Xfinity is a brand of Comcast, used to market combined internet, telephone, and TV packages in the United States. With a 40 percent market share, Xfinity is the largest US provider of internet services delivered by cable. It advertises blazing fast speeds, but users who try to torrent or stream through various services have found that their connections are far slower than promised. Why? Because Xfinity has been proven to throttle your connection when engaging in these types of activities. Furthermore, if you try to access various forms of overseas content, Xfinity will block you with its geolocation technology.
We strongly recommend ExpressVPN as the best VPN for Comcast throttling issues.
Only learning how to get around Comcast blocking a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, will help you to access the content you’re after. Using a VPN for Xfinity will also encrypt your connection, providing you not only with privacy, but also making it impossible for Comcast to know what you’re doing online, and therefore rendering it impossible for them to throttle your connection. Unfortunately, there aren’t any trustworthy free VPNs for Xfinity, but we think that you won’t regret investing in a safe, secure, and fast fully-featured VPN. To sum it up, here are our reasons to get a VPN for Xfinity.
Top 4 Reasons to use an Xfinity VPN
- Protect yourself from Comcast throttling
- Avoid paying Xfinity for connection speeds you are not getting
- Bypass goe-restirctions and access Xfinity anywhere
- Stream Xfinity in complete anonymity depending on VPN service
Comcast Throttling – What Happened
In 2007, the TorrentFreak blog discovered that Comcast was throttling P2P file sharing and torrenting. Initially, Comcast denied the accusation outright, but when more proof came to light, the company admitted that they slowed down torrenting traffic. In other words, throttling. This wasn’t all Comcast did, however. Using a program called Sandvine, Comcast traced P2P connections to the seeder and injected a reset command, forcing the seeding computer to actually disconnect.
The FCC ruled Comcast’s throttling illegal. After a legal battle, Comcast succeeded in having this ruling overturned, but only because they argued that the FCC did not have jurisdiction in this area. The FCC eventually reinstituted their ruling against Comcast throttling using a new justification, but it remains difficult for consumers to prove that their connections have been throttled, and remarkably easy for ISPs to get away with this illegal practice. Using a VPN for Xfinity is the only proven way to get guarantee that this won’t happen to you.
Comcast and Xfinity VPN issues versus Netflix
Comcast’s torrenting throttling isn’t the only area in which they are guilty of this practice.
Comcast’s Xfinity division is part of a media conglomerate that offers various TV delivery services, including Xfinity Anywhere. The company started to get worried about the new dominance of Netflix in the online streaming space. Suddenly, Xfinity customers discovered that Netflix was barely working for them. They began to see advertisements from Xfinity, encouraging them to sign up to Xfinity’s own movie and premium packages. When customers complained, Comcast blamed the poor connection on Netflix’s supposedly poor technology.
Because Netflix realized that proving what Comcast was doing would be difficult, it eventually agreed to a peering agreement with Comcast. We know that Netflix now effectively subsidises Comcast to deliver its content at the required speed, although the exact terms of the agreement have not been made public. Net neutrality advocates have decried this arrangement, worried that all of these costs will eventually be passed onto the consumer. Furthermore, Comcast is likely throttling all manner of other streaming services. Without an Xfinity VPN, you will be paying for your Xfinity package without actually getting the connection speeds to which you are entitled.
Get the Best Comcast VPN
Here are a few of the top VPN providers on the market and how they compare for use with Xfinity.
#1 ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is easily the best-performing VPN on the market today. It offers incredibly fast speeds, making it ideal for heavy users of torrenting and streaming services. ExpressVPN has servers in 94 countries, so you can play streaming video from basically anywhere without having to worry about Comcast blocking you. Robust privacy features are included, including the highest level, AES-256 encryption, plus ExpressVPN will never log any of your browsing data. A one month subscription costs $12.95, or $9.99 per month if you sign up for three months. Take the 15-month deal and you will get three months for free, which comes out to only $6.67 per month. ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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#2 NordVPN
NordVPN is the ideal choice if privacy is your number one concern. Because this VPN provider is based in Panama, it is not required to gather any logging data at all. That means NordVPN not only does not track your browsing data, but it doesn’t even track metadata like time or length of connection. That said, NordVPN doesn’t compromise on speed. Its 1400-plus servers are ultra fast, and it places no limits on P2P downloads or streaming. At $11.95 for one month, $7 per month for three months, or $5.75 per month for a year, it’s slightly more affordable than ExpressVPN. The real magic comes when you sign up for two years, which costs only $3.29 per month! There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied.
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#3 HideMyAss
HideMyAss boasts about its high-speed internet connection when you use its VPN. It works to unblock Netflix from outside the USA and BBC iPlayer and other geo-restricted content libraries, although only through certain dedicated servers, so you can enjoy watching movies and TV shows through Xfinity. It also uses strong OpenVPN encryption so you can rest assured that Comcast won’t know what you’re doing. HideMyAss costs $11.52 per month, $8.33 per month for a six-month subscription, and $6.56 per month for a year’s subscription. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Safe 43% on a 12-month subscription.
#4 SaferVPN
SaferVPN uses several security features to ensure your identity remains hidden and your location is untraceable. These include a 256-bit encryption, a kill-switch, and zero-logs. The VPN is fast and simple and it offers unlimited bandwidth. One month costs $4.99, six months costs $63.49 per month, if you sign up for 12 months it’s just $2.99 per month. All plans have a 30-day money back guarantee.
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#5 PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN has a feature called “High Quality Network,” which means that unlike other VPNs, they buy their internet capacity directly from an IP transit provider rather than a middleman, which makes your connection even faster. Like NordVPN, PrivateVPN don’t collect any data on you at all, and use the highest level of encryption. One month costs $8.21, three months is $5.63 per month, and 13 months (you get a month for free) is only $4.15 per month. There is, of course, a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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#6 IPVanish
IPVanish was established by the Highwinds Network Group, one of the founders of UseNet, the first file sharing technology – so you know that they have your back when it comes to torrenting. It offers an incredibly fast connection, which is excellent for streaming. Unfortunately, users can no longer access Netflix on IPVanish. However, if Netflix access isn’t important to you, this is one of the most powerful and secure VPNs, making it well worth your consideration. IPVanish costs $10 a month, $8.99 a month for three months, or just $6.49 a month if you sign up for a year. They also offer a seven-day money-back guarantee.
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#7 PureVPN
PureVPN is an excellent choice for the budget-conscious. If you sign up for two years, you pay a miniscule $2.91 a month, making it one of the cheapest fully-featured VPNs out there. It works well with Netflix, and has an impressive array of servers around the world, helping your torrenting and streaming to go even faster. If you don’t go for the two-year deal, one month is $11.95, and three months is $8.95 per month. There’s a seven-day money-back guarantee.
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Best VPN for Comcast and Xfinity
Comcast has shown us just how brazen they are about throttling their users’ internet speeds. Not only did they throttle torrenting and streaming, they denied doing it, and when they were caught red-handed, they tried to overturn the FCC’s ruling against them. They’ve shown us that we can’t trust them to give us the speeds that we’ve paid for. That’s why the only way to guarantee that you’ll always have a fast connection is to invest in a solid, secure VPN.
This review covers the top contenders in the market today. Based on speed and streaming capabilities, our #1 choice is ExpressVPN for Comcast Xfinity.
Exclusive Limited Time Deal: 12 Months + 3 Months FREE for a yearly subscription.
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Hi – I am looking to add VPN. I like the router/network level VPN. We have a total of 6 laptops, 1 desktop, 4 tvs, 5 phones, 2 printers, 1 NAS drive (always on), 1 home security DVR (always on), and a tablet that will connect at various. (I do plan to do something for the phones and 1 laptop specifically since they will access while away from home).
My question: I use comcast xfinity and already have their wireless router. I would need to add another router for the VPN. How can I achieve this. I am getting alot of “devices connecting when sleep or not home”, our electronics are all doing funny things. Amidst a messy divorce – I know its soon to be ex trying to track my moves AND delete files, and anything that helps me…..but criminal courts wont do anything unless I spend ridiculous money with a company tracking all this and then try to pursue. They wot even press charges for the multiple assaults/domestic violence unless I pay a lawyer to track,prove, and bring it to court. Ive already had a new comcast router put in, changed physical phones, ran sweeps of out devices, keep changing passwords, etc. I just want to make all our activity private and inaccessible.
We’re terribly sorry to hear about your situation! According to the Xfinity website, you can install a VPN directly on their routers by following these instructions. However, if you are using a separate WiFi router for your connection, you must enable its ‘bridge mode’ (which you can learn how to do here). We also recommend you use one of these VPNs for routers as they have shown the best performance. If you need more guidance, there are excellent guides, such as this one, available online. We hope this helps, and you are safe! Let us know if you have any more questions!
as of right now, I am trying vpn.ac and nordvpn. However, it seems comcast is throttling both services, because i get decent speeds from both, but when i start using any data intensive services, it slows to < 1 mbps. I have confirmed this using various speed tests also.
Hi, and thanks for the concern! Indeed, Comcast has been reported to throttle internet connections in the past when they detect a VPN service being used. However, sometimes VPN servers may be congested, or be less optimal for things like streaming or torrenting. We’d recommend using a service like ExpressVPN, which consistently tests high on speed tests, if you’re unhappy with your current service. Otherwise, we encourage you to test different servers and locations to see if the problem lies with the VPN itself or simply the server you’re using. Let us know if this strategy works for you!
The reason for using a VPN for Xfinity is that there have been many reports that indicate that Comcast throttles its networks in certain cases, which will have an impact on the streaming quality of the user. If Comcast identifies that the user is using an excessive amount of bandwidth, or if the user passes the limit established for his internet connection, he is likely to experience throttling. Mobile devices’ users are subject to restrictive data plans and if they reach the cap, they will face additional charges when they receive their monthly bills. The limits imposed by Comcast may be intended to prevent users from using P2P applications. If a user wants to download content, a VPN that supports P2P is a practical solution that will help the user to overcome the limits, without compromising his privacy.
In my case, PureVPN just works fine for me as it is the cheapest of all VPNs out there and supports P2P applications as well.
VPN is good but for those who afford this and i can’t afford this so can you tell me how i get my money back because now i’m not using any vpn.
Hi Gallentine, which VPN are you currently using? Most VPNs come with a money back guarantee that, if you cancel within a certain period of time, you will receive a full refund on your purchase. You can also look at our list of free VPN options, which might help you get the protection and service you need, but without having to spend money.
I am about to move into a new home and use Comcast xfinity service for my isp. I dont like comcast but its the only choice. My question is, has anyone gotten a letter to cease and desist downloading copyright material from comcast or been warned of violating terms of service because of VPN usage?
Hi, and thank you for a question we’re sure many other Comcast customers have. While many reports of receiving Cease and Desist letters for copyright infringement do exist, we’ve found that in some cases they’re sent by accident or error. However, we found no strong indication that Xfinity punishes users for utilizing a VPN, although there have been reports of connection speeds being throttled. Regardless, Comcast’s Xfinity website includes a useful guide on using VPNs over their service, and they’ve noted that many issues stemmed from an older model network router with known problems. Keep us updated on your service, and how it goes with Comcast!
How will Trump’s new net neutrality law affect the performance of these VPN’s? Is Comcast going to be doing something different to my connection if they know I’m connecting through one of them? Really sucks what happened with this law but hoping a VPN is still a good solution for private browsing.
Thanks for the relevant question! There is still very little information about the practical effects of the net neutrality repeal, so it’s tough to tell how it will affect specific industries. However, using a VPN is not a major concern with net neutrality rules, so your privacy and access to geo-restricted content shouldn’t be affected. Your speed may suffer when visiting certain sites, though it will not likely be your VPN’s fault. Let us know if you find out more, and we promise to do more research!
Well well, finally found something that is useful as well cheap. Express is working like an Express train, smooth and fast. Hope to use this service for a longer period of time. Cheers!
I am in search of a relaible and safe VPN that will shield me from Comcast throttling…Which one is the best for it ?
Hi, and thank you for the great query! We generally recommend ExpressVPN as our top option thanks to its great track record in protecting users’ privacy and anonymity. However, any of the services we recommended in our article will help you bypass Comcast’s sometimes restrictive policies. Regardless of which you choose, let us know how it goes for you!
I enjoy my SaferVPN. I only want to know if it;s possible for me to share it with my wife in another country.
Hello Bella, Thank you for your input. You can share the service with another person in another country under the same account. I strongly suggest you touch bases with SaferVPN via their live chat option. They’re super quick to respond to any questions you have.
I tried using Nord vpn and I got blocked after a while…. I hope Express is going to be good for me.
NordVPN stands out with its excellent value for the money. I would recommend it to users who attach great value to anonymity and security.
How do I setup your vpn on my 3 laptops, tablet,smartphone AND 2 Kodi android boxes? Thank you for your reply..