New Contributor II
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7 Messages
What is a normal amount of packet loss I should expect with COX internet?
I recently had cable internet installed to my home. From the get go I have been experiencing packet loss. I don't know what the most trusted test of this is but I've tried several including cmd ping and pigplotter. The results usually range from 0-5% with spikes over 30%. The dslreports.com smoke ping uses 3 servers to ping your ip. After 12 hours of testing I'm currently getting 4% average loss from California, 5.5% average loss from Michigan, and 7% average loss from Kansas. Voip is useless, online gaming is virtually unplayable, and the amount of page reloads I need to do while surfing the web seems a bit much. My modem is a brand new Motorola mb8600 with normal looking signal levels. (per the cox employee that looked at them). My first tech is coming out this afternoon and may very well solve the issue but at what point/packet loss percentage is Cox going to just say "deal with it"? Is this the norm???
sjo102784
Contributor
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72 Messages
7 years ago
According to the latest release from the FCC, Cox's typical levels of packet loss are ~0.1%. This is a typical amount of packet loss for a cable provider:
https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/measuring-broadband-america/measuring-fixed-broadband-report-2016
However, they seem to have either serious hardware or software issues with their infrastructure. In my area of Phoenix, during peak times I'm seeing anywhere from 8-30% packet loss - which renders my internet unusable. This has been occurring for over six months and still continues. I'm seeing the exact same issues as you.
I also have the exact same modem, and I've cycled through three different new models to rule out issues with my hardware. Went through four routers as well, all brand new - same symptoms persisted through all hardware replacement. Cox replaced my entire RG6 line from my modem to the nearest neighborhood node. They refuse to do anything else and say that my experiencing 8-30% packet loss during peak times of utilization is what qualifies as "best effort service" to a residential account. This is all while hard wired.
I would advise contacting the FCC and filing a complaint if this issue persists.
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motox
New Contributor II
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7 Messages
7 years ago
My internet was fine all weekend but by yesterday afternoon it was back to having high packet loss. Here is a ping plotter screen shot to the cmts from my home. Notice the times at the bottom right hand of the screen.
https://imgur.com/ZjdPMhn
I went two doors down the street from my house and took this from their modem (using the same laptop and the same Ethernet cable):
https://imgur.com/a4ysAZb
I then ran home and got my modem, came back, and plugged it into the connection 2 doors down the street and got this:
https://imgur.com/3H12tWi
I then took my modem and went back to my house, plugged it in and got this:
https://imgur.com/Uw3DlMS
I mean, there is still the smallest possibility that my modem is having issues but I think I've shown that there seems to be a connection issue with the line running from the street, down my driveway along three telephone poles and then to my house (this line was literally just installed). I mean the coax is only in my house for 5 ft and has only one connector. I don't think that is the issue. How do I get someone to come and check the lines up on the telephone poles? The first tech that showed up put his ladder up on the line and checked the one end but didn't see anything wrong. I suspect he might have wiggled something while he was up there because the connection greatly improved after the visit. The packet loss is back though. Do I need to have another tech visit to my home before someone checks the line on the telephone poles? The problem is that the issue may go away or not even be evident if the line isn't checked for a long enough period or while it is not having issues. I mean it was fine all weekend. Currently, my ping plotter averages (1 ping per second over 10 minutes) anywhere from 1.5% to 7% and probably higher.
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motox
New Contributor II
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7 Messages
7 years ago
The second tech was here this past Friday. He replaced the drop but said he was still getting packet loss at the tap. It was my understanding that he would be submitting a line maintenance request. How long does that usually take for a bucket truck to get sent out?
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motox
New Contributor II
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7 Messages
7 years ago
The bucket truck showed up on Monday afternoon but it was before I got home from work so I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I was still seeing 1-2% loss intermittently that afternoon. Tuesday evening there was a few hours it was well over 4% and on Wednesday there were times when it was +20%. It is always intermittent but can last from a few minutes to a few hours. The last technician left me a card with his number so I called him back and he was surprised when I told him I was still seeing issues. He said that they would be taking a look at the node and would keep me in the loop. I emailed cox and they just want to send another technician. The funny thing about it is when the technician was here the dsl line I was previously using (and currently am still using) went out. After calling them, having a technician come out, and getting a new modem my dsl internet is better than ever. Go figure.
Anyway, I've been researching what could be causing my issues and it sounds like if there is enough ingress on the line to cause me to have packet loss then everyone else on the node should be having the same issue. Is that how it works? Is everyone else having the same packet loss but not noticing or caring? When I went and checked my neighbors line (in the photos above) they didn't seem to be having the same packet loss as me. Was it just a coincidence or can ingress affect some more than others? Does COX have some sort of ingress monitoring they do?
It does seem to be correlated with the temperature. It isn't exactly correlated but I notice on days it is colder that the issues seem worse. It also seems to come in gradually and go out gradually starting with latency spikes that get worse and worse until it turns into packet loss that gets worse and worse. Could it be the brand new hardline that was put in is having problems? What is the likelihood of that?
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motox
New Contributor II
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7 Messages
7 years ago
Not a good day for the internet yesterday:
https://imgur.com/2NUgQm0
The drop is when I drove across town and did a ping plotter from my parents modem. Here is their results:
https://imgur.com/d3NZJSH
Drove back to my house and got this:
https://imgur.com/QUmGhIR
So it would appear that I am not the only one having issues. She noticed she was having problems earlier in the week and called in. Of course she gets the classic response of "it is your modem". I can't be 100% sure who is affected because I don't have access to the data but it bothers me when people have the same issue but are being told different stories. I understand that it can be costly to maintain a cable system but that is part of the service people are paying for correct?
As of this morning:
https://imgur.com/nmzbm6M
Besides waiting for it to warm up and hoping it gets better, what techniques does COX employ to find and fix ingress? Assuming that is the potential issue. Does anyone know specifics?
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