Citynet, in collaboration with Plume, aims to redefine your WiFi experience with innovative solutions designed to enhance performance, security, and control. This page is your go-to resource for understanding the cutting-edge WiFi solutions provided by Citynet and Plume.
If your questions aren’t addressed here, please contact Citynet Support or by calling us anytime at 800.881.2638.
What is Superhero Smart WiFi?
Citynet’s Superhero Smart WiFi is powered by Plume SuperPods and Plume HomePass, giving customers access to the most powerful home WiFi network platform on the market and providing an unparalleled home Internet experience.
How Does Superhero Smart WiFi protect me and my devices?
Advanced IoT (Internet of Things) Protection protects your smart home devices like WiFi-enabled cameras and appliances and creates blocks against hackers. AI security features provide threat protection against ransomware, mining, and malware for the devices connected to your mesh network.
Can Superhero Smart WiFi handle 4K streaming, large files, and other bandwidth-heavy activities?
Yes! End-to-end FaceTime calls, video calls and meetings, 4K content streaming, downloading large files, and more are all easier than ever with the Citynet WiFi solution powered by Plume. With the correct number of SuperPods, use of the HomePass app, and Plume’s ability to adjust and adapt to provide the necessary bandwidth when needed and where needed, you can say “goodbye” to buffering, video latency, and delays.
Do I need to make manual adjustments to maintain my WiFi performance?
No. Superhero Smart WiFi is continuously learning about your Internet needs. It performs advanced self-optimizations and allocates capacity to the devices that need it most. And the best part is you will not even notice the changes; your home wireless network will just always work!
What parental controls are available with Superhero Smart WiFi?
There are a variety of parental control options that keep your kids safe and your information protected. In addition to approving or blocking specific websites, you can also control how much time your children spend online or on a specific device.
What is a mesh network, and what are the benefits?
A mesh network is a Wi-Fi system that does away with the reliance on a single main router for connectivity. This system stems from the fact that central routers are usually not located in an ideal position to bring about the greatest connectivity.
Typical home WiFi networks rely on just a router, or if extenders are used, the router sends its signal to each one individually. Mesh networks are superior because they feature multiple nodes that are installed throughout a residence, all sharing the WiFi signal between themselves. Each device in a mesh network connects to the other devices, rather than each device connecting back to your router or gateway. Mesh networks enable multiple routers/nodes to work as a team by communicating and sharing information with each other in order to improve the three most important features of your network: range, speed, and stability.
A mesh network has a greater range and is much faster and stronger than your normal WiFi network. The range of your mesh network can be extended simply by adding nodes or SuperPods. Each node in a mesh network is a device that not only sends and receives data but determines the best path by which to send it. The nodes in a mesh network can automatically reconfigure themselves, using multiple routes to find the most optimal path to the Internet. Shutting down one of the nodes in a mesh network will not necessarily shut down the entire network, which means the mesh network is much stronger than the Wi-Fi in your home today.
Is it necessary to perform updates to the hardware and software to maintain the service?
No. The service automatically applies updates to keep pace with both technology and the needs of your home’s wireless network.
Will Superhero Smart WiFi work in a home with thick walls?
Yes. If you are having trouble getting WiFi when you are not in the same room as your wireless router, several Plume SuperPods together in a system will enable you to get WiFi coverage throughout your home. Because thicker walls make it more difficult for WiFi signals to get through them, you may need more Plume SuperPods to cover your home.
Can I manage my WiFi network remotely?
Yes, using the Plume HomePass app makes it easy to manage your network at any time. As long as you have your phone, you will be able to manage your network settings directly from the app. You will need a data connection on your mobile device to initially set up your Plume network. Once you are set up, you can manage your network over any Internet connection.
What is Plume Adapt?
Plume Adapt puts the brains of your WiFi system in the cloud, using SuperPods installed throughout your home to serve as links to the Internet. Plume adapts in real-time to the devices and applications running in your home, delivering perfect WiFi adapted to every experience. Plume uses a patented WiFi allocation system, providing you with the highest bandwidth compared to any other home WiFi solution.
What is Plume Access?
Plume Access allows you to set up user access for your network without needing a separate guest network. Better yet, each user will have their own personalized password, and you can set up varying levels of access to your network based on different zones. Plus, set up profiles for each member of the family, manage content access by person or device, and pause Internet access when you choose.
What is Plume AI Guard?
Plume AI Guard allows you to filter content for kids, teenagers, and adults, block or approve specific websites, and prevent ads from crowding your browser. AI Guard also provides advanced Internet of Things (IoT) Protection by proactively monitoring your smart home devices for security threats. Attacks on the smart home are increasingly common for devices like baby monitors, IP cameras, smart TVs, thermostats, and even toys! Anomaly Detection protects by learning about a device’s normal activity and distinguishing that from unusual behaviors that might indicate a threat.
What is Plume Sense?
Plume Sense uses Plume SuperPods and the WiFi-connected devices in your home to detect motion. It is a smart motion detection system that also informs you when family members or guests arrive or leave.
Plume Sense Features
Live View – Take a look inside your network to see where the motion is currently happening.
Motion Alerts – Receive push notifications when motion takes place, based on when people are at home.
Motion History – Review the past 24 hours or seven days of motion history in your home.
Personalization – Plume Motion settings can be customized to fit you, your family, and your home, including motion sensitivity, pet mode, Motion Alert frequency, and where motion detection is tracked in your home.
What is Plume Guard?
Plume Guard offers real-time threat protection against emerging cyber threats. Guard is included with your Plume subscription and offers the following benefits.
Online Protection
Plume filters out suspicious content as your devices connect to the Internet, providing you with real-time threat protection against crypto-mining, ransomware, malware, viruses, botnets, phishing attacks, and more.
Advanced IoT Protection
Plume identifies all your connected devices and continuously monitors them for suspicious activity. If a device is compromised, Plume quarantines the device, preventing the threat from spreading to the rest of your connected devices.
Adblocking
Plume blocks the ad content coming from known ad servers, significantly improving your browsing experience.
What are the benefits of the HomePass app?
Home All Access
Give full home WiFi access to people you implicitly trust. This will allow their devices to interact with all other connected devices in your home.
Limited Guest Access
Create custom passwords for each guest and then choose which connected devices—like printers, TVs, security cameras or thermostats— they can access to make them feel instantly at home.
Internet Only Access
Devices with Internet only WiFi passwords will only be connected to the Internet and not any of the connected devices in your home.
Parental Controls
Make the internet a safer place by managing the type of content that each device or profile can access. Additionally, approve or block specific websites per device or profile to keep your family safe.
Internet Freeze
Going offline is sometimes a good habit! Schedule an Internet freeze, give a time out to a specific device or person and monitor their levels of Internet usage.
How many Plume SuperPods do I need in my home?
Every home is unique, and the Plume system was designed to be flexible to fit any home. We recommend one Plume SuperPod for every 1,000 square feet, but it can vary by home. Click here for pod placement info, tips and suggestions.
How much distance should there be between Plume SuperPods?
For the best experience, Plume SuperPods should be no more than 50 feet away from at least one other SuperPods. If you have known “dead spots” you should locate a SuperPod halfway between that area and the next available node.
How many Plume SuperPods can I have on a single network?
There is no limit to the number of SuperPods you can use. However, more is not always better. We generally recommend one SuperPod for every 1,000 square feet, but it varies from home to home.
Is there a warranty with the Plume SuperPods?
Yes, it can be found here.
How are Plume SuperPods different from WiFi extenders?
Plume SuperPods create a mesh WiFi network, as explained above, whereas WiFi extenders only act as repeaters of the internet signal from the main router. Key differences are as follows:
- Mesh networks offer a greater range of coverage throughout the entire home.
- Mesh networks via HomePass offer simple activation and central management of your entire WiFi network.
- Mesh networks via HomePass are adaptive and automatically connect your devices to the best possible access point in the home.
- Extenders may require manually switching from one network device to another.
- Extenders are not as scalable and may cause network congestion, reduced performance, and signal degradation the more extenders there are in a line.
How do I install and activate my Plume SuperPods?
Plume SuperPods are easy to install – no technician is needed. Once you order your SuperPods, you will receive simple instructions on how to setup your SuperPods using the Plume HomePass app.
Can I have a technician come and install SuperPods for me?
Generally we find that the self-installation method is sufficient for most people. However, if you would like to schedule a technician to come and install the SuperPods for you, a standard service fee and possible additional hourly charges may apply.
If you have signed up as a new customer of Citynet’s and a technician is already scheduled for an installation or service call, then the technician can install the SuperPods for you.
Can SuperPods be placed outdoors?
No, SuperPods are not meant for outdoor use and should not be placed outside of your home. To extend Wi-Fi coverage to an outdoor location, place one of your SuperPods in an inside wall outlet that is closest to the outdoor area where you would like to extend Wi-Fi coverage.
My device is right next to a SuperPod, so why is it connecting to a different SuperPod in another room?
In a Wi-Fi mesh network, the best connection point for a device may not always be the one that is closest to it. SuperPods communicate with each other and the gateway to monitor the number of devices connected in the home, their location, and the type of Wi-Fi connection that each device needs. This ensures that your device is operating with the best signal. Think of it the same way that your GPS directs you to an alternate route to get you to your destination faster when there is too much traffic on the main road.
Can my SuperPods be hardwired via Ethernet?
Absolutely. However, doing so is not required, and you will still receive excellent performance via WiFi. You can set up multiple SuperPods by connecting them directly via Ethernet to deliver the fastest possible performance to your devices. However, having all pods connected via Ethernet will affect how well Sense can detect motion since only WiFi client devices will be used to detect motion. Click here for more information.
Can I plug a Super Pod into an extension cord?
You can plug a pod into a power strip, adapter, extension cord, or surge protector. Unlike Power Line Communication (PLC) based devices, data is not transmitted via the power lines. Plume pods connect via Wi-Fi or Ethernet and will still work as long as they receive power from the outlet.
Who is Plume?
Plume is the manufacturer of Plume SuperPods and developer of the Plume HomePass app to provide whole-house coverage via a seamless, self-optimizing Adaptive WiFi network. Plume SuperPods blanket your home with a mesh wireless network that eliminates “dead spots” (areas with weak connectivity or connectivity that drops), allows users to have better, faster, stronger bandwidth by selecting the wireless device with the strongest signal and changes as you move throughout your home with zero interruptions.
Plume’s HomePass app gives customers unparalleled control over their mesh network by allowing user and even device level permissions/restrictions, performance monitoring at their fingertips and can even be used for motion detection at times when no one should be home.
Have more questions?
Citynet is here to answer them!
Contact Citynet Customer Support anytime, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by calling 800.881.2638.
Our friendly and knowledgeable team, located in the heart of Citynet’s Bridgeport, West Virginia corporate headquarters, is always ready to help.
