Comcast Xfinity VPN is Not Working (How to Fix It)

Comcast Xfinity VPN is Not Working (How to Fix It)

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If your Comcast Xfinity VPN is Not Working then we have put this troubleshooting guide together for you to try out. Some Comcast users have problems using peer-2-peer services. This is because they might be experiencing restrictions or throttling of their internet connections.

Some Comcast routers don’t support PPTP protocol (a commonly used but less secure VPN encryption protocol), so if your VPN does actually get blocked then that will severely compromise  your privacy and security on the internet.

If you suspect that your VPN is dropping due to a poor WiFi connection on your Comcast Xfinity connection then check out our guide over here.

Table of Contents

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Fixing Xfinify VPN

Get yourself the best VPN for your needs

The internet is a wild and dangerous place. The best way to protect oneself from the perils of the digital world are with encryption, authentication, and anonymity services like NordVPN’s dynamic security suite that protects your data online at all times.

NordVPN will help you take back control of your browsing, get rid of the hassles that come with censorship without introducing new problems that negatively impact your internet experience such as buffering and slow loading times.

NordVPN even protects your identity so no one can track what sites are being accessed by monitoring web traffic on a VPN’s network or ISP Internet connection logs! NordVPN does not keep any logs, so your activities are not recorded by anyone.

Privacy has never been more important online than it is today. The internet is a dangerous place, and it’s only going to get worse as cyber criminals continue to target vulnerable connections that do not use any encryption.

NordVPN offers you complete anonymity in the digital world – even if your ISP is throttling or blocking VPN traffic. We will show you some basic steps to get your VPN working again on Xfinity.

If you are having problems getting your VPN up and running with Comcast Xfinity then look below at our troubleshooting guide.

Steps to try

If you are not able to connect your VPN then you may have to contact your internet provider (Comcast Xfinity in this case) to see if they can provide you with information about why it isn’t working.

Before you do, try the steps below and see if you can fix it yourself.

In extreme cases, restoring the default gateway on your router and resetting it back to factory defaults might do the trick (this will clear all saved settings so make sure that you have all of this information if you blank out your router. You will also have to set it up again from scratch, so make sure you understand what you are doing first! ).

You may also want to reboot both your modem and wireless access point while you’re at it. If none of these steps help, then try and look if you have any of these router models below.

What Comcast Xfinity Router do you have?

If you have any of the following routers, then check to make sure that you are running the most recent version of firmware and software updates for your device. Below are some of the most commonly used routers from Comcast Xfinity.

xFi Gateway 3rd Generation

The xFi Gateway 3rd Generation is a good system for most people. It has many new features that make it better than other systems. The white/gray color is nice to see and less disruptive, it can go fast and has more ports, it can cover wider areas and includes WiFi management tools so we can set up Parental Controls for internet.

xFi Advanced Gateway

The xFi Advanced Gateway gives you up to 1 Gigabit speeds. It has WiFi management tools, parental controls and xFi Pods which help your WiFi reach more places. The design of the xFi Advanced Gateway is attractive so that it can be placed in a central open area for best broadcasting.

xFi Wireless Gateway

xFi Wireless Gateway offers the speed and WiFi management tools that most people need for their home internet. It can give you the speed, coverage, WiFi management tools, Parental Controls and xFi Pods (for extended coverage).

Xfinity Gateway (1/2/3)

Xfinity Gateway (1/2/3) are old Wireless Gateways that have slower internet and less features. If you have a model like this then you should consider replacing it with a better model. We list some great options below.

Consider running your VPN from one of these routers

Running your VPN from your router is a great way to ensure that all of your devices connect privately on the network. Comcast Xfinity routers are not the best devices that you can get for your private internet experience, so we wanted to show you some better options.

These are our top picks.

Netgear R7000 (Best for smaller networks of 2 – 6 users)

Get yourself a  NETGEAR R7000-100NAS Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (AC1900 Wi-Fi – 600+1300 Mbps speed) and be sure that your devices are always connected to the internet. Experience a wireless connection up to 6 times faster than what you thought possible with combined speeds of up to 1900 Mbps, which is ideal for HD streaming, gaming, large file download, and more!

Powered by cutting edge dual core performance and Beamforming+, this pioneering router guarantees future proof compatibility. Lots of apps like Kwilt will give you an easy way to control your home network right from your phone or tablet. And readySHARE USB access lets you share data stored on external storage drives with any compatible device instantly–without worrying about complicated setups.

Key Features:

  • POWERED BY CUTTING EDGE DUAL CORE PERFORMANCE AND BEAMFORMING+ – Enjoy faster wireless speeds than ever before with the next generation of Wi-Fi technology.
  • SMART WI-FI MANAGEMENT – Monitor, control and repair your home network from a single dashboard. Smart Connect intelligently selects the fastest band for all devices.
  • EASY SET UP – Get up and running in minutes with our simple installation process. No need to create an account or log in to manage your router.

Get your standard version here.

For those that want advanced upgrade features from FlashRouters then check out their version of the Netgear R6400 DD-WRT FlashRouter right here. It takes your VPN experience to the next level when using Comcast Xfinity and any other ISP around the globe. We recommend this router if you are serious about performance and security on your router.

Get your FlashRouter version here.

Asus AC5300 (Great for GAMERS and networks of 5 to 10 users)

The ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 from ASUS is your go-to for high performance wireless networking, as it has a Quad Core processor and Built-in Network Traffic and Lag Management. Wireless at its best, the AC5300 delivers up to 5334mbps of clean WiFi signals that could power an entire city if you let them!

This means your games get all the bandwidth they need without any lag or wait time. On top of this, it’s got 8 antennas that gives you strong connections with less drops too so there’s no worrying whether you’re in range or not – just enjoy yourself on those long gaming sessions!

Plus, create an account to build private WiFi networks with one another and enjoy fast speeds across different security protocols for better performance on your home network.

  • AI Mesh technology creates a dedicated network for every device
  • Tri-band 4 x 4 Gaming Wi-Fi Router with 8-Port Gigabit Gamers Private Network
  • Power Supply AC Input : 110V to 240V
  • Front-line network security – Unrivalled quad-core processing power for ultimate network performance 
  • Dimensions : 245 x 245 x 65 ~ mm (WxDxH) (Without Bezel)

Get your standard version here.

This unit was designed for gamers that value security and privacy as much as performance and versatility. When you install the DD-WRT operating system onto this router it becomes even more powerful and customizable. The folks over at FlashRouters have pulled out all the stops on this custom flash, making it easier than ever to install your favorite VPN service for privacy and peace of mind. This model supports NordVPN so be sure to check it out on our link below, as well as some great deals on NordVPN for our readers here.

Get your FlashRouter version here.

Linksys WRT3200ACM (Serious Performance)

This powerful dual-band WiFi router delivers premium performance and features to support demanding wireless activities. Certified by leading Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. This allows it to work with filesharing protocols such as AFP and SMB, opening doorways to cloud storage providers like Dropbox® and Google Drive™ with ReadySHARE®.

Protecting and safeguarding your network is accomplished with a built in SPI firewall (Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall) along with WPA/WPA2 mixed mode security protection. With fast speeds of up to 2.6 Gbps the Linksys WRT3200ACM AC 3200 Dual Band Open Source Wireless WiFi Router is designed for high traffic use giving you a faster connection time without buffering or outages!

This product also includes MU MIMO, which allows multiple devices to connect at the same time with each device receiving a dedicated data stream for smoother and faster connections.

  • Dual core 1.8 GHz processor with 3 offload processors to support concurrent Wi-Fi tasks and other networking functions
  • MU-MIMO technology to simultaneously stream data to multiple devices on the same network, reducing buffering and ensuring smooth streaming and gaming experiences
  • 3×3 Antenna design
  • MU-MIMO technology
  • 802.11ac wireless standard (up to 3167 Mbps)
  • Open source ready with OpenWrt and DD WRT support. Smart Wi-Fi app to monitor, control and repair your network

Get your standard version here.

If you would like to experience the enhanced version of this router then be sure to check out the FlashRouter version here.

These premium devices are made more useful by loading a better version of software that knows how to use the router’s hardware much better than what they ship with out of the factory.

Even better, it makes it much easier to integrate your VPN service such as NordVPN onto your Comcast Xfinity network.

Get your FlashRouter version here.

Try changing your VPN protocol

Many people don’t realize it, but there are two different ways to use a VPN with 2 different protocols. TCP is a more standard way of communicating on the internet and networks, but UDP is faster and more suited for applications like games and other similar applications.

Common reports from people are very often having problems using their VPN with Comcast, and some people report that they have had some success with using TCP as their communication protocol instead of UDP.

You can change the settings in your router and it is not difficult to do. Simply lookup the process for your specific brand and model of router that is provided on their website.

If you are still having problems with connecting to your VPN over your Comcast Xfinity connection, then we recommend that you can try to change your encryption protocol next. You might want to choose OpenVPN or L2TP/IPsec instead of PPTP. It should be easy to change because most VPNs offer a variety of encryption protocols.

It is important to note that the level of encryption that you use will ultimately affect the speed of your encrypted connection. Stronger encryption means slower speeds because there is added processing time to encrypt and de-crypt data during transmission.

Another thing to try is changing the encryption protocol that your connection uses. Try swapping from WPA-PSK to AES and see if that helps. Alternatively, you can also try out either OpenVPN or L2TP/IPsec).

OpenVPN is seen by many as being  somewhere in the middle, with both strong encryption and normal latency without affecting internet speeds too badly.

If you are able to connect to your VPN, but your performance is not quite what you are looking for then some it is recommended that you switch to an alternative server,  geographical location or IP address.

Selecting a server that is closer to your current location can help to speed things up too, so if you are using your VPN for non-geographical relocation reasons then try choosing a server in a closer area.

Make sure that your WiFi connection is ok

You might be surprised to know that if your WiFi is not stable, then your connection to your VPN can sometimes drop. Better VPNs like NordVPN usually have an automatic reconnect option, so if you get disconnected from the VPN you will automatically be logged back on again once your WiFi is restored.

However, it doesn’t hurt to make sure that all of your WiFi services are working properly, and to achieve this we have written a few articles to help you out.

If your WiFi seems to be dropping more than usual then you could have one of the most common WiFi configuration mistakes set up on your device. We cover that in this article here to get your Xfinity WiFi working reliably again. 

If you can’t connect from your laptop, then read our guide here to see how to fix this common issue with Comcast Xfinity.

Conclusion

We hope that you have found these tips helpful in trying to fix your Comcast Xfininty VPN issues. It can be intimidating trying to fix something yourself, but it is always fun learning how to avoid contacting tech support!

We’ve covered a few different solutions, from trying a different VPN like NordVPN, re configuring your router, updating your router, or replacing it with a specialized, purpose built one from our list above. Which ever method you needed to use to fix your issues, we hope that you have found our blog post helpful.

Good luck, and happy surfing!

FAQ

Can VPN be detected?

Yes, VPNs can be detected by your ISP, but this is not a problem because your ISP will normally not have a problem with you using one.

Does Xfinity block VPN?

Many people suspect that Xfinity does block VPN, but there is no real way to tell. If you are having problems with Xfinity and VPN then try re configuring your device and check if there are any issues.

Can VPN be detected on WiFi

Yes, the connection can be detected but the contents of your connection cannot. This is thanks to the connection’s encryption.