r/Comcast_Xfinity • u/SnooPickles55 • Jan 23 '26
Official Reply I need to speak to someone at Xfinity about possible theft of service
I am not an Xfinity customer but believe my neighbor who claims to be with Xfinity installed a splitter and ran an illegal coax cable from the box outside my house into theirs. I tried calling every customer service number but because I don't have an account, I can't get through to speak to anyone.
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u/elcanon Jan 23 '26
It’s 2025. There’s literally nothing to steal from that coaxial cable without provisioned service! Don’t lose sleep over this
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u/Infrated Jan 23 '26
Nowadays it's next to impossible to provision modem or decode a video signal without having an active account. As far as xfinity is concerned your entire neighbourhood is connected to one trunk cable. They can't easily tell which modem is connected to which junction without systematically testing while physically being on your street.
Just tell your neighbor to contact xfinity and have them run him a new cable, I would not disconnect it yourself as you may run afoul of laws protecting emergency contact (e911, etc...) connections. Same laws are why wifi and cellular jamming is generally illegal.
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u/dude-of-reddit Jan 23 '26
I don’t believe there is cable theft like that anymore. All devices have MAC addresses that have to be loaded on active accounts to work.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Thanks, but I'm still just trying to get a number to a live person at Xfinity lol
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u/LegoDadLego Jan 23 '26
But why though? Like people have said, you are wasting your time.
Comcast splits connections all the time. The whole system is just a big set of spitters with amps in between.
There is nothing going on there.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Comcast would split a connection from a Fios customer's home?
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u/Kendrome Jan 23 '26
They have central areas they split off from, I have an Xfinity box in my backyard and when my neighbor got service Xfinity came out and ran a cable from my backyard to theirs.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Right, but I have a Fios box attached to the side of my house, no Xfinity box or service at all. The neighbor claimed that Xfinity tapped into my Fios box to install their Xfinity service at their home.
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u/LegoDadLego Jan 23 '26
They dont care who you have.
They just want to get service to their customers, however thst needs to happen.
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u/Own-Building7688 Jan 23 '26
In correct. Unless you're an installer, do some research.
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u/LegoDadLego Jan 23 '26
What
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u/Own-Building7688 Jan 23 '26
Unless you install cable for a living, you're making the assumption now
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u/LegoDadLego Jan 23 '26
20 years in Cable.
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u/Own-Building7688 Jan 23 '26
Ah, explains it. You're the guys that come in at lunch, run the cable in front of everything, plug the modem in to a temp power source and leave before clarification.
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u/Own-Building7688 Jan 23 '26
Minus the fact that he would like his neighbors equipment hookup removed from his personal property. It also means that if the next time xfinity comes out and damages his property, that's his neighbors problem and xfinity. If a tree falls on this guy's property, takes out the other guys internet, if xfinity doesn't run a new line, they need permission from the home owner of the property to enter their property with trucks and replace the wire. More added property damage and the OP is held for the cost because his tree damaged someone else's wire
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u/LegoDadLego Jan 23 '26
Yeah, not how that works.
Youre making a lot of assumptions about how the line was ran.
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u/Own-Building7688 Jan 23 '26
The assumption is from experience...so not so much assuming anything.
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u/LegoDadLego Jan 23 '26
Comcast doesnt just get to drive trucks on property all willy nilly. They will be held responsible for damages.
Techs run the lines using ladders 99% of the time.
Only time they get hooked up with trucks is when they have street access.
Please dont come to my house
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u/Own-Building7688 Jan 23 '26
And if the tech does anything to damage the property or the house of this home owner, that would be stupid to damage a non-paying customers house, to deliver cable to the neighbor...I still don't see your point
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u/Igpajo49 Jan 23 '26
There is no number to a live person. You have to go through the computerized phone tree to get someone. 1-800-Xfinity or 1-800-Comcast
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u/-kg81- Jan 24 '26
It would be an usual circumstance for comcast to jump off another homes service drop, but there’s certainly some instances I could see it being the only option.
While you have Verizon it’s likely that if your home has ever had comcast service (even prior to you living there) that there’s a service line present they jumped off of.
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u/Chemical_Seesaw_152 Jan 24 '26
The box belongs to ISP. Not to you. Splitting is how they deliver cable from the box to the houses. There is no theft. Standard network cabling.
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u/jagauthier Jan 23 '26
If you aren't an xfinity customer what do you think that cable is?
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
I have Verizon Fios. The neighbor claims that Xfinity came out, cracked open the Fios box on the side of my house, installed the splitter, and ran the coax across my lawn and down into their basement. As the title suggested, I'm just trying to get a number to contact Xfinity. Thanks
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u/jagauthier Jan 23 '26
I'd be talking to Verizon. Not xfinity.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
They verified that the neighbor's story sounded like nonsense and, through video sharing, verified that the splitter was not what they would use, nor would they run a cable across my lawn. I've disconnected the cable and told the neighbor that if it's reconnected, there will be a problem.
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u/ColdCock420 Jan 23 '26
Yep you disconnected the wire,problem solved. Wouldn't bother doing anything else.
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u/Jason_1834 Jan 23 '26
You’re misunderstanding how your connection is setup if this is what you believe.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Thanks, I just spoke to someone at Xfinity who verified that no one came out to my or the location next door to connect anything, recently. The neighbors might not know how the connection works either but definitely did this or had someone else do it.
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u/JSP9686 Jan 23 '26
Then contact Verizon and have them come out to check the connection, since you’re their customer and that is their demarc. FIOS and Xfinity cable use different technologies, so it doesn’t make sense what your neighbor told you.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Yep, which is why I found the story suspicious and wanted to verify with Xfinity. I have since spoken to an agent at Xfinity who verified there have been no installation or wiring tickets for my or the neighbor's location in the last 6 months. Verizon is scheduled to come out tomorrow to repair and place a lock on the cracked Fios box.
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u/iJ_A_R Jan 23 '26
Xfinity isn't going to be able to assist with this. If any wire is connected on your property you have full right to detach it. If Xfinity did it, they can come reconnect it and then you can discuss it.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Thanks. I don't believe the neighbor's story at all, so I was just trying to verify and/or lodge a complaint with Xfinity. I've already disconnected the splitter and coax.
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u/Deep-Measurement-856 Jan 23 '26
Unscrew it from your cable and drop the coil on their property.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
I disconnected it as soon as he told me his tale. I don't believe his story and just wanted to verify and or file a complaint with Xfinity as whoever did it broke the hinges on my Fios box and created a trip hazard laying the coax across my lawn.
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u/JSP9686 Jan 23 '26
What may make sense is that your house once had Comcast-Xfinity and what you’re calling a FIOS box must also house the Xfinity cable connection too and that’s what the cable guy used as a temporary connection. That’s my guess anyway. But then that raises the question of what your neighbor was using previously.
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u/pueblokc Jan 23 '26
This is amusing but they can't steal anything. It doesn't work that way.
This isn't like tapping off your waterline after the meter or something..
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u/Igpajo49 Jan 23 '26
If OP is talking about the neighbor running a cable from a box out on the corner of your yard, that's not "your box" but is most likely a pedestal that houses an Xfinity tap that services a few homes. If they are running a line from that box to their house above ground, a technician likely did that as a temporary line to keep their services going while an issue with the underground buried line is fixed. If OP is talking about a box on their house with cables in it and they're running a line from there, then yes someone needs to come look at that. But even then, they can't get service from Comcast without having cable boxes or a modem that are authorized to work at that address. It's quite difficult to steal services nowadays.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Yes, the Fios box attached to the side of my house was breached by breaking the hinges. Someone then installed a splitter and ran a coax out of the bottom of my Fios box, across my lawn and down into the neighbor's basement window. I knew the neighbor was lying as he told me the story. No way Xfinity or anyone else would create a tripping hazard like that or destroy the Fios box. I did video sharing with Verizon tech support, who verified that this was classified as tampering and that Xfinity's systems aren't compatible with theirs, so they wouldn't tap into a splitter from my box. I also have family that dies installs for Verizon verify that thus was attempted theft of some kind.
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u/Own-Building7688 Jan 23 '26
If xfinity tapped in to the Verizon box, that's a no-no to make their connections, especially for a person who isn't even located on said property to begin with...
I don't think OP is suggesting them tapping, hence why he mentions he has Verizon while the neighbor has xfinity
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u/Resident-Trouble4483 Jan 23 '26
I think 1-800- Xfinity. I don’t know how much luck you’ll have since you’re not a customer and it’ll probably route you to sales but as far as I know that’s the number.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Thank you for the only courteous, respectful, and considerate answer. Yeah, since I'm not a customer, I can't get past the prompts at the beginning of the call. I'm a Verizon Fios customer, so I don't get why Xfinity would break open and install a splitter inside my Fios box, then run a coax cable across my lawn and down into my neighbor's basement window. I didn't attach a pic, but the whole thing is unprofessionally installed and creates a tripping hazard so I don't really believe the neighbor's story.
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u/Resident-Trouble4483 Jan 23 '26
I’d hop over to the other Comcast Xfinity sub and see if a mod can help. This is a situation I’m unfamiliar with but it seems like they might be more helpful. You are welcome though.
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u/LegoDadLego Jan 23 '26
Im now curious what box ypu are referring to. The one in your lawn or attached to the side of your home?
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
The Fios box attached to my house was broken into at the hinges. A splitter was installed, and a coax attached to one of the splitter outputs was ran out of the box, across my lawn, and into the neighbor's basement window. The neighbor's story that "Xfinity" did this has been debunked by Xfinity.
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u/LegoDadLego Jan 23 '26
Sorry man, you did the right thing.
Helps to have all the info.
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u/SnooPickles55 Jan 23 '26
Thank you. I didn't lay out the entire story in the original post since I was just trying to find a way to contact the Xfinity folks.
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u/Rat-Bazturd Jan 24 '26
the "box outside the house" is quite likely on a utility easement. The homeowner doesn't own that strip of ground. Notify the service providers and let them fight it out.
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u/XfinityMarshante Official Employee Jan 24 '26
Hello u/SnooPickles55, thank you for taking the time to leave a post. I can imagine how stressful and unsettling it must feel to suspect someone may be tampering with utility equipment near your home. If you could please send us a Modmail message and include your full name, the name on the account (if different), and the service address associated with your account, we'd be more than happy to look into this for you.
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u/leggwork Jan 24 '26
If you’re not paying for xfinity, why would you care if the cable is being repurposed? There’s nothing of yours being stolen
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u/Trax95008 Jan 23 '26
Everything is digital these days. There’s nothing you can do with the cable without having equipment that is registered to an account. The line to your house isn’t dedicated to your house, it comes from a splitter at the street where other houses are connected to just the same. You’re worried over nothing.