Using Tap when off your home network and on another network

[mike27oct]

The Tap is only truly portable if you can use it when off of your home network.  Connect it to home networks of friends, relatives, and hotspot networks, and you are in business to use your Tap anywhere when you are out and about with it. 

I checked this out on Tap tonight in my house by connecting the Tap to the xfinitywifi hotspot network that is free for all Comcast customers.  This network is broadcast all around the US from businesses and homes that have the leased router/modem combo from Comcast. So, it is readily available lots of places.  I use it on my phone when I need Internet access and avoid using my Phone's data plan. The xfinitywifi signal is all around me in my neighborhood; in the homes next to mine on either side, homes across, and up and down the street. Lots of them.  So, if I can connect Tap to this network, I can skip connecting to other networks of those friends and relatives who have Comcast w/xfinitywifi.  I will automatically connect to the xfinitywifi signal coming from their Comcast router!

So, to set up and test this on the Tap tonight, I sat downstairs where the xfinitywifi signal from my nearest neighbors is strong enough to connect to it, even though there are two outside walls between our houses.  Once connected, Tap played Prime Music and I even chatted with Alexa -- all using another network while controlling Alexa app on my iPad that was connected to my home network.  All very cool, and tomorrow when I take a stroll around the neighborhood with the Tap, I expect to stay connected to xfinitywifi most all the time.  BTW, just in case anyone thinks this is like "stealing" someone's internet, it is not. This is a Comcast feature for all its customers.

BTW, when I went back upstairs tonight and away from the strong signals below, The Tap soon lost the xfinitywifi signal, but the Tap just reconnected to my home Wi-Fi.  This is less of an issue outside with signals all around.

So Comcast customers, if you haven't yet been connected to xfinitywifi on your phone or other devices, do so and be ready for Wi-Fi access almost anywhere you are.

Another advantage of connecting Tap this way, is I do not have to fool with tethering the Tap to my phone.  I can just put Tap down on the table outside, be on xfinitywifi and play music and spend some quality time with Alexa, too.

Note to cable-cutters: 
I bet you never considered that xfinitywifi is a nice perk of being a cable customer other than the video package one gets from cable.  There is much more to cable than just TV shows and movies.  I have not yet upgraded to the "new and improved" cable service which allows for streaming from the cable DVR in my house to mobile devices -- even remotely.  All at no price increase to my service.   I need to get this new service installed real soon.

BTW, although I have used MY ISP (Comcast) as an example here, YOUR ISP may have a similar feature for accessing the Internet away from home. If you haven't looked into this sort of feature being available from your ISP, you might want to.  The steps and advantages described here are directly transportable to you ISP with a similar feature, or to any hotspot you want to connect your Tap to.  Bottom line is you can easily use your Tap to it's fullest when away from home.

[Mattroid]

This reads as more of a commercial for Comcast than how to use the Tap off your home network. Anyone with Comcast would have likely already thought of or done this if they wanted.

[mike27oct]

OK Matt, just for you and anyone else you assume can't make the mental transition that my discussion was not about Comcast, but rather a remote Internet access feature one's ISP may provide, I added the following comment to my post above

BTW, although I have used MY ISP (Comcast) as an example here, YOUR ISP may have a similar feature for accessing the Internet away from home. If you haven't looked into this sort of feature being available from your ISP, you might want to.  The steps and advantages described here are directly transportable to you ISP with a similar feature, or to any hotspot you want to connect your Tap to.  Bottom line is you can easily use your Tap to it's fullest when away from home.

So, Matt, which company is your ISP, do they have a similar feature, and have you been using it when out and about?

[Halco]

Mike, thanks for the info on connecting to Xfinity hot spots. However, I have not been able to connect my Tap to an  Xfinity home hot spot. I am an Xfinity user and can connect my iPhone to their spots. I've gone thru the setup several times and it never gets me to the sign in page. Does the Tap remember the setup? I would hate to have to go through it again every time I move to a different spot. Also, I have two different ssid's on my home routers but I can only connect to one.

[mike27oct]

I only have time for a brief solution, and if it doesn't help you connect the Tap, let me know and I can add more info later.

The KEY ingredient is to have the Alexa app and the Tap in very close proximity to a strong xfinitywifi signal. Then, going through the sign-in to Xfinity to gain permission will work well.  This did it for me after a few failed attempts.  Enter the exact name of your Tap when asked by Xfinity.  The hotspot works very well with my iPhone and iPad.  A walk around the neighborhood with Tap in hand confirmed this all works fine.

As for having a second router fired up, well this can be problematic for quite a few reasons.  If you set the second router to be an AP off the main router and with same SSID instead of a separate router signal, things would go better.  I actually use range extenders to widen my wireless range in the house. Sometimes I have a second router fired up, but not as a general 24/7 sort of thing.  WHY do you have a second router running, as that could help to give a better answer and solution here.