Problem with CISCO DPC3010 DOCSIS 3.0 Modem

"the "Link" light was flashing "amber""

The link light being amber just means the connection between the modem and the router is a 10/100 rate. This is because even though the 4 LAN ports on the E2000 are 10/100/1000, the 1 WAN (Internet) port is 10/100. The 1000Mbps connection your seeing on your computer is the connection between Computer and router. See post here by Cox moderator confirming.

" the best answer I've found is that I am not running at the DOCSIS 3.0 speeds."

That is incorrect. See above. As long as the DS and US are blue, then your channel bonding, which is what makes DOCSIS 3.0 work. See here for full light diagram here.

"I don't think my speeds are any different than they were when I was using the older modem."

That is possible and normal. With the Preferred tier, your only supposed to  get up to 25Mbps down, and 5Mbps up. Anything above that is gravy. Another words, you may sometimes get more speed for little bit if your doing a big download (or speedtest) but only if the bandwidth is available in your area. Thats why you will sometimes see slower speeds during busier times of the day.

"that he needed to have COX remove his older service code settings and replace them with DOCSIS 3.0 code."

While this IS a known issue, its a issue with Premier customers, not preferred. That's because there are two different service codes in Cox system for Premier, one for people with a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, and one for those that don't. Its all the same code for Preferred.

I think it's probably worth adding as well that while a 3.0 modem isn't absolutely necessary for Preferred speeds trying to get 25Mbps out of a single channel will make your connection more vulnerable to performance issues resulting from peak demand.  For this reason we now require a 3.0 modem for new customers establishing service on Preferred and higher tiers.  In your particular situation a 3.0 modem will help provide more consistent speeds due to the modem's channel bonding features.  As for the amber link light on the modem that would indicate that you don't have a gigabit connection between the modem and connected device.  You may have to try connecting different devices to the modem and check the light to isolate the problem further.

Chris,

First off, thanks for your reply. I get it! Regarding the flashing amber Link light issue, might this go away by changing my ethernet cables to CAT6? Postings I've read online regarding this problem seemed to point to changing the ethernet cables and people who did that had good results. I used the cable that came with the new modem, however other ethernet cables I'm using are CAT5. Do you think it would help or hurt things to make everything CAT6?

Thanks.

Chris,

Just thought of one other thing. You responded to another customer who was having this came issue and receommended:

"The amber link light indicates a non-Gigabit Ethernet connection.  If it only goes amber with the router connected it sounds like the router and modem aren't negotiating a gigabit link correctly.  Maybe that can be set in the router settings or could indicate that the WAN port on the router may be experiencing problems.".

By router settings, if you mean my CISCO router configuration, what settings specifically are you referring to? Thanks again!

Thanks for your reply Heath,

I had checked the light diagram before, but what puzzled me was that, under Link (light), there was only a reference to a Green solid, flashing or no light. I didn't see anything for a flashing Amber light, so the diagram didn't help me much.

On my particular modem, the CISCO DPC 3010, the Power, DS, US and Online lights are all solid Green, which for this modem is the same as Blue on other modems. They are all solid green, so there's nothing wrong there.

I did understand the difference in up/down speeds between Preferred and Premier tiers. I just did another speed test and got 32.68 down and 22.74 up at 30ms. For Preferred, I agree that this is not bad.

Your reply has been very helpful. What threw me about all of this goes back to the email I first received from COX  announcing that faster speeds were available, and then following up with an email that said my old CISCO 100 (2.0) modem who need to be upgraded to one of the supported DOCSIS 3.0 modems in order to take advantage of the new, faster speeds. The implication was that my old modem was going to be a problem and therefore I needed a new one soon. Naturally, I bought the 301o right away and installed it, then called COX to give them the MAC address. It was then that my concerns began. While the COX tech was doing his thing on his end, and I was following his instructions, that I noticed the Link light flashing amber. I knew right away that it wasn't supposed to be doing this so I asked him to tell me what was going on. He had no idea, even after trying a few things from his end. The light continued to flash. In the end, he admitted that he didn't have an answer but assured me that I was connected, so there wasn't a problem.

Of course, every time I see that flashing light, something in my head tells me that there is a problem. That is why I came here to find some answers. Yours make sense to me.

I have one other question, and I also posed this to Chris, who also answer my posting. I used the ethernet cable that came with the new modem for the installation. I read some other postings from people who have had the blinking amber light issue and they were often told to try a new CAT6 cable. After what you've told me, I don't think a new cable is going to increase the speed. I'm just wondering whether or not I should try a new cable to see if the light stops flashing? In fact, the other ethernet cables I am using are probably CAT 5, so I'm wondering if I ought to replace them as well? Would this make sense to do, or should I leave wewll enough alone?

Thanks!

 

Hi dekatt,

Switching to a CAT6 cable will allow for more bandwidth, which in turn could result in faster speeds.  Getting a new cable definitely could not hurt.  I will not say that the light will change from amber but that is not actually a "problem" per se.  Hope this helps, let us know if you needed anything else.

dekatt said:
Regarding the flashing amber Link light issue, might this go away by changing my ethernet cables to CAT6?

Actually, allow me to retract my previous statement. It seems there is some conflicting information about the Linksys E2000 router on the internet. Some sources show the Internet port (WAN) as 10/100, but the manual specifically says its a Gigabit port. See page 4. So yes, make sure the ethernet cord from modem to router is either a CAT5e or CAT6 and NOT a CAT5.

dekatt said:
By router settings, if you mean my CISCO router configuration, what settings specifically are you referring to? Thanks again!

Some routers have the ability to manually set the duplex of the WAN port. For example, my Dlink DGL-4500 had that option. Most though are automatic, sensing the capability of the connection and automatically configure themselves. This is what the Auto-duplex feature means on routers. I looked through the manual for your router, and even through the emulator and found no such option.

dekatt said:
I didn't see anything for a flashing Amber light, so the diagram didn't help me much.

Yes, I just noticed that too. I assumed it would. Sorry about that. It also doesn't mention the downstream and upstream lights turning blue. They do right? Im just going off memory when I had the same modem a few years back, so forgive my inaccuracy.

DerrickW said:
 I will not say that the light will change from amber but that is not actually a "problem" per se.

I agree with this. I feel bad that your investing all this energy for very little gain. The modem notice was probably sent to you by mistake. They probably scanned their system for everyone with a DOCSIS 2.0 modem and sent the same notice to everyone, even though some people had preferred like you, who wouldn't directly benefit from the new modem. Also, it doesn't really matter if the connection from modem to router is "only" 100Mbps if the connection from modem to COX is only 32Mbps. It would be like investing in a new 4G cell phone when there is no 4G coverage in your area. You only have to worry about it if/when you internet tier allows for over 100Mbps speed.