Hotspots = Hot Mess

I learned something interesting today, and I can only "jump to [this] conclusion", based on my own experience. Whether or not my theory proves true, is another story.

Until someone explains I'm wrong, Comcast still sucks.

Okay, that's not the thing that's wrong. We all know the ISP is kind of shitty. 

The negative remarks tonight is the simple fact their hotspots ("XFINITY" and "xfinitywifi") block AirPrint from working via a smartphone. 

Let me explain...

If you have Comcast as your Internet Provider, they have the option to either enable or disable a secondary wireless frequency that lets you allow guests to use your internet without mooching off your private network. 

Per the Comcast site:

[T]he Xfinity WiFi hotspot that’s available on your residential Xfinity Gateway and where it can be used.

Your Xfinity Wireless Gateway broadcasts an additional “xfinitywifi” network signal, creating an extension of the Xfinity WiFi network right in your home.

We designed this feature for you and this service is completely separate from your secure, private home WiFi network and allows guests to sign in and connect without sharing your secure network password. Your Home Hotspot is included with your service at no additional charge.

To learn how to enable or disable your Xfinity WiFi Home Hotspot, please read the instructions below.

Notes:

• Xfinity WiFi hotspots are available at no extra charge if you rent an Xfinity Gateway. 

• Find your Gateway make and model by looking at the UPC seal located on the bottom or back of your device. 

• We encourage you to keep the Xfinity WiFi Home Hotspot feature enabled, as it allows more people to enjoy the benefits of Xfinity WiFi.

So, by enabling the hotspots, users have a choice to sign in to the locked version "XFINITY" (which is the more secured way) or the unlocked version "xfinitywifi" (which is the public WiFi businesses use, but allow you to still sign in with your credentials.

Users aren't "charged" per se, in regards to having guests use this version of the internet instead of asking for your password, but it's questionable at best, when you get a pop up on your phone that says the Certificate is not trusted.

Which is another story in and of itself. 

That's trying to sign in to the locked version too.

But anyway, I had enabled the hotspot usage on our Xfi modem the middle of this past week. Just because we were expecting people and there's still plenty of problems with power and internet going around. So rather than have people constantly get approved on our network, let's just open the "free hotspot".

Little did I know by enabling it, I'd throw off the use of wireless printing. 

We had disabled the hotspot for well over 2 years before I turned it back on. It was one of those things where I read about it and thought that it was a little over reaching - letting everyone in the neighborhood mooch off your spray (even though it's not your direct username - they are signing in to their own Comcast ID under the Xfinity sprays. They're just piggybacking your modem).

Off it went. 

Then Ian came a knocking and I decided to enable it once things calmed down a little and we got power back for a few days. 

Flash forward to today, when we needed to print someone's flight itinerary for February. 

Neither phone is seeing the wireless printers and they did a few days prior to me turning on the hotspots. 

So after researching answers for half the afternoon (try restarting your printer 2-3 times. Try restarting the modem. Try pressing the refresh button on the printer to search the wireless name. Try this. Try that), nothing worked. 

I ended up forwarding the itinerary to my email and printed it that way (which worked). Still trying to research, I realized it' has to be the hotspot spray. 

I logged into my Comcast account, disabled the hotspot access, et voilà, phones see printers. 

Which means, going with the theory I'm writing about, the "everyone has access to our internet" Comcast Hotspot, essentially cockblocks smart devices to printing on wireless printers if you are connected to a private network already. 

Plain and simple: I am connected to our (private) home network. All my devices are connected to this network. 

I open or create or utilize the secondary "guest" account that Comcast offers existing customers because I don't want to share my credentials and my guests are only here for a couple hours. Odds are, some of them are not going to be repeat visitors, so there's no need to give them my password. Plus, the other odds are that they too own identification into this corporate monopoly, so they can enter their own information into the spray. 

Well, having this secondary account freely attached to my main box hinders the use of the devices I have going on my first spray. The devices don't know what to do or where to look, thus, they say the (AirPrint) doesn't exist. 

Turn off the guest account, AirPlay was hiding in plain sight. 

So... my theory is that Comcast sucks for creating a hotspot on modems for non owner consumption and hurts the owner because they lose the right (?) to use their other equipment. All to share the wealth of the internet with those around them.