new modem issues - a couple of suggestions

Two items here, hoping to help others -- and Xfinity staff.

One:

I replaced my Netgear modem/router the other day and called Xfinity to register it and have them remove the old one. In the course of this, I was offered a good deal on a speed upgrade and took it. However, the tech rep was unable to get me reconnected to the internet, despite everything looking fine on this end. I mentioned that when I first installed the new device and it had booted up, I was connected and saw a little bar in Firefox below my bookmark toolbar, identified as Netgear and saying I had to register before connecting the internet. The Xfinity rep said this was not necessary or related.

After about 45 minutes of failing to connect me, he put me directly on a call with advanced support. I mentioned the bar to her as well. No, no, she said; that's after connecting if you want to rename your wifi and reset the password. After about forty-five minutes more with her and continued failure, she said she would schedule a tech to come to the house. Failing to reach one, she said she would call me back in ten minutes. That call never came, but please read on. 

After I had waited another 20 minutes for it, I called Netgear and related the issue, mentioning the bar (when clicking on it I had gotten a screen called Netgear Genie, I think, asking me to enter router login name and password from the info on the router, but I saw that the URL was not secure). Oh, yes, the rep said immediately, you have to do that before you can connect. I asked about security. That's because you're not connected, he said. So, I filled in the info, executed, and in about 15 seconds or so, I was connected at near 1G speed. I could have saved at least an hour and a half if Xfinity's reps had known. The router is one which Xfinity itself lists as compatible.

Second: slow site loading after connection

After getting connected, I found that attempts to log into, especially, online banking websites were taking forever, as in several minutes, despite ~1G connection speed. At first I gave up on them., suspecting some problem on their end. Then I found a post here from 2023 about the issue (unresolved) and thought I'd offer here my guess that the banks have super cyber security in place and slow down everything when an unexpected router (or connection speed?) tries to access an account. I guess this because I think the bank may be verifying all sorts of stuff in the background, and, because, after several logins and logouts, sign-in speed is returning. I don't know that sort of tech stuff at all; just a guess, hoping it may help someone else.