Wondering why is my Xfinity Prepaid internet isn’t working? Stay with us until the end of this guide, to learn the causes that initiate this problem and how to tackle them!
Your Xfinity Prepaid internet may not be working if your Xfinity balance is insufficient.
It is also possible that the firmware of your Xfinity network gateway is outdated or there have been particular restrictions applied to your account!
Keep reading further to learn more about the problem!
7 Reasons Why My Xfinity Prepaid WiFi Isn’t Working?
- Insufficient Xfinity account balance
- Outdated Xfinity network gateway
- Interference from nearby devices
- Cable/wiring hardware issues
- Too much network congestion
- Your plan’s Mbps ran out
- Suspension of your account
What Exactly Is Xfinity Prepaid?
Xfinity Prepaid does not require long-term contracts, credit checks, or whatsoever and it is a pay-as-you-go internet service.
For a fair monthly price, you’re subscribing for 30 days of the internet, without tying up to Xfinity with an annual plan or subscription.
- With Xfinity Prepaid, you’re NOT allowed to use a modem/router of your own!
Difference Between Xfinity Prepaid and Standard Xfinity:
| Xfinity Plan | Subscription | Monthly Billing Structure | Provided Equipment | Varying data allowances | Data Limit |
| Prepaid | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Standard | ✅ | ✅ | ✅& ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Info: In conclusion, with Xfinity Prepaid you get a refurbished network gateway, and a variable internet service with no monthly billing structure, all for $40!
How to Fix When Xfinity Prepaid Isn’t Working?
Tip: Read our solutions in consecutive order!
1. Check for Outages in your Area!
Assuming that everything is fine with your Xfinity Prepaid internet, but it stopped working out of the blue, the thing to check straight away is if there are outages in your area.
Xfinity tends to regularly do repairs to their networks and for that to happen, the service usually ceases.
- Access the Xfinity support center and check if there’s an outage!
The thing to do most forward when accessing Xfinity Outage Map is to insert your Service Adress and press on the magnifying glass.
Any planned or unplanned outages would be shown to you, in order to understand whether the issue is on Xfinity’s side or on your side.
Note: Xfinity maintances last up to several hours at a time!
2. Refill your Account Balance
With Xfinity Prepaid, the flexibility with payments is all yours, as you could completely prepay online or through the Xfinity application.
However, if the balance in your Xfinity account is insufficient and does not meet the requirements for your subscription, your internet will stop.
- Sign in to your Xfinity account and go to “Payments” > “Billing Information”
Ensure that all of the payment credentials listed on the screen are correct and press “Next”.
After that, funds for the Xfinity subscription will be withdrawn from your bank account and used for prepaying the next 30 days of Xfinity Internet.
Alert: Check your Funds!
If your account still has no funds in it, it’s probable that there’s insufficiency in your bank account.
Check if you have the money to cover the Xfinity subscription by signing in to your bank account.
Prescriptions with the funds for Xfinity Prepaid are listed on the billing page!
3. Power Cycle your Gateway
Sometimes the gateway delivered by Xfinity may be experiencing issues, so to address the problem, we must power cycle the unit.
This type of advanced reboot allows for the device to cool down and discharge all of the current electricity!
- The power cycle is effective both against software and hardware issues!
Follow these simple steps to power cycle your Xfinity gateway:
- Unplug the Xfinity gateway from power.
- Wait for at least 4 or 5 minutes next.
- Reconnect the power adapter of the device.
- Wait for the Xfinity device to turn on.
Info: You’ll know that the Xfinity gateway is running, once all of the LEDs have come on!
4. Check the Remaining Prepaid Data
With Xfinity Prepaid, you’ll be provided with a hefty 1TB of data, with limited speeds, such as 50 Mbps down speed and 10Mbps upload speed.
However, if you have been using the internet excessively, you may have run out of prepaid data and your plan is no longer functional!
- Downloading files that are over 1TB will cause your Xfinity internet to run out!
Through the Xfinity Website:
- Navigate to the Xfinity website.
- Head into the “My Account” tab.
- Press on the “Internet’ section.
- Look for the “Data Usage” button.
Through the Xfinity Mobile App:
- Launch the Xfinity Mobile app.
- Sign into your account.
- Press the “Internet” button.
- Under “Data Usage”, press “View Details”.
Info: If you’ve run out of prepaid internet, you must purchase additional Mbps from the billing page in the Xfinity website/app.
Check the available options for adding more data to your plan.
5. Inspect All of the Cables!
With Xfinity Prepaid, you’ll not need a bunch of cables but the ones that you do need are crucial for internet functionality.
If some of the cables are loose or have been damaged in a bad way, your Xfinity Prepaid internet may stop working suddenly.
What Cables to Inspect in Xfinity Prepaid Setup:
- Coaxial Cable – plugs your Xfinity gateway with the wall jack
- Power Cord – connects your Xfinity gateway to the power outlet
- Ethernet cable (Optional) – plug third-party devices to your gateway
Alert: Check for Cable Damage!
Thoroughly go through each of the cables in your Xfinity internet setup and primarily look for cable damages such as rips, cuts, loose ends, or exposed cable wires.
Those can easily give away where and with which cable the problem is at!
Alert: Since the equipment with the Prepaid plan is supplied by Xfinity, contact them right away if you’ve noticed damages inflicted on your setup!
6. Verify the Availability of Xfinity Account
Receiving Xfinity account suspensions may be the leading cause of the internet issues you’re experiencing.
If Xfinity has detected suspicious activity on your end, your internet plan may be temporarily suspended until further notice, or until the case is sorted out.
- The only way to check for lifted suspensions is to test your Xfinity account!
How to Test an Xfinity Account:
- Navigate to the Xfinity website on your mobile device.
- Type in your account login credentials > “Sign In”.
- Use the lookup tool at idm.xfinity.com/myaccount/lookup.
Info: This tab will allow you to double-check your UserIDs on your home system and verify that all of the credentials are correct and your account is in good standing.
What is Xfinity’s Primary User?
Along the list of received user IDs, you’ll be able to view which one of these IDs is the primary one. The primary user ID is the administrator of your account.
Alert: Keep in mind that the primary user ID may not always be used in the billing statements!
7. Factory Reset the Xfinity Gateway!
Perhaps, a fault with the Xfinity gateway is causing the problem with the internet.
Before we reach out to Xfinity and ask “why is my Xfinity Prepaid internet isn’t working”, let’s first try a factory reset on the gateway. This will help us identify the issue super quickly!
Follow these simple instructions to factory reset your Xfinity gateway:
- Connect the gateway to a PC or laptop using an Ethernet cable.
- Open the browser on your device and type “10.0. 0.1” in the search bar.
- Use “admin” for the username and “password” for a password to sign in.
- Click on Troubleshooting > Reset/Restore Gateway in the GUI.
- Finally, press on the “Restore to Factory Settings” feature.
Alert: Keep in mind that performing a reset on the Xfinity device will cause all of the established WiFi networks to collapse.
In other words, you’ll have to set up the device from scratch!
Need More Help?
Since this problem seems to be out of our jurisdiction, perhaps Xfinity will be able to help.
After the numerous solutions we’ve tried, chances are that we’re missing something that they’ll point out or perhaps the problem is on their end, which is more likely.
Tip: Contact Xfinity at their Customer Support Center and chat with Xfinity!
Quick Recap:
After answering “why is my Xfinity Prepaid internet isn’t working”, we’ve learned that the best way to settle the problem is to make sure that the plan payment has gone through.
If that’s not the case, power cycle your network device, and re-install all setup wires!
Read Next: Xfinity Mobile Return Policy – Complete Guide
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.