By Marisa Bearden
It was a Saturday night and my fiancé and I were watching one of our favorite shows — Tiny House Nation on Netflix — when suddenly that horrifying red buffering circle appeared on our screen. Immediately, doom set in as we frantically tried to go back to the home screen and then back to our show. To no avail. We soon realized: it’s not just Netflix, it’s the Internet.
My fiancé suggested we call into the help line, but there’s an easier way to resolve this issue. I pulled out my cell phone and found the Xfinity My Account app tucked away in my phone. I thought to myself, “Yikes, I haven’t used this app since moving out of my last place.” My Account prompted me to sign in and I racked my brain for which iteration of my password and username it could be. As I did that, I noticed something new; when signed in previously, I had to use a comcast.net email that was given to me when I first signed up for my services. Now I had the option to sign in with my phone number. Phew! Let’s be real, we can remember our phone number a lot easier than we can recall an email that was given to us.
Next thing I know I’m in the app being welcomed by “Hi Marisa, anything we can help you with today?” Why yes, Xfinity My Account, yes, there is. I see an Internet option on the bottom of my screen and click to see what I can find out. I find my device, currently named after Drake lyrics, and then see that there is an option where I can troubleshoot. Before I can even click on the option, the app tells me it has already recognized that I’m having an issue and asks me if I want to continue with troubleshooting my device. It began the process and the best part was, it texted me when it was done and ready to go! I was able to do this all before my fiancé could come back with two bowls of ice cream to continue our relaxing Saturday evening.
As tiny houses got their finishing touches and were revealed to their owners, I continued to explore the My Account app to see what else it could offer me (and you!) in the future. I learned that I could also troubleshoot my video service, make a payment and find my nearest Xfinity store. I also found where I could update my information for when I move after I get married and eventually change my name!
If you think your area is experiencing an outage, you can quickly check on the app by going into the TV or Internet sections and clicking on Outage Map. When you have updated information in the app, you don’t have to wait for your neighbors to confirm their internet is down too! You’ll receive a text when the service is back and you’ll usually also be given an estimate of how long it will take for your internet to be back up and running.
The best part about my experience was that I could do it all from my phone in the comfort of my couch. While this may not be the case or preference for some people, the My Account App does allow you to chat with customer service in a variety of ways. If needed, I could schedule an appointment at a store or a call with an agent, use Facebook Messenger or even Tweet @ComcastCares, all through the app.
If you don’t have it already, download the Xfinity My Account app.
