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Connection Drops
First off, let me start by saying I had a scheduled service call completed Sunday to try and correct the connection drops, and timeouts that keep rebooting my modem. The tech that did the work was very professional, and very thorough. He replaced... well, everything. The drop to house, all lines in house, everything that could be replaced. He started inside looking at the connection to the modem then said he'd take a look outside at the box for good measure.
Not more than 30 seconds from leaving the door the connection dropped and the modem reset. 5 minutes after he left for good, it happened again.
Was my modem replaced? No. I've tried 3 different modems and get the same results. The current modem has premium upstream/downstream, power, SNR specs. And when it is connected, the speed is as promised (the tech confirmed this, as-well-as the support I spoke with on the phone). It should also be noted that Cox's 2hr ping cannot be a reliable tool for diagnosis in this instance. According to the phone support agent and the tech, the log of interference and signal strength to my modem is near spotless. Before ending the call, she reset the connection on her end, but not more than an hour later the problem continued.
It's not a modem problem.
Router you say? Nope. I have my devices direct wired.
Well, surely one of the connections (wired system) between my computer or router are bad. Nope. All cables are new, and connections are clean, and seat properly.
After all this work one would think the problem would be fixed, right? I mean, they keep telling me, and others "Everything looks fine on our end" correct? after the tech spent all that time at my home I checked the logs after he had left This was the result of all his work.
Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received - T4 time out;CM-MAC=4c:60:d3:XX:XX:XX;CMTS-MAC=64:00:f1:40:1e:c61;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.0;
Now, if you don't understand that please read this.
T4 ( Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received )
Explanation: The cable modem did not receive a station maintenance opportunity in which to transmit a Ranging Request (RNG-REQ) message within the T4 timeout period (30 to 35 seconds). The cable modem is resetting its cable interface and restarting the registration process. Typically, this indicates an occasional, temporary loss of service, but if the problem persists, check for possible service outages or maintenance activity on this particular headend system. This error message is DOCSIS event message is R04.0, Ranging Request. (Source: DSLreports.com)
The technician, Kenny, made a diligent effort to fix any physical deficiencies that might cause this loss of connection, I hate say it was in vain. Nonetheless, it was appreciated. The phone support agent was very nice and useful in considering any physical troubleshooting that might help the cause. Again, it was appreciated. But confirms that outside of tearing up the entire line from the box to my home, we have reached the end of any consideration that it is a physical or hardware issue on my end.
Since September of last year this drop has progressed to happening several times a day and lasting for sometimes minutes at a time. My wife and I are dependent on a solid stream and I often work from home and this is making it literally impossible to do so. And, When it happens several time in less than an hour it becomes inexcusable. My dependency of the connection regularly drops to the point where I have to go to a coffee shop or use my cellphone's data, just to get anything done.
I do not understand why we are not getting the service we are paying for...
But I do understand this is only fixable at a higher level. Please do so.
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AP
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At the same time as posting this initial question, I sent an email to cox support with the same information. This is what they sent back.
Thank you for your recent e-mail to Cox regarding technical support for
High Speed Internet. I understand you are currently experiencing
connectivity difficulties. I am sincerely sorry for this inconvenience.
Allow me to inform you that I checked the modem signal levels, and this
unit is offline; is not receiving or sending any broadcast signal for
the Internet. This can be determine as the main cause for this drop off
issue.
To solve this matter, I can offer you to swap or replace the modem for
any of our DOCSIS 3.0 modem, dual band or gateway; for further reference
you can use this following link:
http://ww2.cox.com/residential/support/tv/article.cox?articleId={b2ec95d0-7ef9-11df-5590-000000000000}
If you decide to replace it, you will need to contact us back once you
have the new modem for us to register it and assure the signal is being
sent properly.
We hope this sufficiently responds to your inquiry. Thank you again for
contacting us via e-mail. Please let us know if we can be of further
assistance, we are 24/7.
Best regards,
Daphne P.
Cox E-Care Specialist
For online support, please visit http://www.cox.com/support/
First, I appreciate the response to my email. It was on the same day, as promised. But, I'm not sure that my problem was actually addressed in the response.
In my original post I pointed out that it is highly unlikely to be a modem issue. The response I got suggests the contrary. I just want to take the time to clear any potential confusion in the air...
Allow me to inform you that I checked the modem signal levels, and this
unit is offline; is not receiving or sending any broadcast signal for
the Internet. This can be determine as the main cause for this drop off
issue.
you say the unit is offline, as in turned off? It has been on all day, but the log is filled with time stamps showing it not being able to receive information, thus causing the reset. Unless one of the intermittent pings caught a time when the connection was dropped I'm not sure how this is a diagnosis or analysis toward a proper solution. According to the modem log it is trying to talk with Cox, but is getting no response during those moments of down time.
To solve this matter, I can offer you to swap or replace the modem for
any of our DOCSIS 3.0 modem, dual band or gateway; for further reference
you can use this following link:
http://ww2.cox.com/residential/support/tv/article.cox?articleId={b2ec95d0-7ef9-11df-5590-000000000000}
I took a look at the reference material that was suggested. It took me to a list of "Cox Preferred Devices". I assume in the response in the email you are saying that the modem I have probably does not meet preferred spec. i.e. DOCSIS 3.0 modem? The modem I have is a a Netgear-CG3000D (Standard Specification Compliant: DOCSIS 3.0). The modem I have is on the Cox Preferred Devices list. Again, please refer to my original post to see that the modem is not the problem.
If anyone has any ideas or actual solutions, please respond to these posts. We've had 8 drops today between the hours of 9am and 3:30pm alone. Please respond.
Thank you.
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ChrisL
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Chris, thank you for the reply. Can I ask you to elaborate a little? What do you mean when you say hot? What are the levels you are seeing and what is the prescribed or preferred range to be in spec? If I am going to request a service call I will need as much information as possible. Is this information that the tech will know? And, will they have a list of potential causes for making the signal 'pretty hot'? When the first tech came out he loved where the signal levels were, both before and after he shifted and tweaked and cleaned and replaced everything that he could on the site. Do you have an ideas or suggestions that goes beyond what the tech did already?
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ChrisL
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Thanks for the reply. It helps me understand some things regarding the problem at hand... This is what my modem was reporting less than 1 minute before it went down (ten minutes ago). When it rebooted, the numbers were very similar to no change. That is with only my laptop connected. Is it possible for there to be moments of power spikes to the point that it will throw it so far out of spec and cause it not to be able to receive data from Cox? I've been lucky enough to capture these levels during typical usage periods, and both moments before and after a drop. The farthest out of -10 to +10 have been +10.4dBmV.
What I posted is what I would deem to be typical with only one device connected. Can you tell me if these numbers are showing any wildly overt signs of abnormality? Enough to cause the chronic issues we are having?
...Again, I appreciate the help.
**EDIT - Something just came to my attention. when the tech came out, he removed, from what i remember, an attenuator from the connection to the modem. He said that sometimes installers put these things on and it can cause problems. I mention that because the drops before / after were no more or less consistent. Assuming that the attenuator was maybe a 5dB attenuator to get the downstream levels closer to optimal. I'm not sure that the downstream power levels are a major cause.
I looked into some literature on my specific modem
Downstream power level (Received power):
The specification for downstream power level is -15 dBmV to +15 dBmV for cable modems. A value of -7 dbmV or worse indicates a poor downstream signal path. An installation technician would aim for a value close to the optimal 0 dBmV, but a good cable modem is capable of working within the broader range of -10 to +10 dBmV
I think the technician succeeded in installing it within spec and inside operating range.
Also, last night I set a test to output all level data showing from the modem, every second. I was lucky enough that not too long after starting it, I had a drop. What I found was that both immediately before and after, there is no evidence of a spike or change at all in level ranges. Unless there is an extreme spontaneous moment that is throwing it off, I'm not yet sure if levels are a cause.
At this point I am open to every suggestion... from anyone... please let me know what you think. I've had 2 drops this morning between the hours of 6am-7am.
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ChrisL
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Chris, I just had a tech come out. He was very thorough in his approach. He addressed all the issues we've mentioned. He tested and retested the modem, and paid close attention to tuning the power levels to get as optimal as possible... when he left he was confident that the problem had been solved. That being said, we are still having connection drops. I am out of conceivable options to try. Do you or your team have any other realistic solutions to attempt? And, if it comes to it that your team can't come up with a way to fix it, what do you suggest then? Not to say we are there yet, but I would really like some resolution to this issue, one way or the other.
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ChrisL
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This tech did not, but in the past different modems have been tested by techs. There were no apparent issues when they were put in. They were all showing similar performance specs and all behaved in a similar way. I will try one more time... The one I have now is still under warranty so I will take it in and switch for a new one. This will be number 4. If the problem persists something has to be done.
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