Forum Discussion

aspcoxuser's avatar
aspcoxuser
New Contributor
6 years ago

Internet cuts out frequently

Is there a reason that cox internet service seems to degrade periodically? When I complain the problem is resolved for a while and then the cycle begins again. Lately I cannot seem to stream a movie or do anything more demanding than check my mails. I am instructed to reset my modem again and again. Is this normal?

19 Replies

  • divagrrl's avatar
    divagrrl
    New Contributor

    They have 15 million excuses & nothing works!  My sporadic internet connection happens Monday through Friday during 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.  I've replaced my Cox Panoramic modem.  Been told it's because the kids are out of school & are on the internet (umm, it was 2:00 p.m. - kids don't get out of school in my town until 3:45 p.m.  I think we have 2 high schoolers, 2 middle school & a few elementary aged kids), there's too many people in your neighborhood on the internet (I live in the country!  I have maybe 20 neighbors.  I explained this to the tech & informed him that when I lived in town there were over 100 houses in my neighborhood & my Cox internet worked good there!), I've needed some doodad connected to my modem, the next tech said it was because of that doodad it wasn't working.  Maybe your dog chewed a wire - my dog is old & has no teeth!  These fools have no freaking idea what's wrong with it.  I'm currently having to shut down my wifi during the day & plug my modem directly into my computer. (Oh did I mention I work from home - so this creates a major problem with my employer)  My only other option in our area is overpriced DSL.  I truthfully think the wiring from the pole to my house needs replaced.

    • Becky's avatar
      Becky
      Moderator
      Hi Divagrrl, several of your modem metrics are outside of our preferred range. You may be correct about the drop from your home to the pole needing to be replaced. I suggest we schedule another service call. My team can schedule this for you, if you like! Email cox.help@cox.com with your full name, address, and a link to this thread. -Becky, Cox Support Forums Moderator
  • PWCMD's avatar
    PWCMD
    New Contributor II

    I have a similar problem that Cox has responded to in interesting fashion.  My internet goes out every couple of weeks.  About a month or two ago the chat support person said she had checked my service and had determined that my problem was a bad Cable Modem.  She said she would quickly send me a new Panoramic modem that would completely solve my problem and provide me much better service for only $11 or so per month for the rest of my life.  I declined since I replaced the ancient Cox modem only a couple of years ago with a very good Motorola Surfboard Docsis 3.0 modem and said I would buy one myself the following day.  Miraculously internet resumed about five minutes later. Since then I have received a couple more letters from Cox suggesting that I need to "upgrade" to their new modem.  Then my internet suddenly goes out again.  The Cox App indicates I have no problem.  I reset the modem and nothing happens but after several hours off my internet suddenly returns for another week or two. If I persist with Cox they insist that there is no problem up to my home and I will have to pay them to come in and search for the cause of the outage.  I have had multiple other problems with Cox service where they attempted to tell me that a problem on their end was actually on my end.  Frankly I don't trust them anymore and am unwilling to believe any explanation they offer.  But that leaves me with the recurring loss of internet problem.

    • Becky's avatar
      Becky
      Moderator
      Hi PWCMD, based on the description of the letters you are receiving from Cox, it sounds like you are using a cable modem that no longer supports the speed of the internet to which you subscribe. This happens occasionally due to network improvements and speed increases. For example, a DOCSIS 3.0 (8x4) cable modem may have been a great choice for the Cox Ultimate tier five years ago, but the device is unable to handle the current speeds of the Ultimate tier. DOCSIS 3.0 (8x4) devices comfortably support consistent speeds of up to 150 Mbps. In order to support consistent speeds of up to 300 Mbps, a DOCSIS 3.0 device (or DOCSIS 3.1 device) with 16x4 channels (or greater) is recommended. -Becky, Cox Support Forums Moderator
      • PWCMD's avatar
        PWCMD
        New Contributor II

        Our house was built in 1980.  When high speed internet became available we were persuaded to pay for the faster speed but after months of inability to get those faster speeds (yet being charged for them) we were told that a simple test performed remotely by Cox showed that our wiring from 1980 did not support speeds that fast.  I was advised I needed a Docsis 3.0 modem and rather than rent I purchased a Motorola  SURFboard SB6141 modem which the Cox representative assured me was fine.  I also cut back to a slower internet speed supposedly compatible with our wiring.  Then another household member went to the Cox Store to exchange an old cable box that wasn't working and was persuaded that we had to increase our internet speed to go along with the new Contour box.  I did not insist that we not pay for what our wiring could not support and we have paid for the faster speed which we do not get.  We currently average between 220-280 Mbs download and about 31.6 upload.  I cannot afford to rewire the house based on one person's claim that that is the problem.  Most of the time, when we receive internet service, we are able to do what we need with our current speed internet service.  If I had some confidence that replacing my Docsis 3.0 with a 3.1 modem would keep my internet from failing every couple of weeks I might do that but I do NOT think my modem is responsible for several hours of no internet periodically.

  • Hi Aspcoxuser, your modem is reporting very poor upstream levels. This is something a field tech can resolve during a service call. Any issues outside your home are our responsibility to resolve and will not result in a service call fee. If you'd like my team to schedule a service call for you, email us at cox.help@cox.com. Be sure to include your full name, address, and a link to this page in your email. -Becky, Cox Support Forums Moderator
  • mlp120's avatar
    mlp120
    New Contributor

    Mine cuts out about 2-3 times per hour. Replaced modem with a new Motorola MG-7550 5G which is on their list. I have replaced the coax cables as well and it still does the same thing. Getting frustrated as I use this for my business to do contracts. I have to rely on my Verizon 8+ and use the hotspot to get work done. If I am going to rely on my phone then I might as well drop COX internet service altogether. For over 15 years I never had a problem, now since I cancelled my cable TV I have constant issues. I keep hearing the same excuses and reset my modem by powering off at least 15 times a day. I constantly have them resend a signal to reset modem and nothing is working. If I can't get this resolved soon I am going to look at other options.

    • ColleenD's avatar
      ColleenD
      Moderator
      Mlp120,

      I can only imagine how frustrated you're feeling. Having, or not having cable should have no real impact on the function of your internet. I was able to locate your account based on your forum credentials and have noticed that your levels are fluctuating and the modem is reporting a high number of power adjustments. Do you have a signal booster installed? Also, Does your modem connect directly to the cable outlet? If there is a splitter on the line between the modem and the wall please try bypassing it.

      Colleen D. Cox Support Forums Moderator
      • mlp120's avatar
        mlp120
        New Contributor

        No powers booster attached.  No splitter used. Cable from wall direct to modem. What is the next step?

  • seaver42's avatar
    seaver42
    New Contributor

    Ever since we cancelled the TV and PHONE service we have been having the same issue periodically as well, goign on about 3 months now.  I get speeds up to 30MBPS then I will test again and it is as bad as 3MBPS.  Even on occasion like today around 1:05PM my modem will randomly be doing a restart cycle like COX is monitoring and doing a reboot.  Sometimes the WI-FI will also just stop working and the only way to reconnect is to reboot the laptop or reboot the modem.  Modem is plugged directly into the wall and has the same speed issues on the WIRED part too.  This also occurs if I am directly in front of the modem for WI-FI.  Once we move I dont plan on using COX again for anything, we are just stuck with them because FIOS is not here, yet....

    • seaver42's avatar
      seaver42
      New Contributor

      here are my tracecert logs now that the internet is acting up, shows high latency...

      Tracing route to cox.com [45.60.49.167]
      over a maximum of 30 hops:

      1 110 ms 23 ms 56 ms 192.168.0.1
      2 * * * Request timed out.
      3 336 ms 193 ms 28 ms ip68-100-4-41.dc.dc.cox.net [68.100.4.41]
      4 24 ms 264 ms 609 ms ip68-100-2-73.dc.dc.cox.net [68.100.2.73]
      5 545 ms 22 ms 50 ms ashbbprj01-ae2.rd.as.cox.net [68.1.0.242]
      6 106 ms 799 ms 98 ms lag-196.bear1.Washington111.Level3.net [4.31.174.61]
      7 * 1065 ms * ae-1-11.bear2.Washington111.Level3.net [4.69.210.178]
      8 19 ms 91 ms 117 ms 4.14.98.218
      9 79 ms 326 ms 12 ms 45.60.49.167

      Trace complete.


      Tracing route to cox.com [45.60.49.167]
      over a maximum of 30 hops:

      1 14 ms 55 ms 57 ms 192.168.0.1
      2 * * * Request timed out.
      3 48 ms 83 ms 31 ms ip68-100-4-41.dc.dc.cox.net [68.100.4.41]
      4 36 ms 57 ms 160 ms ip68-100-2-73.dc.dc.cox.net [68.100.2.73]
      5 268 ms 112 ms 30 ms ashbbprj01-ae2.rd.as.cox.net [68.1.0.242]
      6 * 364 ms 359 ms lag-196.bear1.Washington111.Level3.net [4.31.174.61]
      7 * 181 ms 81 ms ae-1-11.bear2.Washington111.Level3.net [4.69.210.178]
      8 83 ms 91 ms 102 ms 4.14.98.218
      9 630 ms 1488 ms 424 ms 45.60.49.167

      Trace complete.

      • DavidA2's avatar
        DavidA2
        Former Moderator
        Seaver42, please email us at cox.help@cox.com and link this forum and your service address. We would like to look into this further.

        David
        Cox Support Forums Moderator
  • CTMS's avatar
    CTMS
    New Contributor II

    Sorry for the problems you are having.  But, it is very nice to see I am not the only customer with this issue. Cox sends someone or 2 out to replace cables  (lost count how many times) and......  I have been told the problem is not at my house, they are correct, I agree! For 17 year you get the same answer and no resolution.   For reference AT&T speeds are substantially lower, however the throughput is far greater. Unbelievable isn't it?  I have demonstrated the claim to techs (when they send a Cox empl).  

    • Becky's avatar
      Becky
      Moderator
      Hi CTMS, I'm glad you have a service call scheduled. Please let us know how the appointment goes! -Becky, Cox Support Forums Moderator
  • CoryRay's avatar
    CoryRay
    New Contributor

    ...and 6 years later, I've had similar experiences. It is good for a week or maybe a month or two. Then I'll have a day where it cuts out multiple times. Reset the modem and router again and again and again. My equipment is new and fast. NEED MORE RELIABLE SERVICE!!

    • ChrisJ2's avatar
      ChrisJ2
      Moderator

      Hi, Cory. I'm really sorry about the issues you've had with your service and I'd like to help. Please email us the physical address and any other pertinent information to Cox.Help@cox.com with your name and a copy of this forum message. We really want your service to work as intended.