Comcast’s $10-per-month Self Protection package keeps eyes on deliveries

By Patrick Hearn Published November 9, 2020

As the holiday shopping season approaches, more and more people are concerned about the possibility of package theft. Porch piracy always goes up this time of year, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself. Today, Comcast announced the launch of Self Protection, a $10-per-month program available to all Xfinity customers with an xFi Gateway. Self Protection provides 24/7 video recording with up to seven days of storage, no long-term contract required.

Cameras will automatically connect to your Wi-Fi, and the feed will be available through the Xfinity app. From the app, you can view the feed of all of your cameras, arm and disarm them, and much more. Connecting the cameras to the Xfinity app also connects them to xFi Advanced Security, a feature that monitors for threats and unauthorized access on your account.

Recommended Videos

Self Protection also gives you access to your cameras on the big screen. Just use the Xfinity Voice Remote to display your live feed, favorite clips, and more on your television. If you caught the pet doing something funny (or you scared away a would-be thief in a way worthy of America’s Funniest Home Videos), show it to your family.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re interested in setting up cameras around your home but you can’t afford the upfront cost of $120 per camera, you can set up a payment plan of $5 per month for 24 months per camera for up to four cameras.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Self Protection customers can upgrade at any time from the $10 per month plan to Xfinity Home’s professional monitoring service. This 24/7 monitoring plan will automatically dispatch authorities if a smoke alarm goes off or your security system is triggered. The base-level monitoring plan is $30 per month.

Whether you plan to do a lot of online shopping this season or you just want to beef up protection around your home, Comcast’s Self Protection is an affordable option for the newcomer to the home security world. If anyone approaches your porch, you’ll receive a push notification, and then you can decide whether to call the police or let a neighbor know that someone may be up to no good.

Topics

Mobile Writer

Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…

Computing

Microsoft suggests four fixes for ancient Microsoft Store bug

Microsoft Store

After six years, Microsoft has officially released four methods for fixing the "Try that again" or "0x80131500" Microsoft Store error. The bug was first reported in 2019, but the good news is that there is now an official solution for you.

You can fix the "Try that again" error by resetting the Microsoft Store app, using the Microsoft Store troubleshooter (Windows 10 only), checking for updates, and updating your internet's TLS (Transport Layer Security) settings. However, Microsoft recommends enabling TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3 for compatibility. However, if the first three methods don't work, the issue may be due to TLS incompatibility. If this sounds too technical, don't worry; just follow these steps: press the Windows key > search for Run > type inetcpl.cpl > press enter > click Advanced tab to ensure that the Use TLS 1.2 and 1.3 are checked. That's all there is to it.

Computing

Microsoft 365 apps help keep your files safe with OneDrive backup

Microsoft OneDrive files can sync between a PC and a phone.

Microsoft 365 apps will encourage users to back up their files to OneDrive, as announced in a new Message Center entry, to improve data security. Microsoft will display a prompt across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in the following months to prevent data loss and ensure users can access their important files seamlessly.

Microsoft will begin showing these prompts in mid-March 2025, encouraging users to sign up for the OneDrive Known Folder Move (KFM). The public preview will last until early April 2025 but will generally be available by May 2025. What is KFM? It's a feature in OneDrive that lets you sync and back up your important local folders, such as Desktop or Documents. Afterward, you can easily access your files across various devices.

Computing

Microsoft just made Teams even more of a hassle to use

A Home screen in Microsoft Teams showing the different Communities to choose from.

In a Microsoft support article, the software giant says that starting in April 2025, Microsoft Teams will no longer support sending or receiving SMS from Android devices. This change pushes users to switch to the Phone Link app for SMS messaging.

If you attempt to send an SMS using Teams, you'll be greeted with an alert notifying you of the change. The SMS feature is one of the lesser-known features, and you may not have even known it existed, but Microsoft will soon remove it from Teams. For now, you can still view SMS messages under Recent and send texts, but this feature will soon be removed. Currently, the "Link your phone" feature lets you manage your text messages without having to switch to another app, thus making you go through fewer steps.