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Packet loss due to upstream channels dropping

A Cox Customer
over 1 year ago

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.

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  • 0 over 1 year 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.

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