Forum Discussion

ZapperOne's avatar
ZapperOne
New Contributor III
2 years ago

How do I change the WiFi channels in the Panoramic Gateway, re: range and latency issues?

So, how do I change from the channels "1" & "44" in the admin portal to channels that are less used by the dozens around me where I live, all using the exact same channels?

Do we all really have to go out and buy our own Routers to get to good clear Wifi Channels?  The more crowded a channel the more obvious the affects are on range and latency, both issues I'm haveing problems with.

Both my 2.4GHz is locked on channel-1, and my 5.0GHz is locked on channel-44 and are way too cluttered by too many people using them and therefore not performing as I need them to.

What is the point of COX locking the settings in the admin portal?  This is a waste of good options to speed up our service from COX.

Thanks for any help with this.

2023-10-26

  • ZapperOne's avatar
    ZapperOne
    New Contributor III

    Typically I find the channels by logging in to what's called the "administration portal" for the gateway.  In the Cox WiFi app I don't think you can see the channels.

    So you would type the following address into a desktop/laptop browser that is connected to your gateway:

    192.168.0.1

    If you've never done this before, be careful, you can screw-up your network.  If you get locked out, or something else that causes you problems, you can "reset" your gateway and start over from scratch but that will cause you headaches and cost you a lot of time to reconfigue your network.  So don't screw it up if you don't know what you are doing, ask the pros and/or search the internet beforehand if needed.

    Once at the portal:

    1- type in your temp user name which will be: admin

    2 - type in your temp password which will be, yep, you guessed it: password

    [Once logged-in, in the top right hand corner of this admin portal look for the link to change password, (won't let you change the user name).  Then logout, and log back in.]

    Then your can explore the various typical options, however COX must believe we the paying customers are all stupid and therefore they have locked the ability for us the paying customers from changing the channels to improve our service, which is pathetic of COX.  

     

     

    • DRVEGAS's avatar
      DRVEGAS
      Valued Contributor

      I think your right in that we can't change the channels so I won't even try to do it.

      • ZapperOne's avatar
        ZapperOne
        New Contributor III

        Yeah, we used to be able to change the channels in the various COX gateways, at least for the last 10 years.  Now we can't, huh, wonder why?  I think you know the answer.

    • TiffanyR's avatar
      TiffanyR
      Former Moderator

      Hello ZapperOne, 

      We appreciate your feedback. At this time, the WiFi channels are not able to be manually changed on the Panoramic Wifi Gateways. As Chris mentioned earlier, the Gateway will run scans to help ensure that you are on the least congested WiFi channel. This should give you the best possible experience. 

      It sounds like you have a lot of experience with routers and want to customize your settings. Instead of renting a Panoramic WiFi Gateway from us, you do have the option to purchase your own modem and router or gateway. You would just want to make sure that it is compatible with our network and the internet plan you subscribe to. 

      *I always recommend going for at least one internet tier higher for compatibility. For example, if you subscribe to Even Faster Internet Plan (500 Mbps download), then I would try to get a modem/router that is compatible with the Super Fast Gig plan (1 Gbps download). This way if we increase the speeds, or you wish to upgrade in the future, you won't need to purchase new equipment.

      You can find a list of compatible modems at https://www.cox.com/residential/support/cox-certified-cable-modems.html. We want our customers to get the service that they subscribe to and can rely on their service. I hope this helps. 

      • ZapperOne's avatar
        ZapperOne
        New Contributor III

        TiffanyR,

        Since I am paying COX a ton of money each month, how do I get the gateway you noted in the list provided, specifically the "Technicolor CGM4981"gateway?

        If COX is unwilling to allow me to change my wifi channels to optimize my network, this gateway will likely solve the noted issues I'm having.

         

  • ZapperOne's avatar
    ZapperOne
    New Contributor III

    Shameful of COX, isn't it?  ......  Unless someone from from this community or tech support can provide an anwer here?

    • ChrisJ2's avatar
      ChrisJ2
      Moderator

      I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. I can appreciate the desire to want to change your wireless channel. I can tell you that when your router is restarted, it runs a spectrum analysis and will automatically change both the 2.4 Ghz and 5Ghz frequency to the cleanest and least congested channel. In the instance you are experiencing wifi congestion, simply restarting your gateway should alleviate the issue (if it is channel-related). I might also suggest repositioning your router as small corrections can go a long way towards correcting wifi-related problems. It is best to make sure that the modem/router/gateway is placed in a central location in your home. Even if this is not always possible, when it comes to streaming, you will want to make sure that you limit the walls and objects that are between your devices and your modem/router/gateway and use a wired connection whenever possible. Also, you will want to ensure the router is elevated off the floor as high as you can manage and away from speakers, TVs cordless phones, etc...After you have repositioned the device, reset it so that it can analyze the wifi and change to a cleaner channel and retest. Let me know if that helps and thank you for your patience.

       

      • ZapperOne's avatar
        ZapperOne
        New Contributor III

        Tried that three times now, actually twice before I posted, and then once afterwards.  Same channels are locked each time.  It's in a defualt mode and those channels aren't changing.

        My neighbors are all stuck with the same on both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.

        This is actually unethical of COX.  To provide the equipment that has the ability to improve service we pay for under our different plans, but then not allow the customer to tweak the settings for their benefit. 

        Unethical in the sense that the equipment I currently have, has the ability to improve if only I could unlock the features........  And so the way we usually find out if a large company is screwing-over somebody is to follow the money, right?

        If COX allows it's customers to improve their service with their existing equipment (in this case by allowing the paying customer to unlock certain features such as changing channels), then they couldn't try to force us to buy their "pods", correct?  I.E. no new money stream for COX.  (for any people that are not aware, COX used to allow its customers to manually change their channels in their admin portal, to suit their individual wifi needs, ... until they introduced a product that they hope to force on those of us that have any range and/or latency problems.  They call them "Pods", basically a mesh system, or in easier terms to understand, they're essentially wifi extenders that increase your wifi range and improve latency)  See where this is going folks?  It's an unethical scam on the part of COX.  

        Funny how we all used to be able to select our wifi channels that best suited our unique situations within our home , then came Pods, and now we can't.

        Can I paint a more clear picture?  A perfect example of unethical business practices.

         

    • DRVEGAS's avatar
      DRVEGAS
      Valued Contributor

      I'm going to try restarting my gateway as suggested but I've done this before and it didn't help my streaming issues.

  • Dewd11's avatar
    Dewd11
    New Contributor

    Still an issue in 2024. 90% interference in my area, every person is on channel 44. Restarted my router multiple times and it stays on 44. Such an easy fix ignored for more money

  • DRVEGAS's avatar
    DRVEGAS
    Valued Contributor

    I agree I would like to change mine as well but how do I know what channels I'm using 🤔

  • DRVEGAS's avatar
    DRVEGAS
    Valued Contributor

    I just ran my wifi analyzer again and found out that my panoramic gateway is actually changing the channels like it should be doing.  I didn't think it was changing channels before but it actually is therefore it isn't locked like we thought it was however only 6 channels are in use, 3 on 2.4 and 3 on 5.0

  • Darkatt's avatar
    Darkatt
    Honored Contributor

    powercycle the pano modem, as the router side boots up, it will automatically scan the WiFi bands and select the one with the lest amount of interference.