The Infamous Comcast Xi6 Failure to Awaken After Daily Update

[Peter]

For those struggling to configure their Xi6 wifi TV set top box so that
you don't have to pull the power plug and fully reboot the unit every AM
to get it to awaken from sleeping, I found a solution that works for me.

Background: I need to use the wifi box because my in-wall coax wiring is
defective and I was getting intolerable intermittent audio and video
freezing using my hard-wired coax box due to slow MOCA. I was told by
several contractors that running a new coax would require holes in the
wall in my living room, dining room and kitchen, which would then
require repainting in all 3 rooms. However, even with the power saving
feature turned off, and leaving the set top box on all night, each AM
when I turned on the TV, reception consisted of "Try Again" error
messages and 3 horizontal dots blinking back and forth. No channels, no
menu when pressing the remote's "Xfinity" button. Only pulling the
power plug and fully rebooting the Xi6 restored service. Even then,
despite "excellent" signal strength, changing channels took 10-15 seconds.

Some internet research revealed these boxes must connect directly to the
router's wifi signal to work properly, and not to the signal from a wifi
extender or pod. Apparently the signal from an extender or pod
seriously degrades MOCA transmission. Although my Xi6 was in range of
the signal from both my router and my wifi extender, the extender's
signal was much stronger and the Xi6 automatically connected to my
extender's signal. I turned off my extender and rebooted the Xi6. It
connected easily to the router's wifi signal and changing channels now
took only 2-3 seconds. Signal strength is reported as "weak" but the
box's response is excellent with no buffering, stuttering, freezing etc.
I turned my extender back on, hoping the Xi6 doesn't dynamically
switch to the stronger signal. Apparently not. Fortunately, my
extender has a user setting to turn off wifi transmission during
designated hours. I set it to turn off wifi transmission between 12:30
AM and 5:00 AM, in the event that Comcast decides to update my TV
service outside the default 2-4 AM hours. Problem solved for me. Hope
this might help others dealing with the same issue.

[Big Al]

Interesting, if I'm up at night about 3ish, the cable box lights up really bright during part of the download. Really lights up the room.
Both of my set top boxes, a larger one in the Living Room and a small one in the Bedroom are connected by coax that comes from the wi-fi
router, which is also fed by coax from outside. I have no other outside connections. The wi-fi router plugs into one telco jack I placed
in the utility closet and that supplies the house with land line phone.

I tried one time to test the LAN connections on the back of the router with my laptop and realized I only have a 10-100 nic card. So wi-fi
is faster for my laptop than cable. And I'm only 25 feet from it even though it may be in a closet. (hollow door wood).

Al

--
Linux Mint 19.3 64bit, Dell Inspiron 5570, Quad Core i7-8550U

[Adam H. Kerman]

Peter <Hapily...@fakeaddress.com> wrote:

>For those struggling to configure their Xi6 wifi TV set top box so that
>you don't have to pull the power plug and fully reboot the unit every AM
>to get it to awaken from sleeping, I found a solution that works for me.

>Background: I need to use the wifi box because my in-wall coax wiring is
>defective and I was getting intolerable intermittent audio and video
>freezing using my hard-wired coax box due to slow MOCA. I was told by
>several contractors that running a new coax would require holes in the
>wall in my living room, dining room and kitchen, which would then
>require repainting in all 3 rooms.

Your wire contractors are lying fuckheads. Pulling coax is a do it
yourself job. You need to buy a proper length of quad-shield RG-6. You
need to buy the compression tool for the D connectors. You need compression
D connector jacks and plugs. You need a stripping tool.

To tighten D connectors, use a 7/16" open wrench. Make sure they are
tight enough not to loosen but never overtighten.

A lot of coax is old enough that it lacks the outer thermoplastic
insulation. You can tell it requires replacement if the black outer
insulation comes off in your hands.

Obviously, your bad coax is in a path through the plenum behind your
plasterboard and got into the room somehow, so just follow the same
path. With a dual-jack connector, you can yank the replacement coax by
connecting it to the coax being replaced, assuming it doesn't break. If
not, then you need a stiff coil of wire to pull coax.

You DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT, drill fresh holes. Use existing holes.

Wire contractors are not carpenters. They like drilling holes through
structural elements. You do not want them drilling holes AT ALL since
the bad ones can do real damage.

It's your home. You live there. You'll care enough to do the job right.

>. . .

Thanks for the tip about getting proper signal.

[Big Al]

Unless the coax was stapled or drawn through small tiny holes in 2x4's then drawing one wire behind the other works great.

It would be great if you had left over paint from the rooms you need to work in. I pulled a new Romex cable for a ceiling fan 40 years ago.
It was easy going up the wall from an outlet, and easy going across the ceiling for the fan, but the turn where the wall met the ceiling
was impossible without cutting two square hand holes in the wall/ceiling so I could drill a 3/8" (or whatever) hole in the 2x4's to allow
for the Romex wire. It of course had to be the header on the outside load bearing wall and I think it was double studded. I patched them
and had left over wall paint. That was the easy part.

[Peter]

I failed to mention that I live in a very well constructed high rise
condo, vintage 1990, with concrete structural floors, steel beams and
interior firewalls throughout. I've been advised by our building
engineer that the path my faulty coax takes is extremely tortuous and is
likely fastened in several places with cable staples to behind-the-wall
woodwork. There's no pull-through of an existing AC or rf cable
possible in this building!

[Peter]

Big Al, please see the reply I just wrote in response to Adam Kerman's
comments.

[Bizarro Roy]

In article <rnbun7$1ju1$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, Peter

The apartment building I used to live in had plaster walls throughout.
When cable came along in the '70s, they simply laid it down naked,
along the tops of the baseboards, and fixed it in place with rounded
staples. You quickly learned to ignore it.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Use of "cable staples" is lazy workmanship. It's too easy to staple too
tight to compress the cable. You want to nail in cable hangers, which
are heavy duty plastic ties with a loop.

Also, with quad shield RG-6 coax, if there's a 90 degree turn, it
requires a generous radius.

I hate drilling new holes. I never want to take a chance of drilling
into, say, an electrical wire.

Where I live now, previous people had coax from an outdoor antenna, then
coax from two different small-dish satellites. Behind the tv in the
living room, instead of using the plenum behind the wall, one of the
contractors just drilled new holes through the wood floor. It was a bad
job. Had to pull some new coax but left the rest in place, unused.

If you ever pay for a high quality wiring job, get a written guarantee
that the workmen will not drill through anything they shouldn't, and you
might as well get a couple of Ethernet cable (Cat 5 or Cat 6) pulled at
the same time, which can be used for telephone or network.

[Big Al]

Bummer. I was worried about that. Daggone well constructed buildings! :-(

[Big Al]

On 10/28/20 11:00 AM, this is what Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>
> If you ever pay for a high quality wiring job, get a written guarantee
> that the workmen will not drill through anything they shouldn't, and you
> might as well get a couple of Ethernet cable (Cat 5 or Cat 6) pulled at
> the same time, which can be used for telephone or network.
>

I had a friend who did kitchen remodeling that later had his new home built, to his specs. High ceilings, as well at cat cable and coax in
every conceivable spot. I'm sure he forgot a few, and I wonder as I write this if he did cat 5 or cat 6, and what coax.

I had a home with an unfinished basement so I was able to drill up from under into the wall cavity. I could then cut the wallplate hole and
fish wires in place. Quad plates with modular connectors of your choice. At least cat,phone,coax + one optional, usually 2nd cat.

Al

[Adam H. Kerman]

Consciencious architects decades ago predicted we'd be using a lot more
wiring than just phone wire, and added empty conduits to add wire later.

The plenum behind the walls makes it super easy to add wire later, but
you know, I'd rather have walls that deaden sound from adjoining rooms.

[Peter]

This place as almost as soundproof as a tomb. I've never heard a peep
from my next door neighbors or my upstairs or downstairs neighbors. I
enjoy playing my sound system at close to perceived concert hall volume
and when we first moved in I really encouraged my immediate neighbors to
let me know if they could hear anything coming from my unit because I
didn't want to disturb them. They all were surprised to hear that I was
playing music at relatively loud settings and none said that they heard
anything at all. I'm glad because I was most worried about the bass
from my subwoofer. And no, none of them seem to be hearing impaired.