I know this probably isn't the right forum to post this, but since my end desired result is to speed up my Android devices and I can't seem to get any help from the Comcast forums or the internet because everything posted is years old I decided to come back to Old Faithful and talk to my Android gurus here. So here goes...
I have an Xfinity gateway with xbox one, 2 pcs, 3 tablets and 3 smartphones connected. To get better speed for the phones and tablets, I bought a belkin 1200 dual band router and simply plugged it into the lan1 port on the gateway (no bridge mode). I now have my original signal and the belkin signal available on my wifi list. I left the xbox connected to the gateway via ethernet (lan2) and connected everything else via wifi to the belkin signal. Did I go about this properly or should I just use bridge mode and connect everything to the belkin? I've read conflicting posts about disabling DCHP. I did that at first but could get no Internet connection so it is currently enabled. I've also read about making sure both routers are not on the same subnet but I have no idea what that means or how to do it. My current setup gives me Internet access on either signal but I just don't know if I'm using the most efficient /productive method. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
A lot of my comments are just repeating what Slug has already written but just to add:
As far as speeding things up, that's not possible, at least as far actual bandwidth numbers. Whatever Comcast is allowing you, that's the fastest you're going to see on your home network set up. Just as an example, if Comcast is giving you 65 Mbps, no devices or PCs connected to your home network will be getting anything faster than that. In fact, as far as WiFi it will always be a little less than that. There is no setting or option in a wireless router to increase the speed that the router is receiving from the modem. Even if you flash your Belkin router with a better third-party firmware, if you're receiving a 65 Mbps signal from Comcast nothing can increase your home network to 100 Mbps. On one of your phones you might check your WiFi connection in the Settings >> WiFi option and see that your 'Link speed' might be something like 1100 Mbps but that's just an indication of the maximum speed your router is capable of (the speed at which you can transfer files only within your home network) , but again, your phone is still not going to be using that fast a connection to the Internet, it's always going to be based off of your Comcast connection. Adding a second router won't increase 'speed' but it does have the potential to expand your coverage area. So while your home network won't be getting any faster than what Comcast is allowing you, since distance from a wireless router does affect signal strength and reliability areas farther away in more remote parts of your home will see a 'speed' increase, especially if you position your Comcast modem/router and your Belkin router effectively (in different rooms).
Also keep in mind that WiFi will always take a little a little speed hit. A wired connection using a standard Ethernet patch cable provides 'synchronous' connectivity, it transmits and receives a signal at the same speed. WiFi is based on 'asynchronous' transmission of data. It's a one-way pipe as opposed to two-way. In real world usage it's not anything most of us notice because all those data packets flying back and forth from our routers to our devices is still really, really quick even with WiFi where it's either receiving or sending. It's just that in one-to-one comparison a physical patch cable is faster than a WiFi signal.
This is one reason to avoid using bridge mode if you can. Sometimes it's a necessary thing because you might be in a situation where a patch cable just can't be involved so bridging is a better option. But since bridging involves two wireless routers to connect to each other over a WiFi signal, that's where that asynchronous speed hit comes into play. Your current set up with your Xfinity box connected with a patch cable to your Belkin is more optimal.
As Slug already mentioned, you really do need to turn off any routing functions in your Belkin router and just let your Xfinity modem/router be the primary source for things like DHCP. You just don't want to have to DHCP servers on the same network. You should be thinking of having your home network as being a singular one, not two separate ones. Currently you have a situation where any of your devices using WiFi are continuously being exposed to two different wireless networks more or less at the same time depending on where you're standing and the signal strength tied to which router is closest. That's just not very efficient nor optimal. Your phone is constantly flipping back and forth between the connectivity of two separate WiFi networks, each with their separate settings. Instead, make your Belkin to be more of just a simple wireless access point, disable it's DHCP so your Comcast modem/router is your primary control point.
From a hardware set up aspect you've already got that set up network port. Now you just need to adjust some settings in your Xfinity box and your Belkin. Your Xfinity modem/router is probably set to use automatic channel selection, go into it's settings (using a web browser on one of your PCs, the login name and password should be on a label on the side or bottom of the modem/router), and change it to a specific channel (11 for example). Now on your Belkin change it's settings so it is using the same SSID as your Xfinity named network name, and the same SSID password, but give it a different specified channel (1 for example). AND BE SURE TO TURN OFF DHCP. When your Belkin router reboots it should essentially be just a network switch (with wired and wireless capability), all it will do is expand your home network with your Comcast box doing all the routing functions. With both of them using the same SSID and password your wireless devices are able to use your single home network in different places throughout your home (the difference being the different channels). You should be able to walk from one room to another and your phone should stay connected to your WiFi network with a minimum if any hesitation (WiFi channel changing isn't as drastic as a device getting its IP address changed.)
Finally, if you live in a well populate area there will probably a lot of other wireless networks within sensing range of your mobile devices. If you're in a house it might not be as much of an issue because there's at least some distance of separation but a condo or apartment it might be. Channel interference can hamper your own home network's WiFi so it's a best to try and avoid conflicting channels by not using the same ones your neighbor might be using. So it might be helpful to use something like the 'WiFi Analyzer' app to gauge your surroundings. Install it on one of your phones and test your home WiFi signal strength and let it show you what channels other nearby wireless networks are using.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en
As far as measuring your Comcast bandwidth speed, try using something like this site:
http://speedof.me
It's an HTML5 based speed test so you can use it with just about any web browser, computer or mobile device. By using a common way to check your bandwidth speed you can get a better idea of your home connection. If you use something like a speed test app on your phones and different speed test sites on your computers (some still rely on Flash) because they use different protocols to measure with, you're going to get different numbers. Not a significant difference but at least by using a singular gauge you can at least get a more stable benchmark number. (Bandwidth is going to be a variable anyway, it'll change from morning to evening.)
