For the past week, my internet has been constantly dropping for about a minute at a time, and this happens countless times each day. It makes it pretty much impossible to do anything that requires a live connection (gaming, work, voice chat, etc.). I have tried restarting my router and modem many times, and I have tried plugging my desktop directly into the modem, but no change. I've seen claims from others saying they have also been experiencing these frequent interrupts/packet loss in the past week, so I'm pretty sure the issue is on Cox's end. Is there any estimate as to when this will be fixed? Because it is extremely frustrating to be paying full price for internet while not being able to use it half the time.

I am having the same issue. It started out about a week ago only around the lunch hour. Now it is all times of the day. I hope we are not stuck like this until the end of June, but it sounds like that may be the case.

What do your modem logs look like? Power levels, event log, etc.?

Here is some of the stuff I found.

First thing I'd do is look at your cabling, your modem isn't even syncing the time. T2, T3, & T4 timeouts? That's a very poor connection to the CMTS (assuming the CMTS isn't down - unlikely). Best guess is either cables and/or connectors or something is producing a lot of noise on your lines. What are you power levels like? They must look awful with that event log.

where would I check power levels?

Internet keeps dropping for a minute at a time

17 Replies

mrcleanosu
New Contributor
4 years ago
I am having the same issue. It started out about a week ago only around the lunch hour. Now it is all times of the day. I hope we are not stuck like this until the end of June, but it sounds like that may be the case.
- thatwilsonguy
  New Contributor
  4 years ago
  I'm having the same issue with the same errors on my modem, a technician came out and replace my line from the pole all the way to my modem but it as only gotten worse. I tried to make my own post but it got flagged as spam, after 4-5 tier 1 chats / calls / texts I've found there is nothing that can be done.
FatDaddyWampus
Contributor
4 years ago
What do your modem logs look like? Power levels, event log, etc.?
AJava
New Contributor
4 years ago
Here is some of the stuff I found.
- FatDaddyWampus
  Contributor
  4 years ago
  First thing I'd do is look at your cabling, your modem isn't even syncing the time. T2, T3, & T4 timeouts? That's a very poor connection to the CMTS (assuming the CMTS isn't down - unlikely). Best guess is either cables and/or connectors or something is producing a lot of noise on your lines.
  
  What are you power levels like? They must look awful with that event log.
  - AJava
    New Contributor
    4 years ago
    where would I check power levels?
MichaelJ
Moderator
4 years ago
AJava, if you continue to experience these signal drops, please reach out to us to troubleshoot and/or schedule a tech to come out. You may reach us by email: cox.help@cox.net, by Twitter @COXHELP, or by Facebook messenger. You may also contact us at 1-800-234-3993. Tech support is available 24/7.

Thank you,

Mike J>
Cox Support Forums Moderator
- AJava
  New Contributor
  4 years ago
  Hi Mike. I tried emailing cox.help@cox.net, but the email bounced back. Is that the right address?
  - BrianM
    Moderator
    4 years ago
    Sorry, that was a typo it is cox.help@cox.com
    
    Brian
    Cox Support Forum Moderator
TechGuy478
New Contributor
4 years ago
Use their Text support at 54512. It is better than email or waiting forever on hold.

Took months to get mine resolved. 2 years ago I tried to get Cox to remove vines growing on the line near the pole where it crosses a neighboring yard, but they would NOT take responsibility for servicing THEIR line. Over time it degraded the pole connection. In October they replaced my modem but still had issues and they got worse over time. I finally got a tech to come out about 6 weeks ago and he said the line was the issue and put in an order for a bucket truck to replace my line. That service was scheduled for more than a month later. THEN they only replaced the connector and NOT the line. Vines still pulling on the line. I AM VERY FRUSTRATED. Consumer Advocate Division was supposed to call me as I conveyed this to a support supervisor.
TellFinch
New Contributor
4 years ago
AJava and anyone else with this issue, I used the 54512 text based help this morning to connect with an agent who wrote:

"Thank you so much for your patience, the system is not showing me any outage in your area at the moment, however, it seems that your modem is not getting the correct internet signal from our end, causing the issues you are experiencing at home, I will proceed with the basic troubleshooting in order to resolve your connectivity issues."

then

" I will need to send a signal to your modem, this new and strong signal will refresh your equipment modem, resolving your connectivity issues."

The new and strong signal restarted my panoramic wifi modem. I also rebooted my laptop, other devices, and even my phone.

then

"Thank you so much for your patience, according to the system your modem is getting now the correct signal from our end, the signal that I just sent is stronger and actually can clean all the packet lost that your modem was getting."

YMMV, but I've noticed a consistent connection where before it would drop frequently and unexpectedly and it was wreaking havoc with work calls, webinars and videochats.

Worth a shot to ask whether Cox is seeing "the correct internet signal from their end" and, if not, whether they can send you the "new and strong signal" to clean all the packet loss. Good luck.
- TellFinch
  New Contributor
  4 years ago
  ^^ Total nonsense. The "correct signal" was not a solution. I had a Cox tech come out today and he pretty quickly was able to diagnose what was wrong. He showed me his screen with half green and half red signals. Seemed like lots of noise on the line. Then, he removed an ancient splitter at the side of the house, had me use a coupler instead of a splitter inside the house, and he even went up the pole across the street to further diagnose the issue. It seems better now, not from a top download speed perspective, but definitely from a download/upload consistency perspective. I signed up for the the Cox support plan for $10/month so I didn't have to pay the $75. I was told I could cancel after 3 months. I figure $30 is worth it for better support, a home visit for hardware troubleshooting, and (so far) a noticeable improvement. Every signal on his screen was green before he left. Nice guy who spent some time explaining what he was doing.
DanniAck
New Contributor
4 years ago
Same issue and it's increasing in frequency.
Chat tech support tells me signal is fine. My speed has been slow for 2 months and I'm told it's due to too many people using it in my neighborhood... but now the dropping signal is unacceptable as it is impossible to do my business from home!
I get told tech has to come out - could cost me $75 unless I buy the protection plan... so now you want more money from me to diagnose YOUR issue?!