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rickford's avatar
rickford
New Contributor
5 years ago

OKC speed test server issue

It looks like there is an issue with some of the speed test servers in the Cox network in Oklahoma.  For almost a month I've been working with Cox to fix my UPLOAD speed issue.  I have the lowest level of service, 30 mpbs down / 3 mpbs up.  I consistently get 33-35 mbps download speed when testing, but I was getting only 1.5-1.7 upload speeds.   I've run 50+ tests in 3 weeks, almost all of them with a laptop (gigabit NIC) hard-wired directly to the Cox cable modem.

We are on the third new modem from Cox, but no change in upload speed.  Three different Cox technicians came to the house to check equipment and lines and always reported, "the download speed is fine."  But, it is the UPLOAD speed that was the problem.  During one of the calls with Tech Support, the technician temporarily changed the service level to 150 down / 10 up.  Immediately we started getting 5.0 - 5.5 mpbs UPLOAD speed.  So, it appears that we are always getting about 50% of the provisioned speed.  (Again, download speed was always great).

Finally, we discovered that the problem is with the UPLOAD part of the speed test when connecting to Cox servers in Oklahoma.  I was testing my speed using the cox.com speed test service in their tech support tools section, and  speedtest.net.  Both were connecting to the closest server, which is located inside the Cox network.  However, when the last Cox technician was at the apartment, he ran a speed test to a different server and was consistently getting 3.0-3.2 mbps UPLOAD. 

Hmm.

So, I ran several more tests to a variety of servers.  Every time I selected one of the cox.com servers in either OKC or Wichita, it always showed an UPLOAD speed of half what was expected.  When I connected to the Cox.com server in Atlanta and Phoenix, it showed full upload speed.  When I connected to other, non-Cox servers, I saw correct results of 3.0 - 3.2. 

Summary, it appears that the cox.com server(s) have an issue where they will only provide 50% of the upload speed for testing. 

Rick

5 Replies

  • Rickford...I too have found discrepancies with the Cox speedtest to the Cox servers.  I'm here in OC, and subscribe to the Premier which is rated at 200Mbps and 10Mbps.  Using the Cox speedtest to my local OC area and to distances far away gives interesting results.  Over 2wks ago, my Uploads were almost 2x faster than I'm now getting.  Here are some numbers I just got.

    Wichita= 60Mbps Down, 5.6Mbps Up........Oklahoma= 64/3.0....New England= 26/11....Nova= 26/11....SanDiego=214/6.2 ...OC=232/5.7

    Conclusion, for me, OC and Sandiego has the highest download because of the proximity to me, but very low Upload (again, this occurred couple of wks ago) .  Going across the country, I should get the lowest downloads, which I do, however, I get the best Uploads....go figure.  My numbers to Okl and Whchita sit about mid-range speeds, as expected.

    Your subscription of 30/3 may make it hard to get large range of test results, but, you can still see large % variations.  I think these speedtest tool, and there are many that I've used....all are useful, but give different results.  Times of the day and probably many other factors tend to taint the numbers.  I have used others, speedtest.net, ATT etc and get 11+ to my OC or local area but the Cox test gives lower, except when going to New England...weird.

    • EdmUse's avatar
      EdmUse
      New Contributor

      I am on the 300/30 plan and always get inaccurate results when using the cox upload test.  the OOKLA test usually shows what is expected.  Also, the "google" test (the one that shows up as a search result) usually shows what I expect.

      • rickford's avatar
        rickford
        New Contributor

        Edmuse,  I also used the google test, which showed a lot less throughput than the service level I'm paying for, but is probably much closer to reality.  thanks for the info.

    • rickford's avatar
      rickford
      New Contributor

      Thanks for the info, ekhawaii.  One of the lessons learned, which I *should* have known from 35+ years in the software & network business, is to ALWAYS test the test.  In this case I didn't and it cost me time and aggravation.

  • CrystalS's avatar
    CrystalS
    Former Moderator
    Hello Rickford

    We are showing packet loss. Unfortunately, you are currently in an outage with an estimated repair time of 6 AM. Once the outage clears please contact us at Cox.help@cox.com. -Crystal A. Cox Support Forum Moderator