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williamroy3's avatar
williamroy3
New Contributor
12 years ago

CT - Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out;

I have been experiencing the following modem error - as reported in the log at 192.168.100.1 - for about two months:

Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out;

The visible symptom of the error is loss of connectivity for about a minute as the modem struggles to regain the internet connection. This is despite a very strong, clean signal being measured from the pole and throughout the house by four technicians.

This error obviously duplicates those being reported here by other customers widely spread out across the US, so I wanted to document the troubleshooting steps and technician interventions that have taken place to date - in the hope of moving the issue forward.

Bottom line: After two months of extensive investigation, there has been no change and no positive diagnosis. I still experience T3 disconnects daily. This issue is with Cox, and not with anything between the street pole and my computer. 

For reference, I have experience this error with three modems: Motorola 6180, 6121, and Cisco 3010

Troubleshooting and technician steps, in order:

  • Tech #1 reads signals at the box on the house, says they are fine, replaces in-home 3-way spitter in the basement since existing one was "old." No effect on T3 disconnects.
  • Customer bypasses all house wiring and connects modem by short length of new coaxial cable directly to the box on the house. No effect on T3 disconnects.
  • Customer purchases TWO new, Cox-approved modems and connects each one separately to the box on the house. No effect on the T3 disconnects - timeouts observed on both new modems.
  • Customer tries running system without Wi-Fi router - no effect.
  • Tech #2 listens to me recount the troubleshooting steps above, takes a picture of the modem's log screen to send to regional/area supervisor, etc - no additional response, no effect on T3 timouts.
  • Tech #3 again reads signals at the box on the house and assures me they are strong (which I know they are.) Tech installs a frequency "trap" on one modem to limit any possible signal interference. No effect - T3 errors still being observed.
  • Customer escalates issue with Cox - senior field line technician called to the house. Line tech replaces box on side of house, line from pole to box, and short run of interior cable from box to modem. Tech extensively tests incoming signal as well as in-house wiring for interference, and notes that all signals in and  out of house are remarkably clean and strong. T3 timeout error continue the same day. 
At this point, there is nothing more to be done inside the house, as the senior tech acknowledged. The issue now enters the realm of mysterious, hard-to-track problem that will likely never be addressed. 
Thoughts, anyone?


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