I’ve been watching TV through the Xfinity Stream Beta app via my Roku Streaming Stick+ for over three months now and I have to admit, it actually works really well. I was certainly skeptical at first (I’ve got gripes with Xfinity), but overall I’m pleased with the set-up.
If you want to know which Rokus work with the Xfinity Stream Beta app, if there’s an additional charge (there isn’t), how to activate the app / channel, or any other FAQs, I recommend checking out the helpful information in the links below:
- xfinity.com/support/articles/xfinity-stream-beta-app-faqs
- xfinity.com/support/articles/activate-xfinity-tv-app-on-roku
For my take on the pros and cons of the Xfinity Stream Beta app, read on:
Pros
- The one-time cost of buying a Roku streaming device is better than paying the monthly rental fee for one of Xfinity’s required boxes.
- If your TV is mounted, where to put the box is one less thing to worry about. The Roku Streaming Stick just plugs into the HDMI port on your TV.
- Just like with the set-top box, you can stream live TV, watch anything saved to your DVR, set up and edit recordings, and watch TV on demand.
- You can add channels to a list of favorites for more convenient “channel surfing.”
- The Roku remote includes all the normal buttons you need to navigate around the app, plus volume buttons, so you do not need any additional remotes to watch / operate the TV.
Cons
- The app is dependent on having solid internet, so this isn’t so much a con as a warning. If your internet is unreliable, I do not recommend this route.
- You can’t flip through channels in the traditional sense. If you want to change channels you have to back out of the program you are watching and go back to the guide to choose something else.
- Since you’re operating the app and TV through the Roku remote some features are not available or more difficult to utilize like closed captioning or mute.
- You can fast forward or rewind a program saved to your DVR; however, the video does not zip by, so you’re kind of flying blind. Instead you just see the timestamp increasing or decreasing, so skipping commercials takes a bit of guesswork.
Comments
Nope. It won’t let me. It says I have to watch through my home xfinity wifi. First off, that is exactly what I am trying to do. Where I am at for a while doesn’t have cable tv just xfinity wifi. So I used my xfinity account information to log into my xfinity account. It will not work. I am unclear how on earth it would work if it doens’t like the fact that this location is not my wifi. If I tried to log into xfinity streaming at my house where I do not have cable tv it would not work there either, since I don’t have cable. This is ridiculous.
Mine says the exact same thing!
It says: this device can only access Xfinity Stream on your in-home Wi-fi. Use the app on your smartphone, tablet or laptop to watch anytime on the go, anytime you like.
It gives the option to either A) Exit App, or B) sign out. I signed out, signed back in, the issue still persists.
What gives? How do we fix this?
Woops, that was not accurate. I’m just so annoyed I wasn’t wording my rant correctly. I do have cable tv at my actual house. duh. But what I was meaning to say is I wouldn’t need to log into the streaming app on a roku. I already have tv! No need for the app.
Do you have a video subscription on your plan? I killed the boxes two years ago and stream via the Xfinity Beta app through my Roku device.
It’s terrible for watching recorded shows from the DVR. There is no fast forward that shows where you are; you have to guess how long to scan forward. It also doesn’t have a buffer for live watching.
I am a Xfinity customer. Can I get the Xfinity stream. I only have essential wfi. But I have a Roku little box from Walmart.
Author
From my understanding you need to have an Xfinity cable subscription in order to stream TV via their app.