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A_Cox_Customer's avatar
A_Cox_Customer
Contributor
3 years ago
Solved

Packet loss due to upstream channels dropping

I've been getting outages due to the upstream dropping out on my internet connection for more than 6 months now.

Downloads, watching streams, podcasts, hearing and seeing people on voice/video calls and are fine if they've already started.

Uploads drop, voice/video calls break up for listeners, website requests take forever, games get disconnected.

Modem upstream during packet loss:

Bottom row with red question marks is packet loss. Other rows are just hops which sometimes don't respond (`mtr one.one.one.one`):

  • I can't even get a screenshot without packet loss over the past few hours.

  • I've rebooted my modem.

  • I have a new cable and connectors from the box outside directly to my modem 2 times over.

  • I've upgraded my modem 2 times and now have one of the best (MG8702) if not the best one supported by Cox.

  • I've had several techs out to troubleshoot the issue. Some of them have replaced the same cable or connector as previous techs have done.

  • One tech actually worked on something up the street, which improved the connection dropping a little.

  • Another of the techs said there wasn't really anything they could do to fix it and that the lines are over-saturated because everyone is working from home now. If this is actually a problem, it sounds like a case to expand infrastructure rather than telling me it's all used up.

  • I've confirmed with the techs that have visited that there's an issue with the upstream signals somewhere between the box at the utility pole and further up the chain.

It doesn't seem like this issue will every be fixed. I've burned a lot of my time (days and days), burned money upgrading hardware that was fine, talking with customer support, and waiting for techs.

I've been having to use my phone as a mobile hot-spot to ensure a consistent connection for voice and video calls. If this keeps up I think I'm just going to stop wasting money on useless internet and dump Cox and switch to a mobile hot-spot, since I end doing that anyway.

bad connection
complaints
Connection Drops
connection issues
connectivity
packet loss
upstream issues
  • A_Cox_Customer's avatar
    A_Cox_Customer
    3 years ago

    Update 11/23/2021

    I've been monitoring for a few hours a day over the past 3 days and am seeing zero or near zero packet loss.

    The rep and field escalation tech assigned to my FCC complaint have been on top of things looking at tickets and making sure they're truly resolved afterward and starting a new ticket if there was still noise or other issues with my internet connection.

    Just at the most recent visit from a field tech I've been informed that several repairs had been made all the way out to the node. Since I'm at the end after a few amplifiers every bit of noise introduced up the chain was degrading the signal that finally reached my modem.

    Among the fixes I was told:

    • A number of taps were fried and replaced
    • A previous customer who switched to satellite was somehow introducing noise to the line with their old cable connection and it was fixed
    • A crack in the line leading to a small apartment complex up the street was repaired
    • Some additional tuning was done

    So really a large part of neighborhood got a connection tune-up out of it.

    Unfortunately after several calls and visits without a fix over several months I resorted to filing a complaint with the FCC and with a few days suddenly I started getting follow up calls and a team dedicated to fixing my issues. It still took over a month to fix, but I was informed about fixes along the way and I didn't have to start at the beginning each time a ticket was closed and the packet loss continued.

    It would have been nice if Cox tech support followed up, looked at previous tickets and checked their work like this in the first place.

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  • A_Cox_Customer's avatar
    A_Cox_Customer
    Contributor
    3 years ago

    Update 10/05/2021 - Still packet loss

    2 techs showed up to replace the drop (line from the utility pole to my house). They noted everything looked brand new and set up correctly and that the tap looked like it was replaced as well.

    After replacing the drop they reported the signal looked good and asked to check the internet connection.

    Within a few minutes the packet loss started again.

    Here it is currently (bottom row with red question marks is packet loss):

    I emailed cox.help@cox.com as per JonathanJ's recommendation before they arrived and was instructed to share as much information as possible from this post when the techs arrive.

    I may be wrong, but it seems like all the techs that have visited have to start from the beginning every time with almost no information to work with.

    Shouldn't techs have access to previous tickets or some kind of history to see what was replaced, what testing and other actions were already performed so they can do proper diagnosis and troubleshooting? 

    I shared as much information as I could during the install including:

    • How everything is new up to the pole except the drop which was only a few years old, but is now new.
    • Screenshots of previous packet loss compared to the current one.
    • I showed them upstream power levels shifting around while the packet loss is going on the modem admin connection stats page AFTER the drop was replaced.
    • Other techs mentioned it seems like the problem must be somewhere before the tap. They also came to the same conclusion.

    As far as I can tell the problem is not between my modem and the utility pole. There are no other customers downstream from me. The issue lies somewhere between the tap and further up the chain.

    • CrystalS's avatar
      CrystalS
      Former Moderator
      3 years ago
      Hello @A Cox Customer,

      I'm so sorry that you are still dealing with this issue. Please let me explain. Yes, sometimes technicians are review when there are situations as unique as yours. The technicians will work the issue starting from the residence back until it is resolved. The technicians update themselves. Please remember that they are professionals and are very thorough with the work. If you would like to have this matter escalated we would have to schedule a technician to come out and escalate this matter to the field engineer team. Please reach us on Twitter at @CoxHelp, visit us on Facebook, or email us at cox.help@cox.com. Provide us the name on the account with the complete service address with a link to this thread so we can get started.

      Crystal S.
      Cox Support Forum Moderator
      • A_Cox_Customer's avatar
        A_Cox_Customer
        Contributor
        3 years ago

        Thanks for explaining Crystal S.

        It shouldn't be this difficult for a customer to get a connection issue resolved.

        I've had several techs out (I can remember 8 faces but it's more than that) for this very same issue that goes back more than 5 months now and only one time I'm aware of has it ever escalated beyond the utility pole.

        I've also been on a countless number of calls and chat support sessions where the support rep restarted my modem and told me my connection is fine based on a snapshot of connectivity. I've been dumped into the Cox Complete Care call queue only to get forwarded back to the tech support line.

        A few days AFTER the last techs arrived my connection has much improved but still getting packet loss here and there. Unfortunately not frequently enough that a tech is gonna catch it in the few minutes they're scanning the connection.

        I'm not gonna call it fixed until I see stability for more than a week. I've been through this before and my last forum post got locked and I'll be scheduling another tech if the problem starts acting up again.

  • A_Cox_Customer's avatar
    A_Cox_Customer
    Contributor
    3 years ago

    Update 10/04/2021

    Had a tech out last Thursday on 09/20/2021. He said I needed a new drop and was going to schedule that in.

    All the other techs were saying the drop looks good, it's not very old and it has no ingress. I'm down with whatever as long as it's fixed.

    That was last Thursday though and I got a survey from Cox asking how it went:

    • Was the tech knowledgeable - Yes
    • Was the issue resolved - No
    • How satisfied am I with your service - 0/10
    • How likely would I recommend Cox to anyone else - 0/10

    I have a sneaking suspicion this will never be resolved and I'm jumping ship as soon as a competitor becomes available in my area.

    • JonathanJ's avatar
      JonathanJ
      Former Moderator
      3 years ago
      @A Cox Customer

      I apologize for the frustration you’ve been experiencing with your Cox services and I want to help. If you can email your full name and the street address on your Cox account to cox.help@cox.com, I’ll be happy to investigate.

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

    Hello, 

    My name is Palmer and I’ve been experiencing these SAME exact issues on and off for the last year, whilst paying 200 per month in Gigablast services. I’ve had 2 technicians come out, 1 of which I was charged for. The 2 techs that came out had little to no IT experience and were not even Cox employees (3rd party contractors). While the “IT” tech was out he ran several tests and even noticed the high ping and low speeds and basically said sorry, nothing he could do about it. He chalked up the problem to being the nodes and too much network congestion. When I tried to escalate the issue I was offered a 3rd technician to come out but when asked if I could have a cox employee (preferably a supervisor) come out I was told there’s no guarantee. What makes things even more frustrating is when you call they go through the same “troubleshooting” steps followed by their $10 additional charge for IT support… 

    At this point I’m convinced they don’t care. As a company who has no real competition there is no incentive to do right by their customers. I honestly feel like it’s time to start a class action lawsuit. They simply don’t deliver on what they advertise.

    Based on all of the related topics I’ve seen I think there is adequate support to take legal action.

    - Palmer

    (Glendale, AZ)

    • CrystalS's avatar
      CrystalS
      Former Moderator
      3 years ago
      Hello @Palmer Aamodt,

      I apologize that you are having to endure ongoing internet issues. Please allow me to explain and assist you. When you have had multiple technicians come out and the issue is not resolved, we have to schedule a third technician to escalate the matter.

      The subscription-based IT support you mentioned is offered to our customers who may endure service appointment fees which are $75. The service is called Cox Complete Care and it is $10 a month and covers service appointment fees. This can and has saved customers loads of money by the customer paying $10 a month instead of $75 per appointment.

      This appears as if you may need someone to look into your account. We would definitely be able to assist you with this. Please reach us on Twitter at @CoxHelp, visit us on Facebook, or email us at cox.help@cox.com. Provide us the name on the account with the complete service address with a link to this thread so we can get started.

      Crystal S.
      Cox Support Forum Moderator

  • technicaljunky's avatar
    technicaljunky
    New Contributor
    3 years ago

    I have issues with speed and connection dropping and they always say its our hardware,devices etc.. as it stands now I get half the speed they claim and they really don't care.  What ** is this is the only internet service choice pretty much and they are better than any other choice so you can't really complain I guess cause you won't find anything better lol *In junction city*

    https://imgur.com/gallery/PgZXs48

  • A_Cox_Customer's avatar
    A_Cox_Customer
    Contributor
    3 years ago

    Stashing some data for the on-site tech. When it goes bad now, it's way worse than when they say they fixed it.

    So many corrections it flipped the bit into negative land. Is -1441025062 Corrected and 2308617 bad? 😰

    Snapshot of one of the times during packet loss:

    Snapshot of the modem connection around the time of packet loss:

    Snapshot of the upstream channels when everything is working:

  • A_Cox_Customer's avatar
    A_Cox_Customer
    Contributor
    3 years ago

    Update 9/28/2021

    Checked the status of the ticket with Cox and they say the issue was fixed.

    It's still the same old issue.

    Got another tech scheduled to come out.

  • A_Cox_Customer's avatar
    A_Cox_Customer
    Contributor
    3 years ago

    Update:

    I got 2 techs to come out this time and good thing too.

    I got all new connectors again. One of them removed the device the previous one put in heh. They suspected the drop from the utility pole might be the issue.

    Both guys were taking turns checking the upstream channels. One was at the box on the side of my house while the other was up at the box on the utility pole

    The guy up on the utility pole was about to come down when the other one saw the power levels jumping around. They then confirmed it happening directly at the utility pole. They suspect something up the chain isn't working and put in a ticket for a different team.

    The internet went out yesterday and I saw a guy working at the utility pole again pulling out parts. I was hoping that was a fix, but still issues today.

    I checked with Cox and the ticket is still open.

    Fingers crossed they actually get it this time.