Forum Discussion

RomanPat's avatar
RomanPat
Contributor
3 years ago
Solved

Interesting, odd, and extremely annoying pattern specific internet slow down occurring at 6/7pm every day [San Diego]

PSA: I understand how to code in 4 different programming languages and understand networking at a high level. Cheesy to write this, but refrain from providing basic, simpleton-user information.  I ...
connection issues
san diego
slow internet
slow speed
  • RomanPat's avatar
    RomanPat
    3 years ago

    I am happy to write that the issue in the original post has been solved. I will give a quick TLDR of the issue and solutions employed.

    TLDR of Issue: After Oct. 4th '21 my speeds would decrease at over 95% past 6-7 pm everyday for 15 days straight, resulting in an almost unusable connection for those days. The connection would reset at around 10 am everyday, featuring perfect speeds up until the 6-7pm slowdown. Now, I want to mention on Oct. 4th there was one of the worst lightning storms ever in San Diego's history, with one lightning bolt hitting 10 feet away from my house. If this had anything to do with it, who knows.

    TLDR of Solutions: There was two scheduled tech visits. The first one did not find anything wrong with my connection, which was to be assumed, as the visit occurred at 2 pm, before the 6-7pm slowdown. I called back that very night and spoke to a supervisor who then made sure to have the tech come out at 6:30 pm to catch the issue. Randy, a wonderful technician, did indeed come out at 6:20 pm and had a chance to see firsthand the insane speed slowdown. At this point, Randy inputted a ticket for a bucket truck to roll. The very next day, Paul, the bucket truck engineer, came to the door and notified me that he found the issue, but it is a nasty issue to fix. The issue at hand was related to ingress and intermittent noise. The next day after this you could see Paul fixing the issues around the complex. After culminating the fixes, Paul let me know the issues were fixed! Fingers crossed, I was eager to get a speedest in after 6pm. Lone behold, at 7 pm I was again experiencing the speed slow downs. At this point, I called in and was immediately notified that the node for the entire area was being worked on as well! Next, I got the text notification that the node work had been completed. I then tested again. This time I saw the download return to normal, but the upload was more than the last 15 days but extremely sporadic. At this moment, I thought to myself that maybe the issue would iron itself out in the next days. In about 5 days after this node work, the download and upload returned to normal speeds. These speeds are amazing at the moment! I then waited 3 days after this to see if they would hold. At this moment, they are looking beautiful after 6-7 pm with no slowdowns whatsoever. The issue as been resolved!

    I want to thank the amazing in-house tech Randy, the amazing bucket truck operator Paul, all of the tech support specialists on the phone, and all of the online forum support specialists. At the end of the day, Cox has provided me with the speeds I pay for, for over 3 years. No slowdowns even throughout the height of Covid lockdowns and high-traffic periods! They worked with me diligently to employ this fix!

    Thank you!

    P.S. Here's an idea of my speeds right now! 6 ping 947 down 37 up INSANE SPEED

DavidA2's avatar
DavidA2
Former Moderator
Hi RomanPat,

I am sorry to hear that you having been having trouble after 6p. That is very odd. My first thought would be that the node you are on may be seeing an overload of users during that time frame. My best recommendation would be to show the technician all of the information that you have been able to accumulate. If you would like for us to take a look at the account with you, please feel free to email us at cox.help@cox.com with your address and a link to this forum thread.

David
Cox Support Forum Moderator
RomanPat's avatar
RomanPat
Contributor
3 years ago

Update 10/13: The tech came at around 6:20 pm and what was amazing was the issue happened right in from of our eyes and in line with the pattern. The tech then started testing every part of the house and the issue was apparent in everything. He then tested the coaxial outlet where the cable runs in from and even without a modem connected the issue persisted. He then said something is for sure occurring and is serious as the upload on his diagnostic device read at under 1 mb, in the kilobytes. This all confirmed the documentation I have and makes it known that the issue is indeed external(on Cox). The tech then explained the plan of action which is:

1. File a ticket showing the verified metrics.

2. The ticket will call on a bucket truck to roll.

3. This bucket truck should show up within 3 days. 

4. The bucket truck engineers will check out the lines and tap.

5. The ticket will be closed when the issue is resolved. If after the ticket being closed, 6pm rolls around and there still is the slow down, call in and start the process again.

I hope that the bucket truck identifies the issue and fixes the speed issues after 6pm-8am. I want to shout out the tech, Randy, who was very knowledgeable and understanding of the complexity of the issue. I also want to say Cox has had amazing speeds for 3 years straight, so I will work with them on a level-headed playing field. I will update when I get an understanding if the bucket truck fixed or did not fix the issue. 

  • JonathanJ's avatar
    JonathanJ
    Former Moderator
    3 years ago
    @RomanPat

    I apologize for the frustration you’ve been experiencing with your internet. If you continue to have an issue please email your full name and the street address on your Cox account cox.help@cox.com. Also, include a link to this thread, I’ll be happy to investigate.

    Jonathan J
    Cox Moderator
  • RomanPat's avatar
    RomanPat
    Contributor
    3 years ago

    Update 10/14:

    The bucket truck arrived and a kind and knowledgeable field engineer notified me that he has found the issue. The issue is pertaining to intermittent noise that affects the connection. This makes sense as the problem stated above is pattern specific. The plan of action is the following:

    1. Identify where the noise is coming from.

    2. Fix this issue.

    3. Notify the subscriber that the issue has been fixed.

    The field engineer has told me that the issue is not a straight-forward fix. The issue is known but must be located. With this, I will update when I get word back from the field engineer.

    • RomanPat's avatar
      RomanPat
      Contributor
      3 years ago

      Update 10/16:

      The field engineer found where 2 large noise issues were occurring! With that, the node was also in need of work and that finished at 11pm on 10/15. 

      At the moment I have seen my download return to normal after 6pm, however my upload is only at 23/37. I am grateful for this uppage and will call back to see if they can get the remaining mbps. At this moment though, I am happy to say that I have been able to return to using my connection in a normal way.

      my speeds as of writing after 6pm at 2:43am are: 4 ping 920 down and 23 up!

      This is the fastest it has been in the last 12 days!

      I will update on if this speed holds this next night past 6 pm to then verify the answer to this post.

      I want to shout out Randy, the in house tech, and Paul the bucket engineer! They both helped me return back to normal! Fingers crossed that this fix holds.

      • RomanPat's avatar
        RomanPat
        Contributor
        3 years ago

        Unfortunately, the issue is still persistent although better than before. The download has returned to normal during 6 pm and on, however the upload is still horrible. The upload is very sporadic! I will give it a few days before I call in again. Will update with the next steps going forward when I find out what those may be.