Tag: Comcast

Xfinity Mobile’s BYOD Program – Phone List

Christian 21 Comments

This page hasn’t been updated for a while. Some information may be out of date.

Xfinity Mobile has a bring your own device (BYOD) program, but only a limited set of phones are eligible. You can check a specific device’s eligibility with Xfinity’s compatibility tool.

BYOD-eligible Apple iPhone devices

The iPhone 6 and more recent Apple devices are likely to be BYOD-eligible if they’re unlocked. However, iPhone models sold in some regions of the world or by certain carriers may be ineligible. I strongly suggest double checking iPhone compatibility with Xfinity’s online tool.

BYOD-eligible Android devices

Only a handful of Android phones are officially compatible with Xfinity Mobile.

  • Most Google Pixel devices
  • Samsung Galaxy S8
  • Samsung Galaxy S8+
  • Samsung Galaxy S9
  • Samsung Galaxy S9+
  • Samsung Galaxy S10
  • Samsung Galaxy S10+
  • Samsung Galaxy S10e
  • Samsung Galaxy Note8
  • Samsung Galaxy Note9

Most models of these devices will be compatible with Xfinity Mobile if they’re unlocked and were sold in the United States, but there are a few exceptions. You can confirm compatibility on Xfinity’s website.

Possibly compatible Android phones

I expect most Samsung S20+ and S20 Ultra devices are eligible for Xfinity Mobile’s BYOD program. Here’s an excerpt from a support agent’s post on an Xfinity forum:

Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G and S20 Ultra 5G open-market devices purchased unlocked directly from Samsung.com, or from major retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart and Costco, will be supported for BYOD beginning on March 6, 2020.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G and Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G devices brought over from other carriers, like AT&T or T-Mobile, will not be available for BYOD until approximately three to six months after the March 6, 2020 launch.

I’m suspicious that Xfinity Mobile may have also added support for the Galaxy S20 5G UW and the Galaxy Note20 line, but I have not confirmed.

History & future of the Android BYOD program

Official details about devices Xfinity Mobile permits are shared in the carrier’s FAQ. Xfinity Mobile has expressed an intention to expand the number of devices on its Android BYOD list in the future:1

Right now, not all Android devices are compatible with Xfinity Mobile, but we’re working behind the scenes on making this possible in the near future.

I hope Xfinity Mobile aggressively opens up its Android BYOD program soon, but I’m not sure it will happen. Progress has been slow so far. Here’s an excerpt from a complaint posted by a Reddit user in early 2019:

[Xfinity Mobile] promised that it [Android BYOD] was coming over and over and here we are over a year later and still nothing… We did finally get iPhone byop but not a peep about android. I feel a little lied to.

Xfinity finally started to offer limited Android BYOD support in July 2019. Since the beginning of the BYOD program, Xfinity has expanded its initial list of supported devices to include the S10, S10+, S10e, Pixels, and some phones in the S20 line.2

Apple Watches

Xfinity Mobile allows customers to bring their own cellular-connected Apple Watches to the service as long as the watches have the latest version of watchOS. Xfinity Mobile is one of only eight U.S. carriers that supports cellular-connected Apple Watches.

Page last updated on 6/2/2021

Accountant calculating

Xfinity Mobile’s Pricing Strategy

Christian

Comcast’s cellular brand, Xfinity Mobile, appears awfully well priced. Somehow, Xfinity Mobile offers service over Verizon’s extensive network without the usual price tag. You can check Xfinity Mobile’s coverage at your location with the carrier’s coverage tool.

Unlimited minutes and texts are included for free in all of Xfinity Mobile’s plans. Subscribers just pay for data, and rates for data are reasonable. For $45 per month, a subscriber can get unlimited data. Alternatively, subscribers can purchase a set amount of data and share it among up to five lines:

  • 1GB data – $12 per month
  • 3GB data – $30 per month
  • 10GB data – $60 per month

A family could get five lines of service with 10GB of shared data, unlimited minutes, and unlimited texts for a base price of only $12 per line.1 Purchasing a comparable family plan from Verizon would be far more expensive. Even other mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that run over Verizon’s network charge far more for similar plans. Why is Xfinity Mobile so cheap?

(Added 5/17/2020: In the time since this post was published, Xfinity Mobile changed the 1GB option from $12 to $15 per month.)

Lock-in with other Xfinity services

Only customers with active Xfinity internet service are eligible to sign up for Xfinity Mobile. Some people who would have used internet service providers other than Xfinity may now choose Xfinity internet so that they can sign up for Xfinity Mobile. Similarly, potential fees incentivize Xfinity Mobile customers not to cancel other Xfinity services:2

$20 per line monthly charge applies if at least one of the following post-pay subscriptions are not maintained on the account: Xfinity TV, Internet or Voice service.

Competitors threaten Comcast. Like Comcast, Verizon’s Fios offers bundled TV, internet, and home phone service. Emerging technologies like 5G fixed wireless may create viable alternatives to conventional cable companies. By bundling several services together, Xfinity may make it more difficult for consumers to switch to competitors’ services.

Favorable MVNO terms

Xfinity Mobile is relatively new, but it already has a huge number of subscribers.3 While the agreements between MVNOs like Xfinity Mobile and host operators like Verizon are generally private, my impression is that MVNOs with large subscriber bases often receive substantially better rates than MVNOs with small subscriber bases. Xfinity Mobile may, in part, be able to offer low prices because it gets unusually good rates on access to Verizon’s network.

Future prices

While Xfinity Mobile’s service is well-priced today, it’s not guaranteed to stay that way forever. We’ve already seen one revamp in Xfinity Mobile’s price structure.

Other explanations

I haven’t seen Comcast executives explicitly explain their rationale for launching a mobile service, so all I can do is speculate. If you have other thoughts about Xfinity Mobile’s pricing strategy, please leave a comment!