I know there have been several posts on this but want to ask for myself. I keep getting the phone upgrade letter. I use the jacks in my house for just old school land line. I have my own answering machine and don't need any bells and whistles. I believe I have the Cisco DPC3010 modem and connect that to my own router for wifi. From what I am reading I have to upgrade my internet modem to one with a phone jack and plug that into an outlet to distribute dial tone to the rest of the house. My problem with that is that I do not have a phone jack in the room that we use for the office. We only have a phone jack in the master bedroom, living room, and kitchen. What happens in this case, and is it not possible to just continue the way I am?

Hi KAJ, Migrating from a Circit switch (NIU) to a Packet switch (eMTA) will require a technician appointment. The technician will install an MTA inside the home for your phone service. The phone service would come from the Telephone port on the back of the MTA. You may connect a phone direct to the Modem's telephone port, or see if the modem can send the phone service through the inner wiring in your house by plugging a phone cord from the modem to the telephone jack on your wall.

Thanks for the info but that totally disrupts my setup. I do not need or want the house phone in the room where the internet connection and cable modem is. That is a home office that uses a different IP based phone. So there is no option to just leave things as they are and continue using the phone lines in the wall?? The other problem with this is safety. Right now one of the best things still about even having a land line is the fact its always powered. In a power outage a person can plug in an old style push button or rotary phone and they will be powered and work. This would take that away.

I am in the situation as KAJ. Modem coaxle is in one part of the house and nearest phone jack is in another part. Even further away is the NIU. There is NO physical way to get the telephone line from the back of the new eMTA modem without cutting through walls / ceilings to a existing phone jack, and I will NOT allow Cox to cut open my house. I have already wasted hours attempting to get anyone at Cox to answer just one question: When will they rip the NIU off the side of my house and my phone will go dead? NO ONE will answer that question. So, I will keep my phone until Cox kills it, then I will switch service providers.

@KAJ, You can plug the main cordless phone base into the modem and then use cordless phones throughout the house. However, this could become an issue if you are dealing with a large home and need a lot of phones throughout the home. The only other option would be to send out a tech to reinstall where the phone modem is at in the home. Thanks, Allan - Cox Support Forums Moderator.

I just spoke with someone at Cox (after getting my FINAL REMINDER notice today). They can't tell me when service will stop with the old system. They said my fax should work. They told me to call my alarm company about the new phone system and didn't know if it would work (I had to go to Level 2 support to find that out). I don't think they understood the need to rewire my house to support the service change from outside to inside. They just told me their technicians are trained to do this. My existing Cornerstone NIU is inside of a shed and they said the tech would have to decide if the new unit could go there. They tried to tell me my existing unit is powered from my house and so it wouldn't be different that the new unit is powered from the house. I corrected them that power to my NIU comes from Cox. They don't seem to understand that not being powered by Cox and requiring a battery that I have to pay for is a downgrade. They're trying to tell me that the 7" x 6" x 3" unit is small. They did encourage me to go to the Cox store to see one (that's about a 20 min drive away for me). Cox: what a mess this is.

Phone upgrade Letter | Cox Community

22 Replies

ColleenD
Moderator
7 years ago
KAJ,

The installer will ensure the eMTA is installed in the best place to support your service and activate the jacks you currently use. Just be clear with the agent who set's up the appointment on what your needs are and then discuss everything with the tech before the work starts. We'll get you taken care of.

I can understand there being some hesitation to change, but this equipment upgrade will allow us to be able to provide our customers with new features and service enhancements.
ECB
New Contributor
7 years ago
ColleenD said:
KAJ,

The installer will ensure the eMTA is installed in the best place to support your service and activate the jacks you currently use. Just be clear with the agent who set's up the appointment on what your needs are and then discuss everything with the tech before the work starts. We'll get you taken care of.

I can understand there being some hesitation to change, but this equipment upgrade will allow us to be able to provide our customers with new features and service enhancements.

Does Cox have a simple line diagram of what this update connection entails?
DustinP
Moderator
7 years ago
ECB,

https://www.cox.com/content/dam/cox/residential/support/internet/print_media/Self-Install_Instructions_3212_Non-WiFi_Telephone_and_Internet_Modem.pdf is a link to a PDF from our website showing a basic line diagram of a Telephony MTA.
Fax_and_Digital
New Contributor
7 years ago
Thank you for the link! Looks like it may require a combination of changes to make it work for everyone! It still does not look like it will allow a smooth connection to my printer/fax and is a complete conversion to digital without any allowance for analog point-to-point confidentiality for those of us that keep a connection to work at home. eFax etc. is good for "faxing" recipes but does not provide solid facsimile service for most purposes.

I am I correct that any fax use is going to also be digital in this system?

Serious issues with this conversion.
CarolLM
Former Moderator
7 years ago
Hi there, send us an email to cox.help@cox.com or a Facebook private message or a Twitter direct message with your complete address and account name to continue this discussion. Thanks,
aln
New Contributor
7 years ago

Back on 6 May 2017 CarolM (Cox Support Forums Moderator) mentioned on a different post (it's locked, so cannot reply there) http://forums.cox.com/forum_home/phone_forum/f/6/t/17648.aspx :

"If you currently have a different modem that you're using for your Internet service, you may use one or the other for your Internet service, otherwise to use both modem devices you'd have to pay for an additional line of Internet Service."

Does that mean:

If I continue to use my current modem for internet service (make no change to my current hookup), and install the new Cisco modem only for telephone (now I'm using both modems) I will have to pay for an additional line of Internet Service?

or

If I continue to use my current modem for internet service (make no change to my current hookup), and hook up the new Cisco modem for both telephone AND Internet Service (use the internet jack on the router) I will have to pay for an additional line of Internet Service?
Becky
Moderator
7 years ago
Hi ALN,

If you want to continue using your current modem for internet service, that's fine. We can provide a digital phone modem, or eMTA, for no additional charge. While this device can support both phone and internet service, it can also function as a standalone voice port. The ideal location for the eMTA is near a power outlet, cable outlet, and phone jack in any room of your home. Go to www.cox.com/updatemyphone for further details.
Fax_and_Digital
New Contributor
7 years ago
I will contact support directly, but this is essential information that all of us facing the conversion need to know early to allow time to adjust, rewire, or find another vendor. Cox seems to have not noticed the increasing number of remote workers that need continued use of a true facsimile (fax) machine that is analog, not digital. Also, in my condo complex that is not that old all 102 units have cable delivered in the living room area and phone service in the kitchen. Major rewiring will be required to connect the new modem to both cable and in-house wiring without even addressing the facsimile issue on a second line.
LatitiaS
Moderator
7 years ago
Hi Fax and Digital Phone,

Feedback is how we grow as a company, and we encourage it whether it be positive or negative. I am happy to say that the conversion would not require any rewiring in your home. The modem, as previously mentioned is required for the telephone. Should you wish to continue using your current modem for data, that is completely fine. The modem has two telephone jacks on the back so one could plug up to two lines into the device (phone,fax machine). On the other hand, our technician is able to run a line from one of the phone jacks on the modem and connect the other end to any phone jack in the home. This would activate all the remaining phone jacks in the home. Hope this helps.
Fax_and_Digital
New Contributor
7 years ago
Hi LatitiaS,

I am not sure your reply fully answers my concerns. I note that you say that "one could plug up to two lines into the device (phone, fax machine)." I have two independent phone numbers in my condo for phone and fax. I am glad no rewiring is required but the cable connection is in the living room and the phone jack to activate house lines is in the kitchen at a great distance from where the modem would connect. If not rewired physically are you suggesting a loose wire running into a separate room? Our complex units are all similarly designed.

Again, I currently have the phone, cable, and Internet package. I have two separate phone lines, one for fax and one for voice. The more questions I ask I am left unsure of how this could possibly work!

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Phone upgrade Letter

22 Replies

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