Comcast Xfinity Wants to Use Your Wi-Fi as a Motion Sensor in Your Home

Comcast on Monday announced Xfinity Shield, a home-security platform that taps into Xfinity Wi-Fi in new ways. It adds WiFi Motion, which uses compatible Xfinity Wi-Fi routers to detect movement in the home without cameras or dedicated motion sensors. WiFi Motion and other Shield features are available at no additional cost to eligible Xfinity customers, although compatible equipment and other requirements apply.

I know it sounds eerie to think about a Wi-Fi router that can see you, but I’ve covered this presence-sensing technology before, and the goal is the opposite of invasive surveillance. This kind of technology uses algorithms to monitor changes in Wi-Fi frequencies and identify small patterns of interference, like the kind a person makes when they enter a room.

That means Xfinity Shield can detect people without traditional motion sensors, cameras or video, better preserving privacy while still sending alerts via the Xfinity app if the router notices unexpected human movement. The technology requires not only an Xfinity Gateway device, but also at least one connected Wi-Fi device on the Xfinity platform. I’ve seen it used in standalone sensors, new smart light bulb kits and systems used for aging-in-place arrangements in nursing homes, but never as a free router upgrade.

A representative from Xfinity didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

WiFi Motion doesn’t have to stay on all the time. Xfinity Shield includes different security modes to enable or disable features based on activity. Home Watch, Away Watch, and Dark Watch all provide different approaches to alerts and arming systems depending on whether people are at home, at work or school or sleeping.

Comcast is combining other security features into Xfinity Shield, too. Its firewalls and router cybersecurity are now under Xfinity Shield, as are parental controls and related app alerts.

For Xfinity users interested in expanding their home security options, Xfinity Shield offers another, more expensive option. Users can now upgrade to a Shield Select plan, starting at $15 per month. That adds one wireless security camera and sensor, plus video cloud storage and a 24/7 emergency contact option. Comcast says the camera is AI-powered, but the only recognition features I can find are for people, packages, vehicles and pets, a capability security cameras have had long before the AI boom.

“We believe the network should do more than connect devices,” Comcast Chief Growth Officer Jon Gieselman said in a statement. “It should help protect the people, their personal information and everything within their homes that depend on our most reliable Wi-Fi every day. That’s the vision behind Shield: advancing the role of Wi-Fi to both connect and protect the home.”

We’ll start testing out these new Xfinity Shield features and let you know what we think, but the free version looks like an interesting option for current users who don’t like the idea of security cameras.

Tyler Lacoma

Editor / Home Security and Smart Home

Tyler has worked on, lived with and tested all types of smart home and security technology for over a dozen years, explaining the latest features, privacy tricks, and top recommendations.

With degrees in Business Management, Literature and Technical Writing, Tyler takes every opportunity to play with the latest AI technology, push smart devices to their limits and occasionally throw cameras off his roof, all to find the best devices to trust in your life. He always checks with the renters (and pets) in his life to see what smart products can work for everyone, in every living situation.

Living in beautiful Bend, Oregon gives Tyler plenty of opportunities to test the latest tech in every kind of weather and temperature. But when not at work, he can be found hiking the trails, trying out a new food recipe for his loved ones, keeping up on his favorite reading, or gaming with good friends.

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