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ItIsTheWiz's avatar
ItIsTheWiz
New Contributor
7 years ago

I have T3/T4 errors for too many months now

This old Cox Field Tech/Supervisor has been having problems for too long without it being resolved by the line techs but the T3/T4 were the first things for me to notice when checking modem logs. About a year plus ago, I went from having to add splitters in the attic to drop the levels down to a +10 to ripping them all off due to the levels dropping down -28 to -40. I then added a 1 port 11 amp to try and bring it up to no avail. Switched to a 4 port  amp to power the 4 lines more efficiently without improvement still. I started playing the Cox game of calling and calling to establish a documented history of the problems. Long story short months later a line tech came out and the tap rated at 14 (what the it is supposed to be I gather from everyone) to a 7 that got me up to the -10s finally. I turned in two clients and eliminated two lines being used in my house to try and get the levels up further still. It helped but not for long. I pursued it further still playing what I call still to this day the Cox Games (I don't work for Cox anymore but it is what we called it when playing games with the line techs when I did, so I feel it applies still here). A couple of months ago I got a good line tech that went blocks down the aerial line and finally found where a squirrel had spent way too much time sharpening his teeth (about a fist sized chew he showed me as I stood below his ladder) and informed me the stinger was broke in half and could not understand how anything worked in the neighborhood period. I thought thank god it is over but, it wasn't (And hence me trying a long post here now). The levels are better but not good enough for me to add the two clients back as I hoped to be honest. The levels were now high enough that it is now hard to get a field tech to be able to turn in an ESR for a line tech to come look at it with the lower value tap in still. But to my surprise (well, not really as you will see soon),  It soon then started with us noticing Freezing/Pixelation on the Tvs that we eventually/soon found out were happening every 4 minutes and 23 seconds (god have mercy for an old Cox tech to have too much time to self diagnose his own problems that he does what normal customers won't do or know how). So I addressed that recently since no one understands T3 errors as us old techs do apparently, hoping once that was solved the T errors would also disappear since explaining them to techs was hitting a brick wall hard. I hoped since they understood somewhat TV issues I would address it in a way they could relate to. This has gone on for months now and the whole time I kept advising the in-house techs that I was also experiencing T3/T4 errors also. Apparently no one understands that in-house still (or the contractors naturally)! So I kept addressing the TV problems hoping once that was fixed the T errors would disappear too. Now the freezing happens on all channels with no consistency that I can find along with the T errors hourly now. I have explained and explained to the in-house techs (I gave up on the contractors fast naturally) that I was having T3/T4 errors each time a different tech showed up weekly, to no avail. The in-house techs have now replaced all in-house wiring (after I did prior to calling them to assure myself there would be in ingress for a Line Tech to blow off the ESR ticket over, by the way too), replaced the aerial drop (After I replaced it before giving up on what I could do myself and calling them also), and finally I gave in to them over equipment just to appease them recently. They replaced my remaining Contour 1 boxes with the new Contour 2 (I left shortly after the Contour 2 was rolled out and Oklahoma finally went all digital) that I did not really want to have just to talk to the remote control and lose all saved movies from the last 3 years (Yeah, I know I am whining and will go on now). But we still had the consistent freezing of the TVs every 4 minutes and 23 seconds (I have timed it with numerous in-house techs do so with me each visit) and the CHSI dropping out to boot. Since the data problems was still confusing everyone/techs I have kept to what they know but I am hoping by addressing it ALL here, with those that hopefully have a bit more understanding of the cause of T3/T4 errors (like me), I might get some resolution some way or another. The CHSI now drops out every hour at the most and when I check the modem logs after a reboot it still has problems with T3 more than anything still. Well, to wrap this novel up (And me picking a quiet place to vent/explain my issues with the Quality of Service being provided by the company recently). I have them coming out 7/17/2018 to look it for another so called weekly visit (this was after calling yesterday and finding out I still had an open ticket from 6/23 that no one can figure out a way to justify closing it I guess)...

Can anyone please help me explain to the next in-house tech what is going on (I suspect I am waiting for a amp on the aerial feed lines to go out if I am going to get it really fixed anymore) to help me get a proper ESR (can I ask for a 5C or are they going to be as bewildered as when I discuss the T errors) put in since they have +12 at the Tap (Using meter channel 135 for this example by the way) without going over there head and confusing them again? This seems to be the current reason why I cannot get a Line Tech out anymore according to the techs the last two months. Thanks in advance for any suggestions/help regarding this!

OH, a quick PS also: I have also watched everyone in my neighborhood give up and bail heading to AT&T/DirecTv and Dish over the last two months finally. Shoot we all know they will be back to Cox in the end, but the ordinary customer is not just confused with the lack of Quality Service but doing as they always do (You know, go try something worse???) leaving me and my neighbor  as the last 2 Cox customers. Lucky for him he knows from past years what I did at Cox and we talk. Hence it just being the last two of us calling regularly to have techs come out. Well, he gave up a couple of months ago since he saw me having them coming out weekly to look it over and further document this problem regularly. OK, once again, I implore that I need help and hope someone can help me explain simply T3/T4 errors to these guys over the next couple of weeks? Once again, thank you in advance for any suggestions/help!
(and sorry for the Novel but I feel if I put enough details from the last year of degrading service it will help someone help me!)

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