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Anesti33's avatar
Anesti33
Contributor
3 months ago

Cox Mobile and access to Cox Metro WiFi Hotspots

Greetings,

Last week I returned my Panoramic Wifi modem to the Cox Store. They explained that they would be forced to disconnect my Home Internet Service with this return and without any replacement equipment. I was sad to lose access to Cox Metro WiFi Hotspots (CMWFH), but it was a necessary step.

Now I subscribe to Cox Mobile with a Pixel phone issued by the same. This morning when the Home termination became effective, I sort of panicked about the CMWFH access going away. So I contacted Cox Technical Support by chat and voice telephone.

Peyton was patient and spoke clearly about what is and isn't available with my current Cox Mobile wireless service. But I also needed to read between the lines and discern why the confusion, because I was reading web pages that seemed to contradict this official explanation.

So here's what it seems to be: the CMWFH access is advertised with all Cox Mobile wireless plans. CMWFH is "available" to subscribers like me, who only have the Mobile plans; we can connect to those hotspots around town, and wherever a business or customer has opted-in to share bandwidth with other Cox customers.

However, Cox Mobile subscribers would not enjoy free unlimited access to those CMWFH. Peyton explains this free access (up to 3 devices, according to support web page) is only available to those customers who maintain their Home Internet connection with modem and cable into the wall.

Therefore I conclude that the advertised CMWFH for Cox Mobile customers is a marketing line item. It refers to the access that any person could connect and have a Free Trial session, pay as they go (per session), or use a coupon/code to connect. The Cox Customer Sign-In for free and unmetered WiFi wouldn't be included with Cox Mobile, of course: Cox Mobile plans offer Mobile Data plans and users of phones who leave home should be using Mobile Data on their plan, and not leeching off other customers' bandwidth.

See, the other confusion for me was: I thought Cox owned and operated most of all CMWFH access points, such as on top of a utility pole, or installed on a public right-of-way, but indeed it seems they are all "customer equipment", including some home consumers who can activate this "CoxWifi" SSID to share bandwidth with strangers.

So now it's making sense to me, and why Cox Communications Tech Support wouldn't be troubleshooting or taking responsibility for CMWFH, since it is a "federated mesh" composed of their customer's devices, rather than Cox-owned-operated premises and hardware. It's also impossible for anyone to "police" the SSID names, so for security reasons, connecting to an open-WiFi-SSID at your own risk, even if it should display official Cox sign-in and logo, is untrusted network in the middle. 

So wow, it's been 9+ years I've been a Cox Home Internet customer, and enjoying the CMWFH service in many ZIP codes, and only now do I figure out how it's more like Amazon's mesh nets than I had imagined. And I'm also learning how Android 15 is coping with only Mobile Data and no WiFi, because I had all settings oriented to avoid metered Mobile Data, and now there are dozens of apps and system settings to modify so that it will operate properly without that WiFi which I depended on at home, from my router, from my neighbors, and from strangers on the street.

 

Thank you, Peyton.

  • ChrisJ2's avatar
    ChrisJ2
    Moderator
    3 months ago

    Hi Anesti33, it sounds like you really miss having internet at home. You aren’t required to use the Panoramic Wifi modem when you subscribe to Cox Internet. You can use your own modem as long as it is on the list of certified modems at www.cox.com/modems. Maybe you’ll reconsider? As a Cox Internet subscriber, you’ll be able to continue enjoying CoxWiFi hotspots (www.cox.com/hotspots) when you’re on the go. Cox Mobile WiFi is not the same service. Cox Mobile WiFi uses SIM-based authentication to connect Cox Mobile customers to Cox hotspots in select areas at no additional charge. The Cox Mobile SSID provides a secure, encrypted connection exclusively for Cox Mobile customers on their Cox Mobile devices. Your Cox Mobile device will automatically detect and connect to the Cox Mobile SSID when it is within range. This provides you with free data and seamless connectivity, with speeds similar to your 4G cellular connection. You can connect to Cox Mobile WiFi by going to your device's WiFi settings and selecting the Cox Mobile SSID. You can learn more about Cox Mobile Wifi at https://www.cox.com/residential/support/cox-hotspots-with-enhanced-wifi-for-cox-mobile-customers.html I apologize for the confusion regarding these two Wifi services. If you have additional questions, feel free to email my team at Cox.Help@cox.com.