Hi Bryan,

You would think from the documentation that it would work that way, but no. I disabled the WiFi home hotspot first. It still had "hidden" (no SSID) channels broadcasting. They are somewhat intermittent at about 30% duty cycle, but apparently full power. On the second attempt, I disabled MoCA since I won't be using their other connected devices. The third attempt was putting it into Bridge mode. The hidden channels are still squawking.

Those changes I did this morning before anyone else was awake. I find now that I cannot get IPv6 working, but I neglected to check it in the beginning of the configurations. I have a few CAT6 cables to pull from the basement rack to the garage where the Xfinity gateway will live. The current connection is a more than 2 year old temporary line on the garage floor perimeter. This Xfinity service will become our primary and the old AT&T DSL will be used as failover. Once I get it all reconfigured, and the AT&T DSL service pruned, it should only be costing me <$30/month extra to keep them both.

My next steps will be to shut it down tomorrow morning, and do the exploratory surgery to pop off all the internal antenna connections. I'll try it that way and run my new ethernet drops before it gets hot tomorrow morning (attic work.)

Thank you to all for the comments.

Cheers,
Brian
NX9O


On Sat, May 30, 2020 at 2:57 PM Bryan W3CP <w3cp@w3cp.info> wrote:
Hi Brian,

Perhaps it depends on model #, but it between bridge mode (https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/wireless-gateway-enable-disable-bridge-mode) and online hotspot settings (https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/disable-xfinity-wifi-home-hotspot), it seems possible to disable WiFi.

> The box rental is $20/month but comes with unlimited data. To subscribe to unlimited data is $40/month.)
This is good info, I was not aware.  We are running into data usage caps here at the QTH.

73,
Bryan

On Sat, May 30, 2020 at 2:04 PM Brian McCarthy <brian@rfacres.com> wrote:
Hey Tom,

Since this is a brand new gateway I hesitate on the solder idea. On the other hand, we always have some in the office since we sell solder paste printers.

I graduated off of Eero and now run a fully managed Ubiquity Unifi system. The Xfinity gateway chased my Unifi AP off of channel 1. That dang XFi gateway is a blowtorch on 2.4GHz at 4-5db louder a room away than my Unifi AP in the same room. There is no way to control the hidden XFi channels and absolutely no concept of appropriate power level setting. I have my Unifi AP's dialed back to low on 2.4 to further push my WiFi clients to favor 5GHz. With 3 AP's and a modest house, they cover it very nicely.

Cheers,
Brian





On Sat, May 30, 2020 at 11:49 AM Tom McElroy <tommcelroy.mail@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Brian,
I feel your pain.  I've had to silence a wifi emitter here also.  
And like you, it was interfering with our eero mesh network.
I pooped off the micro coax, like you did, and it seemed to be effective enough. 

A quarter wavelength at 5800 MHz is less than 1.5 cm.  
I've not probed it with the spectrum analyzer, but I'd bet that that 
little nub of the center conductor SMT connector offers a poor match the output impedance of that final..   

Worse case, drop some solder paste in the connector!

Good luck
Tom W4SDR

On Sat, May 30, 2020 at 9:15 AM Brian McCarthy <brian@rfacres.com> wrote:
Here's an odd question, has anyone here on the list ever seen a source for IPX/U.FL dummy loads?

Here's my challenge...

I am trying to completely mute the WiFi signals coming out of an Xfinity XB7 Gateway. Disabling the WiFi in the software does not mute all signals. Setting the gateway into bridge mode does not mute all the signals. This device is still pumping out 3 hidden SSID with 3 unique MAC addresses on 2.4GHx channel 1. It is messing with the balance of my home Ubiquiti WiFi mesh network.

I would be using a third party cable modem, but I can save $20/month by renting the Xfinity box. (The box rental is $20/month but comes with unlimited data. To subscribe to unlimited data is $40/month.)

Looking up the FCC ID and reviewing the internal photos of this gateway, I see 6 wireless antennas. They are all connected with the tiny surface mount connectors typical inside modern WiFi devices. They look like:

image.png
image.png

I will try just popping the connectors off surface mount sockets, but I an not sure that will give me enough attenuation of the transmitter. If I could clip some small (inexpensive) dummy loads onto those connectors, it should reduce leakage even more.

I would appreciate suggestions and sources.

Thanks!
Brian
NX9O
involuntary network administrator at RF Acres.


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