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LATechGuy's avatar
LATechGuy
New Contributor II
2 years ago

Constant T3/4 errors

Constant outages for the last several months, T3 and T4 errors in the logs each time.  Never had issues except when maintenance was performed, then a round of cox trucks came in the area and we've had constant issues since.  Replaced the modem without improvement, Motorola worked with me for weeks and came to the resolution Cox needs to get their stuff together and fix it.  Tech came out and the only issue he saw was the signal was a little too hot, so we put a damper on the line and that didn't help anything.  

Motorola then said constant T3/T4 errors would cause a modem reboot in a last ditch effort to establish connection, something primarily with T4 errors and reprovisioning attempts.  All my attempts to reach out to Cox has been laughable, they immediately want to  reboot the modem (its always been rebooting when I call or chat) or send a tech to my home and bill me for cable replacement - brand new RG6U that worked fine for years.  Never had issues till one of their techs messed something up down the line.  

Now it reboots several times a day and night, and our work from home keeps getting interrupted. Last speed test results 38ms ping, 383.6 down 9.8 up, and 3 ms jitter. Speeds are fine till it cuts out. No complaints otherwise.

What do I need to do to get someone to fix this junk?

  • LATechGuy's avatar
    LATechGuy
    New Contributor II

    I have replaced the 1 barrel jack connecting the outside line to the inside line and still no change.  Peak SNR dropped by 0.1.  It could be back up later.  In the 9 minutes and 23 seconds uptime after changing the barrel connector, there have still been over 17 million corrections on OFDM PLC.  Guess I will consider replacing my good RG6U with more RG6U before telling them to get on their own stuff and fix it.

  • WiderMouthOpen's avatar
    WiderMouthOpen
    Esteemed Contributor

    Is the RG6 direct to the modem or are there any splitters in the house or outside? T3 are caused by ingress in the upstream. See here for more info. Also, can you post your signal levels? Should be available at 192.168.100.1 if a stand alone modem. Looking for high upstream that might be part of the T3 problem. T4 are either caused by consecutive T3's or issue with the downstream stopping. As for what you have to do, if you have ruled out inside wiring, schedule another tech. If more then 3 techs already in the last month, file a informal FCC complaint to get some attention.  

    • LATechGuy's avatar
      LATechGuy
      New Contributor II

      dBmV ranges on downstream from -0.7 to 4.5 currently, mostly in the positive 3s and 4s, SNR is between 40.1 and 42.5.  Other times I check dBmV is between 4-10. Channel 33 though, OFDM PLC at channel ID 159 has 1,333,331,855 corrected errors, and this is with a 17 hour uptime.  Refreshing the page right after, 1,340,910,085 errors.  Last tech that came by said downstream should be roughly -10 to +12 and no more or less 

      Upstream channels are 46-46.8 dBmV. That seems excessively high, but I am unsure what they're supposed to be.

      The RG6U runs from the cox box on the house to the bedroom directly, then terminates with an F type compression coupling in a faceplate, then direct to modem.  This setup has been flawless for years.  

      We had a TPLink router that suddenly kept rebooting, and when we thought the router was dying, replaced it with a Motorola, then that didn't resolve (it cleared up for a couple weeks then right back at it) and we filed warranty for the Motorola modem.  Then it was fine the whole time the modem was shipped.  

      Sometimes it's good for weeks on end without issue, then all of a sudden it's constant back to back. I got tired of dealing with the tech support and have dealt with it hoping it would clear again.  

      • Darkatt's avatar
        Darkatt
        Honored Contributor

        That setup means you have a barrel connector in the wall plate, it's a POSSIBILITY, but swap it out, and see if that helps. 

  • AAstevens's avatar
    AAstevens
    New Contributor III

    over Christmas weekend I was getting under 1 up. you are so lucky. guess I picked a horrible week for a staycation

    • LATechGuy's avatar
      LATechGuy
      New Contributor II

      It's better than nothing, I guess?  Long as you got to spend time with family, if that's something you wanted? 

      I did consider switching to a dual network router at one point since my wife gets discounts on ATT services, but that's the whole reason I'm with cox is because they would go out for weeks at a time.  Even with the discount though, $30 a month for 18/1.5 is still too much.

  • AAstevens's avatar
    AAstevens
    New Contributor III

    similar issues with my line for 3 months. I'm installing T-Mobile 5g home service tomorrow as primary since my router can handle 2 WAN connections, even though I've finally managed to schedule a tech after all this time and all of their outsourced run around that have no idea on Cox policy or US laws. I plan on degrading my Cox service as secondary WAN until they get their act together. or that fibre line that's only a couple of blocks away gets pulled. the funniest part, while I was in the T-Mobile store, I explained why I'm interested in their home connection, apparently the are required to have a hardline cable, but have had nothing but identical issues as mine for months too. it's annoying to see team viewer notifications of all the work computers I monitor, also randomly come back online, both my work and T-Mobile store are only blocks away so it's a widespread issue, yet Cox does nothing.