Update: last year, Comcast Xfinity once again raised their TV box rental fee from $10 to $12 per month per box ($144/year per box). This article will detail how to get rid of the Xfinity TV box rental fee completely. After completing a 2-year contract with Xfinity, I went through another round of price negotiations and came out much better for it. Through the negotiation process, I was able to drop the total price of my cable TV, HD DVR, high-speed internet, and Xfinity Mobile (see my Xfinity Mobile review) package to under $95 per month – roughly a 34% cost savings versus my end-of-contract price.
Having AT&T U-Verse fiber recently launch in my neighborhood could have helped with those negotiations, as I was offered new customer pricing for a fresh a 2-year contract. What I discovered in the negotiations, is that Xfinity had changed a few things in its pricing structure on HD and DVR fees. At the end of my contract, I had been charged a $9.95 “HD Technology Fee” and $10 “Anyroom DVR Service” fee for my use of an Xfinity X1 DVR device. After the new contract negotiation, the HD fee was gone and if I limited my DVR storage to 20 hours (the current maximum for cloud DVR), I could pay just $5 for the DVR to be downgraded to a set-top “TV Box” designation, as shown on my new bill.
Update: Comcast Xfinity has since raised the “TV Box fee” from $5 to $8.50 per month per box in 2021, from $8.50 to $10 per month per box in 2023, and from $10 to $12 per month per box per their rate card in 2025.
Where things get even more interesting is that I found out in the price negotiation that similar to replacing an Xfinity modem with your own in order to get rid of the Xfinity modem fee (which is now at least $180/year!), you can also do the same with Xfinity TV boxes and DVRs to get rid of the TV box rental fee – I’ll detail how below.
How to Replace an Xfinity TV Box with a Streaming Device to Get Rid of the TV Box Fee
In speaking with the Xfinity loyalty/retention specialist, I (unsuccessfully) tried to negotiation away the TV Box fee. He did note, however, that I could get rid of that fee if I replaced the Xfinity TV box with my own customer-owned partner device and use the Xfinity Stream app (which includes live TV and cloud DVR).
I decided to research this further, and discovered a simple 4-step process to replace my Xfinity TV box with a streaming device to get rid of the TV box and DVR fees for good.
Step 1: Purchase a Compatible Xfinity TV Device
At the time of publish, a number of Roku devices are considered compatible Xfinity TV devices, including the following:
Amazon Fire TV stick and Google TV Streamer and many other top streaming devices are compatible as well.
A number of specified LG, Samsung, and Xumo smart TVs are considered compatible partner devices too, but that’s harder to line up. As noted, all can be used with Xfinity Stream’s live TV and cloud DVR (if needed).
And, even better, according to Xfinity, usage of these partner devices does not count against your monthly internet data usage allotment, in most use cases:
Does streaming using the Xfinity Stream app on a Partner Device count against my internet data usage?
No. The goal of using the app on your Partner Device is to give you more options outside of rented Xfinity TV Boxes to access your full TV service within your home. The service delivered through the Xfinity Stream app is not an internet service, so Xfinity data usage plans don’t apply.However, video services that are delivered over the internet, like TV Go content accessed through the Xfinity Stream app and web portal or content from NBC.com or the NBC and NBC Sports apps, are treated exactly the same way as any other internet-delivered services, like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon and are subject to any data usage plans that might apply.
Step 2: Connect your New Xfinity TV Partner Streaming Device
Connect your new Xfinity TV partner device to your Xfinity Wi-Fi, make sure your firmware is up to date, and install the Xfinity Stream app on that device to log in and activate (with your Xfinity username and password).
Step 3: Verify your TV Plan Works on Xfinity Stream
The Xfinity Stream app should allow you to stream live TV and see cloud DVR recordings. If recording or channels are not there, you could be on an older legacy TV box that stored DVR recordings locally. If this happens, ask Xfinity customer service to migrate DVR recordings to the cloud before returning your box. If they can’t/won’t – then you may lose these recordings (you will survive).
Step 4: Return your TV Boxes to Xfinity (Retail Location or Via UPS)
You can initiate a TV Box return online, and send back your set-top TV Box device back via a UPS drop-off location with a prepaid label. Or, you can make an in-person return at an Xfinity store location near you. Make sure you get and photograph a receipt for your set-top return, and check your future bills for the credit for using your own device!
This simple process will save you $12/month ($144 per year) per TV box, and is one of many smart ways to cut your Comcast bill down to reasonable levels.
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I have 2 TVs. Can I choose a different replacement box for each one?
My daughter lives downstairs and wants to use amazon firestick
and I am leaning towards using roku on the upstairs TV.
What do you recommend? use same on both or doesn’t matter?
TIA