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WWalkerinNWA's avatar
WWalkerinNWA
New Contributor III
4 years ago

Internet down in NWArkansas, told "it's your modem" by tech support

Yes, it could be the modem... I mean, I've had the thing for seven years or so now, but before sending your paying subscribers out to spend $80 on a modem in the middle of a snowstorm during a dangerous pandemic, MAYBE we should be absolutely sure the company we are paying to provide and service our internet access has done literally everything possible on their end first.

Last night (AFTER having my Valentine's Day plans streamng romantic movies with my wife wrecked by our internet going down then being told by tech support that my modem was the culprit), I saw notifications on the Cox App of no less than three outages in my area, all of which clearing with no improvement in our connection...

Today, I awoke to feed our baby before getting ready to drive in the snow solely to get a new modem (because I was assured by Cox tech support that it was my modem, not THEIR overtaxed infrastructuren that was to blame) and what do i find...? Yet another notification of yet another outage in my area.

So is Cox's equipment failing multiple times in the same 24-hour period, or is it the same problem NOT being repaired but merely being cleared without resolution (while your paying customers are being told that there are no problems with your infrastructure and that it's our equipment), or do I still need to go out into the snow and Coronavirus wastes to get a new modem?

PS- Oh...there is now an internet connection with Cox on my 'bad modem'... apparently my modem has spontaneously repaired itself. HALLELUJAH! It's (apparently) a miracle!

FunFact: if there hasn't been a thunderstorm but the weather has been very cold/snowy/icy, the chances that connectivity issues are caused by inside plant versus outside plant is essentially nill. I managed multimillion dollar, nationwide structured cabling service contracts for years. Stop blaming your customer's equipment, wasting our time and our money, before you know your cabling and nerwork is 100% sound.

So let me give Cox my spitball theory. Snow melt is getting into your patchwork outside plant cable connectors, shorting out the connection... at night, it freezes, breaking connections entirely, especially at splices and service splits that haven't been looked at by your technicians for years. Surprise! OSP degrades over time.

None of this is caused by my modem, incidentally. Also, my seven year old modem is exposed to much less weather than the outside plant cabling that has been out there without maintenance (separate from service) for half a decade now.

And, no, I am not happy with my service today. Clearly someone isn't doing their job, even though I recall having been billed (monthly) for them to do it.

#stopblamingyourcustomers #fixyourinfrastructure 

bad service
connection
internet
It is not my modem
packet loss
  • WWalkerinNWA's avatar
    WWalkerinNWA
    New Contributor III
    4 years ago

    Internet back down as sun sets and temps drop, and, once again, I'm told my modem is at fault, not the Frankenstein patchwork of frozen cable splices between my demarcation point and Cox's distibution hub. At least the tech is checking with the regional service office, which is under the same 4 to 6 inches of snow and freezing temps we've gotten here in NW Arkansas since Friday.

    • CurtB's avatar
      CurtB
      Honored Contributor
      4 years ago

      Sorry to hear about your Internet issues.  My Internet is working fine, but I can relate to your weather.  We got the same storm here in NE Oklahoma before it hit you in NW Arkansas.  As of 9:00 am this morning, temperatures have been below freezing for 200 consecutive hours and counting.  The temperature was -6 F (six below) when I bought groceries this morning at 6:00 am (safest grocery shopping time due to COVID).  I think I may have been the only customer in Walmart.  It's like living in an episode of "Life Below Zero"... in Oklahoma.  There's a brand new river crossing the street near my house.  When I called to report the water line break (not my water line), the lady just laughed, said "Get in line" and transferred me to the water department.  She wasn't kidding about getting in line.  I was on hold for a while due to the unusually high call volume.  Now really wouldn't be a good time to work for the water line maintenance department.  Anyway, good luck with your Internet and keep warm and safe.