Forum Discussion

Disappointed_RI's avatar
Disappointed_RI
New Contributor II
6 years ago

Why is there no guest WiFi option on a Cox Panoramic Router?

Fairly new Cox customer.  My old ISP offered an option for a Guest WiFi.  This is a great feature as i never had any concerns about handing this password out to guests at our house.  I honestly thought this was a pretty standard feature that every router had these days.  I also recently purchased a smart home device and sadly that manufacturer has limited the length of a WiFi password.  That's a whole other story but my complex password is too long and i really don't want to change it.  A guest network would help solve that issue too.

I just picked up a stand alone access point to create a guest WiFi.  I have it up an running but my current issue is that the Cox Panoramic router doesn't seem to have a support for Vlans.  I can now solve for easily getting poorly designed smart home devices and guests connected to my network, but now i have no separation between those guests and my home devices.  Not an ideal situation IMO.  If you couldn't already tell i take security seriously.

How have others solved for this problem?  Any suggestions outside of ditching the cox equipment and buying my own modem and router?

  • bearone2's avatar
    bearone2
    Contributor III
    6 years ago

    doesn't the 2nd router have it's own login/pw for guests??

    fwiw, i have to run my old router/2.4 from one of the ports on the panoramic modem/router because the 10 year old laptops won't connect to the combo unit & each ssid has it's own login/pw.

    • Disappointed_RI's avatar
      Disappointed_RI
      New Contributor II
      6 years ago

      bearone2  Yes, the second AP has it's own SSID, username and password.  But you're missing my point.  The issue is that anyone that connects to that SSID has full access to all other devices on my network.  That was my concern.  A true guest network would isolate "Guests" from the rest of the trusted network. 

      • bearone2's avatar
        bearone2
        Contributor III
        6 years ago

        i'm not sure how you've got it setup but i can't see any of my wife's & she can't see my activity.

        what do you want to give them access to, only internet?

        if you don't trust the visitors, don't let 'em login!!

  • Becky's avatar
    Becky
    Moderator
    6 years ago
    Hi Disappointed, Cox Panoramic WiFi Gateways do not offer a Guest Network feature. I'm sorry! You, can, however, monitor and control all devices connected to your network, create user profiles, and more using the Cox Panoramic Wifi App. Learn more at www.cox.com/.../panoramic-wifi-app-features.html. -Becky, Cox Support Forums Moderator
    • Disappointed_RI's avatar
      Disappointed_RI
      New Contributor II
      6 years ago

      becky There are some nice features but the lack of the guest network is still a miss.  It's not like cox is offering some sort of alternative feature for my use case.  

  • Vplw1226's avatar
    Vplw1226
    New Contributor
    6 years ago

    We just switched back to Cox and have their newest panoramic router. Not sure the model number but it's kinda a square box with 1 light on top. It's pretty upsetting they don't have guest Network anymore. I mean that seem like a pretty basic necessity especially if you don't want to give out your main password. I've talked to multiple tech support and they really are pushing this stupid app. That's their reply Everytime I ask about guest Network. "I would encourage you to download our new app and configure your WiFi settings there" smh ok but that stupid app has nothing to do with guest Network. What can you do with the app that's so special? Set devices to certain people in the household, see who's using the most internet, disable cerrian devices etc .. Honestly the app ** in my opinion and would much rather guest Network be brought back