Comcast is announcing a new version of its hexagon-shaped xFi Pods, the mesh Wi-Fi extender pods it sells to extend Wi-Fi networks around your house, with more Wi-Fi bandwidth (up to 500Mbps, which it says is twice as fast) and a second wired Ethernet port on each pod as well. (Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.) The company originally began selling its Wi-Fi extender pods to consumers in 2018 in packs of three or six plugs, but the new ones come in packs of one or two.
Comcast is recommending one pod for a 3-4 bedroom house, and two for 5+ bedrooms or houses with thick walls — which were its same recommendations for its 3-pack and 6-packs respectively, before.
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Similar to its predecessor, the xFi Pods maintain a six-sided polygonal design that plugs into an outlet, and you pair them with an xFi Wireless Gateway or xFi Advanced Gateway. The new xFi pods are tri-band Wi-Fi devices, which should allow the system to maintain higher speeds when more devices are connected to your router, and that might be an advantage over some cheaper mesh routers that don’t have a third Wi-Fi band for backhaul. But unlike devices like Google’s Nest Wifi and Point bundle or Amazon’s Eero mesh Wi-Fi systems, these devices can’t replace your primary Wi-Fi router as well. They’re designed for Comcast’s device.
The xFi Pods are available now, priced at $119 for one pod or $199 for a pack of two.
