CHANNNELS TEMPORARILY OFF AIR

Much to the moderators' chagrin, this is a nationwide problem.  See http://forums.cox.com/forum_home/tv_forum/f/4/t/411.aspx

Unfortunately, we need to prove it so they can understand.

If you're affected with temporarily offline channels, where do you live?

I live in Fairfax, Virginia

We live in Norfolk

I have frequent "Channel off air" problems in Macon GA.

If the problem is with just one TV I'd say the likely cause is a problem with the box itself or the signal to the outlet.  If you've tried resetting it already swapping it out is a possible solution however if the issue lies with the cable outlet itself it may be necessary for a technician to come out and troubleshoot further.

I live in Arkansas. I constantly get tiling or channel off the air

Constant problems with offline channels here in Irvine, CA.  Tech Support is WORTHLESS!!!!!

Had the same problem too in Laguna Niguel, CA. I restarted the cable box and it was fine again. But it's troubling that this is a widespread event. 

Further follow-up to the "temporarily off air" situation, Cox has the nerve to charge me a $69 service call fee to come out and access their improperly working equipment which still is not working.

It appears a fee was charged because the issue was believed to be inside the home.  If only one box is impacted that would be a plausible conclusion.  We can try swapping out the box to see if that helps.  If that does work we could definitley take another look at any service fees charged to the account.  Do you happen to know if this cable outlet is installed in the wall or one that a Cox technician installed?

Cox couldn't fix the problem and charged you $69?  That's not ethical...but doesn't surprise me.  If you call the Billing Dept, they might rescind the charge.  They probably have an in-house policy to unethically charge you but will rescind the charge if you complain about it.  They're counting on the suckers to just pay blindly pay the charge and make money.

If they don't rescind it, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and on your local gov't website.  Most states have webpages for commercial complaints.  For example, Fairfax County is fairfaxcounty.gov/consumer/complaints.htm.

I still believe temporarily offline channels is with Cox...not with subscribers' equipment.

Any work preformed on a service call is warrantied for 30 days.  We'd be more than happy to have a technician come back out and follow up if the problem still persists.

I live in Las Vegas and am having the same problem with channels temporarily off the air.  I talked to Cox CS a couple of nights ago and they had me disconnect my cable and DVR box.  Now more channels are off air and I've disconnected the cable/DVR twice with the same result; some channels are on, others are off.  I am picking up a new box tomorrow and hopefully that will fix it.

I wish that all those that complain of channels being temporarily off the air would report what make/model set-top box they are using. Those that have another box/TV that is OK at the same time should list the make/model of the GOOD set-top box as well. When I switched from my 8240HDC DVR running Passport, I NEVER had this problem. But, as soon as I "upgraded" to a 8642HDC DVR running TRIO, these "temporary off the air" became daily or weekly occurrences. After replacing old splitters and coax cables, these occurrences became just once per month issues. I'm convinced it's a signal level issue (different boxes have different thresholds), but the techs say it's not.

My new cable box is the Cisco Explorer 4642HDC...although I haven't had offline channels since July 18, 2012.  I don't feel the problem is with our equipment.  I feel the problem is with the Cox network.

My equipment is secure and not susceptible to failure.  I store my cable box and modem in an entertainment stand.  I tightened all connectors…wall plate, splitter, cable box, modem, TV…with a 7/16 coaxial-cable wrench.  I coiled, tie-wrapped and routed all cables under the entertainment stand or snug against the wall.  From my wall plate to the TV, there are no variables.

Since I have no variables in my home and I always receive a signal, the only question is the consistency of the signal strength.  The circuits and nodes may be green, operational or active on the Cox monitoring software, but the circuits might be experiencing noise, interference, distortion or bit synchronization errors.

Cox needs to constantly assess signal quality.  If they detect errors, aggressively troubleshoot the source.  If Cox is waiting for a "large group of people" to report offline channels before troubleshooting, that tells me Cox is passively managing its circuits and nodes.  It shouldn't matter if offline channels are affecting three or ten thousand subscribers, each of us is paying for 100 percent availability.

This is a network problem…particularly a network management problem.

UPDATE TO MY JANUARY 14, 2013 POST:  I exchanged my old DVR for a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8240 model.  I still have channels off the air.  Also, this new box will start recording when nothing is scheduled.  This is so frustrating and I swear if Prism was available in my area, I would switch!