Can I do custom speeds?

Hey all,

I've been a Cox customer since 2023.  I started with Gigablast, and the Cox Panoramic Gateway.  I had stable service for about a year, and then started experiencing random issues into 2024.  The first issue was when the Panoramic gateway failed to update it's firmware, and a tech had to come out to force it.  Aside from that, I've had random speed drops in download / upload speeds (more so than usual peak time fluctuations, and when it was the upload, it would cause the connection to reset resulting in no internet.). They are in the process of laying a new line to my apartment from the tap, as the last tech out said that's what needed to be done to completely resolve the issue.  However, I've been taking notes on my own since I've had some formal computer and networking training, and know some of what to look for, and somewhat, what's normal behavior, and what's not.  I just haven't officially been trained in cable networking e.g. coaxial cable networks.

Anyway, the notes I have taken are as follows:

The overall origin of the instability started after Cox upgraded their upload speeds from 35 Mbps to 100 Mbps on the Gigablast and higher plans.  I should also mention that I purchased an ARRIS S33, to do away with the modem rental fee, and I trust ARRiS as a modem manufacturer and this was on the certified modems list  supporting up to the top 2Gbps tier.

My other observations include the gap in speed drops for upload / download:

On Gigablast, typical speeds when working correctly were between 890 to 940 for download and up to 115 for upload. Prior to the upgrade 35 Mbps for upload.  When dropping downloads could go as low as 300 Mbps but usually didn't go below 600 Mbps, uploads could go as low as 40, and that's when the internet connection dropped.

Usually when a tech came out it would stay fixed for about 2 weeks and drop again.  Unscrewing coaxial cable and reconnect it would restore things for a bit before problems again.  I did som reading on the CoxCommunity Reddit discussions and saw others mention similar issues after the upgrade, some having a home vs an apartment.

So I decided to test a theory,  I dropped my plan down to the 500 Mbps plan with 50 Mbps up and 500 Mbps down.  i usually get around 596 Mbps down and about 57.0 up on average now.  I've also noticed the connection has remained stable since doing this.  However, they are still in the process of doing a new line as I told the man from Cox construction to go ahead so we can rule that out and he has apartment management approval to do the new line.

So after giving a rundown of the situation, here is the question, can I go back to Gigabit and request only 50 Mbps upload instead of the standard package of 100+ to see if I can keep gigabit downloads and remain stable?  500 Mbps down isn't hurting me at all to stay here with what I currently do, but I invested over $300 in my own equipment to take advantage of next generation speeds, but I cant do that if the connection is going to remain unstable if I take Cox's defaults for the package, or until they finish the line replacement.

Thanks for reading and if anyone can offer suggestions let me know.

Also, just to include this, the 2Gbps plan works with my modem and my new router + the usb 3.0 to 2.5 Ethernet adapter i got to connect to the iMac.  It's just the connection to cox that makes it unreliable right now.