.

mtierney, thanks for going through the unplug and reboot process.

Can you be a little more specific about the "homepage icon" you're talking about here? 

I am concerned that you've somehow bookmarked the activation pages and they keep "infecting" your network when you launch those bookmarks.

Also, have you cleared cookies and cache from the browsers you use on these devices? If you don't know how to do that, post which browsers you use on which devices and I'll try to walk you through it.


Thanks-


I spoke too soon earlier -- the Xfinity screen appeared as I was in the middle of reading a bookmarked site. I have painstakingly trashed infected icons and reselected them anew. 

The only browser I use is Safari. What actually happens when "cookies and cache are cleared?

Why is xfinity a default wifi option. No matter how many times I have asked that this be "forgotten" it is ready to pounce!

I apologize to you Marcsiry, for putting any pressure on you because of your kind offer to help another MOLer. I just may have to put on my big girl pants and call Comcast. I am just not ready as yet to endure the process. 


mtierney said:

today's cat and mouse game with the Xfinity activation screen has it "living" only under one homepage icon that I have noticed thus far! This progress may or may not be because of the action I took yesterday. I unplugged everything and signed into Netgear again. 

But, if I live long enough, I may just see the Calvary  coming!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/08/opinion/the-fcc-gets-ready-to-unlock-the-cable-box.html?ref=todayspaper

Which is nice. It aggravate me when I had to pay the ridiculously high cable box rental fees. Ripoff. Its like renting a router for 6 or 7 a month.

But you can be certain the cable companies will up fees to recover their lost cable box revenues. Just like when they added the "sports" package fees.

Another thing is the cable companies may then work with the box manufacturers to entice you to get the newest, latest and greatest cable box every several years. I suspect there'll be "upgrades" to cable services which will "require" a new cable box to take advantage of the upgrades.

One thing our capitalist system is very good at is the shifting concentrating of money from consumers to corporations. Hence, cell phones which now usually do not have easily replaces batteries, therefore enticing the purchase of the latest and greatest new cell phone.


that link reminded me of the time when princess phones were all the rage and there was a monthly charge for using the phone you purchased!

 Of course,I also remember party lines!

 smile 


mtierney, is this Safari on a laptop or on an iPad, or both?


I wonder if some malware has infected your router. @marcsiry, what do you think? It could be taking over DNS requests and replacing them with this bad link.


@Tom_Reingold, I just want to rule out some well-intentioned, but poorly behaved, code on our part that might be wanting to complete some provisioning on his network. The support team thinks that rebooting the router and clearing cache & cookies should do it. 

@mtierney, I will post some suggestions about clearing cache later on, and if you can manage that perhaps another router reboot will do it.


Keep the idea of DNS hijacking in mind, even if you don't want to look at it first. I have seen it happen.


Brainstorming! I like it.

To review the timeline.

I gave in to Infinity's big sell on a faster connection. got the box and returned it uninstalled and barely unwrapped. One look told me I was not going there.

How Xfinity got this Godzilla thing going,I have no idea!

'


mtierney, do you know how to install another browser? I'm curious to hear if using Chrome or Firefox eliminates the problem.


so, attempts to select sites this am only gave me this


tonite this again...if I lose my wifi connection this screen takes over 

Issue still not resolved ... 

Why can't this activation promo (that is what it is ) be stopped?


even as my settings prove correct, I still get this Xfinity activation screen"! Happened this am in email, Twitter, nytimes, and, bloody hell, in Amazon.com! Each time I have to reset settings!

As my wifi service is constantly messed up, do I have a case for a HUGE rebate based on months of grief?  tongue wink 


Please follow this procedure and report back. If you have trouble following it, let us know what happens when you try to follow it.

When it says "1. Disconnect the router from the cable modem (not cable box)" it means take out the clippy cable that runs between the modem and the router. You can remove either end, whichever is more convenient. No need to disconnect at both ends.

"2. Remove the cable modem's power cord and let it sit for a few seconds.  Then plug it back in." This means disconnect the cable that goes from the power brick in the wall to the back of the modem. You can pull it out of the modem, or you can pull the power brick out of the wall. Either works equally.

At step 3, just wait 60 seconds.

At step 4, restart your iphone, ipad, and computer.


First, I want to thank all the MOLers who gave their time and talent to the topic of this thread, over and over again. Crowd sourcing at its best! Somebody at Comcast actually sent me a PM with a suggestion! Of course, all this led to naught. long face 

Until, thanks be to God, a TV set went bonkers last week, refusing to allow access to the broadcast channels, only received TCM and Cspan! After treatments via the phone line failed (refreshing signals, rebooting, etc) an appointment was set for this past Sunday for a visit by a human being!

Up to this point, I did not connect the ongoing Xfinity activation screen nightmare (since October) with this new TV issue. 

Cutting to the chase, the tech replaced the box for the ailing TV. He also checked another smaller set which connected my Netgear router and asked if I wanted him to untangled the mass of wires behind this set. I said yes! Away went my Netgear router, bunches of cords no longer needed. It only dawned on me later that this was the cure for Godzilla's invasion.

Xfinity won the battle! I capitulated!

I wish this story had a happy ending. The Comcast guy managed to fix something of an issue for three years with our sound bar. We had to use two remotes. Actually got used to doing so, but were never really happy with the 55inch flat screen TV's sound. The new (voice activated!) remote was skillfully programmed to the sound bar. He assured us we would now only have to use one remote!

He left us joyfully happy, until we went to turn off the TV. SOUND WENT OFF, but the set did not! Went to sleep with the set on, too frustrated to report the issue.

Next day, I called. Again many efforts with the tech agent to solve the problem. Her solution was to turn the set off manually until she mailed us a new remote which I will reprogram via the telephone! tongue rolleye 

I am positive this won't work. 

Happy note, however, is that we heard every word spoken on Downton Abby for the first time!


It has been 10 days since the last post on this never-ending debacle. We still have not gotten the promised replacement remote promised 2 weeks ago and we still have to turn the TV off and on at the set! Voice action works great however. Personally I would prefer the remote to do the off/on thing, instead!

Yet another issue is the loss of a wifi connection for my printer. No way can I seem to be able to get the printer to replace the Netgear with the new Xfinity connection!

Monday, when I am feeling better, I will call Comcast! question 


Have you thought about ditching Comcast and going with Verizon FIOS instead?


Right now, I couldn't comprehend switching systems ! question 

Yesterday, my brilliant granddaughter and her equally brilliant mother visited. After about two hours, including online chats with Comcast techs, just to get my printer to recognize the new wifi connection, both threw up their hands!

During the process of their following all the suggestions offered by the techs, I lost all wifi (the new ID, password, etc just set up by the cable guy) and had to reset everything. We never got the printer to give up the old Netgear connection. Right now, I don't think I remember anything!

Bottom line, I am now shopping online for a new printer!

My daughter-in-law is worried that with the new Xfinity connection, unlocked as it is, puts me in a bad situation. True?


With all the troubles you've had, and with all the inability comcast has shown at fixing them, I can't imagine switching any worse than what you're enduring. It's almost sure to improve things. What can your reason be for giving comcast an umpteenth try?

You're lucky you have a choice between comcast and verizon. Most people don't have such a good choice.


I have to say that the system reliability of Verizon FIOS has been very high for us in the ten years or so since we switched from Comcast (TV) and another Internet provider.  I'm sure that there are many complaints to be had about FIOS, but reliability isn't one of them.  After hurricane Sandy, the only reason we didn't have our FIOS was the power outage.  When we hooked up a generator, our FIOS TV/Phone/Internet came right on.  And, time after time, when we have power outages, the system is back immediately as soon as the power comes on.  It is fast and works well for us.  (Those who are more "in the know" than I am don't like the TV guide in it much, but I haven't really had that much problem with it.)


Our Verizon FIOS has been extremely reliable.  I'm used to the irksome TV guide, so I don't really think about it anymore (and don't watch much TV anyway).


Nine days have gone by and I feel obligated to let everyone who commiserated with me that all is well!

It took another house call by Xfinity and much effort on the cable Guy's part to set things right -- not stuff to handle via phone or chat line for sure.

The network that was unlocked? Turns out it was set up as a hot spot. I now have a locked wifi password connection.

We no longer have to get off the couch to turn our 55 " flatscreen tv off and on at the set!

I guess I am looking for trouble, but I wonder how streaming works. Under no circumstances will I call Comcast! angry however! I have Netflix on my iPad.


For streaming, I recommend an Apple TV, which isn't a TV at all. It's a little gadget you put between your home network and the HDMI cable running into your real TV. It's wonderful. We don't really watch broadcasts on the TV any more. We watch everything when we want to watch it, not when it airs.


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