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Starfixer's avatar
Starfixer
New Contributor
5 years ago
Solved

How to get COX to fix the low upstream power being provided to my address.

How to get COX to address low upstream power being supplied to modem.

I recently used the Cox upgrade your internet deal online to go from 150/10 to 960/35 gigablast.

thinking it was a good deal I ordered it. Immediately my connection got erratic and the speeds dropped back down to the Kbps instead of MBs.

Cox advised that it may be my modem. Checked it according to arris the power is supposed to be 45-51 on the upstream mine is 41-42.

contacted Cox they were zero help other then to say hey rent our modem and the issue may be resolved. Speeds now go up and down constantly.

I have a technician coming out sometime in a week or two. All I need them to do is to fix the power issue. Which according to arris will fix the stability and speed issues. I have never seen above 169mpbs since I upgraded. On prior service was a steady 135-164mpbs. I am paying more for less now. Any ideas?

setup is cable from wall into SB8200 3.1 modem then to synology rt2600. All machines either gigabit linked switches with cat5e and Cat6  . Wireless even has the same issues with speed. 

3 Replies

  • Dave9's avatar
    Dave9
    Contributor III
    5 years ago

    That Arris support page is the source of so much confusion. Long story short, ignore it. It's wrong. For example, the upstream power on my SB8200 is 37 dBmV and my connection works flawlessly.

    Now for more explanation. First, upstream power is not supplied to your modem. Your modem supplies upstream power for communication back to Cox. The Cox equipment tells your modem how much power it needs to use in order for that communication to be received. If the upstream power is 41 dBmV, that means the Cox equipment is receiving your signal properly with that power level. Higher power levels would just be a waste.

    Your modem communicates with the Cox equipment 2 to 3 times per minute to establish the correct upstream power level, so if any adjustment is necessary it will happen automatically within 20 to 30 seconds.

    The only thing you need to worry about with upstream power is if it's above 51. That means there's a problem since your modem is having to "scream" just to be heard by the Cox equipment. But if the power is low, that's not causing your problem since if the Cox equipment needed your modem to use more power, it would ask it to do so.

    You obviously have a problem with the connection, but it's not the upstream power level and it's probably not the modem. Post an example of your signal screen and modem logs after the modem has been running for at least 24 hours. That will help to identify what the real problem is.

    • Starfixer's avatar
      Starfixer
      New Contributor
      5 years ago

      Thanks I will do that as soon as the time has elapsed. Currently the logs state the following

      Level Description
      10/22/2020 10:19 2436694061 5 "Dynamic Range Window violation"
      10/22/2020 10:19 82001100 5 "RNG-RSP CCAP Commanded Power Exceeds Value Corresponding to the Top of the DRW;CM-MAC=b0:da:f9:12:3b:95;CMTS-MAC=00:d6:fe:e7:5e:3e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.1;"
      10/22/2020 09:53 2436694061 5 "Dynamic Range Window violation"
      10/22/2020 09:53 82001100 5 "RNG-RSP CCAP Commanded Power Exceeds Value Corresponding to the Top of the DRW;CM-MAC=b0:da:f9:12:3b:95;CMTS-MAC=00:d6:fe:e7:5e:3e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.1;"
      10/22/2020 06:23 82000500 3 "Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - T3 time-out;CM-MAC=b0:da:f9:12:3b:95;CMTS-MAC=00:d6:fe:e7:5e:3e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.1;"
      10/21/2020 20:23 2436694061 5 "Dynamic Range Window violation"
      10/21/2020 20:23 82001200 5 "RNG-RSP CCAP Commanded Power in Excess of 6 dB Below the Value Corresponding to the Top of the DRW;CM-MAC=b0:da:f9:12:3b:95;CMTS-MAC=00:d6:fe:e7:5e:3e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.1;"
      10/21/2020 20:23 2436694061 5 "Dynamic Range Window violation"
      10/21/2020 20:23 82001200 5 "RNG-RSP CCAP Commanded Power in Excess of 6 dB Below the Value Corresponding to the Top of the DRW;CM-MAC=b0:da:f9:12:3b:95;CMTS-MAC=00:d6:fe:e7:5e:3e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.1;"
      10/21/2020 20:23 2436694061 5 "Dynamic Range Window violation"
      10/21/2020 20:23 82001200 5 "RNG-RSP CCAP Commanded Power in Excess of 6 dB Below the Value Corresponding to the Top of the DRW;CM-MAC=b0:da:f9:12:3b:95;CMTS-MAC=00:d6:fe:e7:5e:3e;CM-QOS=1.1;CM-VER=3.1;"
      • Dave9's avatar
        Dave9
        Contributor III
        5 years ago

        You have DRW violations and at least one T3 timeout. This indicates that you probably have some noise on the upstream path. This is almost always a problem outside of your property and outside of your control. Hopefully the Cox tech will have the equipment and knowledge to be able to identify this. You didn't post your signal screen so there could be other problems as well.