’ll get the xFi Advanced Gateway, which looks like a small box.

Contracts

Xfinity requires a minimum one-year contract for their promotional prices. You could choose not to have a contract, but Xfinity’s contract-free plans cost $10 more per month. No matter what you choose, Xfinity offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for each internet plan. If you decide to cancel service on a contract plan after 31 days, you’ll have to pay an early termination fee. Xfinity doesn’t make it easy to find out how much their ETF is.

I’ve seen most cable providers charge $10 per month left on a contract. With Xfinity, I recommend planning to pay the monthly rate for each remaining month. In other words, if there are six months left on your contract and you have the Blast Pro+ plan, you should expect to pay about $390 in ETFs. It’s rare for a provider to charge more than $200 in ETFs, but it won’t hurt to be prepared.

Xfinity Customer Service

Customer service is one area that many complain about regarding Xfinity. I haven’t really had any issues with them; however, their customer service reps can be a little bit pushy trying to upsell you into upgrading your plan. It is usually easy to get an issue resolved with Xfinity. My internet has gone out a few times, but I’ve always been able to get a customer service rep to help we fix it within an hour. I never had to go for days without internet.

Most of the reps I’ve spoken too are friendly. However, you often have to deal with robo-operators for 5-10 minutes before you can get an actual human on the phone. Dealing with them, and being put on hold, is the most frustrating part about contacting Xfinity. Thankfully, Xfinity has multiple ways to reach them online, like Twitter (@comcastcares), Reddit (/r/comcast_xfinity), online chat, and their community forums.

Verdict

Overall, the most notable things about Xfinity internet are its high speeds and exclusive features. I can’t say Xfinity is one of my top choices for internet because of their prices, but they provide a reliable network that could handle any cord cutters’ heavy internet usage. Just be mindful of Xfinity’s data cap when you’re binging Psych.