Forum Discussion

ekhawaii's avatar
ekhawaii
Contributor
6 years ago

What does COX do when they "Upgrade" the download speed to my Internet? Also, I see speed test variations when going to different test locations..could this be the reason users are complaining about not reaching their expected speeds?

I recently received an email saying Cox increased my internet speed. I have Premier connection, and my account indicates up to 200Mbps download.  My question is, what does Cox actually do to increase the speed.  Is it hardware or software upgrades on only their side?  I did nothing on my side, no line or modem upgrade.  As best as I know, outside lines were not upgraded either. 

On the Cox Speed test link.  When I test to the Orange County, I get a max number about 180Mbps and 10+download.  About 178 to Phoenix.  When I go to New England, I get a max of 26Mbps.  So, I wondering when users have much lower numbers than they expect, could it be possible that they are testing to far away sites?  I don't remember what my previous Cox Speed test was so I cannot comment if I was on a 150 or 200 program.

Using AT&T speedtest gave me 180+, Openspeedtest gave me 121, and speedtest to LosAngeles gave 177.  So, you even get different numbers from different test tools.  Also, how much is the line speed affected by the number of users on my street?

  • KevinM2's avatar
    KevinM2
    Former Moderator
    6 years ago
    @ekhawaii Hello, once the modem is power-cycled, it should start receiving the speeds your account is provisioned for. To put it simply, our system has a code assigned to the specific speed, which is then pushed through our network. Here's some additional information on how to understand speed test results, http://bit.ly/2KCaWVh. Third-party speed tests conducted off of the Cox network may not provide the most accurate representation of performance on the Cox network. The results from some third-party speed tests are more reliable than others and reliability can vary from location-to-location. The speed test infrastructure is made up of hardware, software, and network capacity, which can vary for a single provider.

    we recommend using the Internet Speed Check Tool available here, http://bit.ly/2VsdGbX. -Kevin M. Cox Support Forum Moderator
    • ekhawaii's avatar
      ekhawaii
      Contributor
      6 years ago

      Thanks KevinM2 and Cox for the upgrade.  As I posted in another thread, my before and after modem reset went from 180+ to 218 using the Cox Speed test.  Not bad for a wired system.

      My original question was what did Cox do to increase the speed.  Was it a hardware tweak or something software related on your end...since nothing change on my side.  What's for the future?

      I do see differences in speed test utilities, and some actually concurred with your numbers or even better.  Too bad users are having issues.  Maybe the modem speed procedure that CurtB outlined in the other thread will allow users to view their max Speed of the modem.  This will have a major issue when trying to get > 100Mbps speed test result.

      • CurtB's avatar
        CurtB
        Honored Contributor
        6 years ago

        Thanks, ekhawaii.  The procedure you referenced in the other thread is a check to verify that the Network Interface Card (NIC) inside the computer (past the modem) is adequate to handle speeds in excess of 100 Mbps.  It's a way for someone with an older computer to verify that it's capable of obtaining the increased speeds that Cox is pushing to their modem. 

    • iamkimchi's avatar
      iamkimchi
      New Contributor III
      6 years ago

      Third-party speed tests conducted off of the Cox network may not provide the most accurate representation of performance on the Cox network. 

      Honestly, I find this misleading and always irks me.  Just because the speed tests are off network does not mean it's not an accurate representation of performance.  The internet is not all on Cox's network.  So yes, those third party tests are in my opinion a more accurate representation.  Sorry, the websites we visit, the videos we stream, aren't all on Cox's network.  So to say that only Cox's tool is accurate is wrong.  Sorry, the places we visit are only on the Cox network.  And if you say that the reasons performance might be slower using those third party tools, part of the blame can be on Cox and the other network due to your peering agreements (or lack thereof just so you can force other companies pay you for "better performance/peering").

      • ekhawaii's avatar
        ekhawaii
        Contributor
        6 years ago

        iamkimchi...you are correct, there are other test sites that tests similar to Cox...I view about 3-4 because each use different algorithm  patterns to check as well as locations.  Even with Cox, I'm seeing huge differences depending on the location of the test server.  Keep those other test site bookmarked along with Cox's.

        On your original thread, you said you got an improvement speed from 120+ to something closer or better than 150+ as a preferred customer, especially after you rebooted your modem.   I've gotten luckier but I'm using Premier.  Above, in this thread, CurtB posted a link to procedures to check your modem speed.  It worked really well in giving info about your modem speed max.  So may items affect thru put speed...good luck!

        Cox implies that this last upgrade was a software change, which may mean future tweaks to the speed, but your hardware may limit all of this.