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Internet Problems
updated: Oct 12, 2012, 10:06 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

Do any other Santa Barbara Cox Internet users experience outages on a regular basis? It seems to happen nearly every night for me around 9pm and it is becoming very frustrating.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 330644	2012-10-12 10:16 AM
Happened to me last night at about that time, so perhaps it affected many folks. I don't have that problem regularly though.
COMMENT 330647P	2012-10-12 10:25 AM
Used to happen to me all the time. Gave up on them and switched to Impulse (formerly West Net).
COMMENT 330648	2012-10-12 10:26 AM
Internet service is reasonably good for me in the Turnpike/Patterson/Cathedral Oaks area. I have their bundle and I more often have little "glitches" with HD TV. Also, webmail is often slow and balky.
COMMENT 330649	2012-10-12 10:27 AM
Not outages, per say, but it does regularly go out at night. But if I reset my router (the one provided by Cox, not the wiresless network) then it comes back on within a minute. An annoyance, but fixable.
COMMENT 330650	2012-10-12 10:27 AM
constant outages. thankfully i can use my verizon smartphone or ipad, but honestly, it is a shame we don't have more options.
COMMENT 330651P	2012-10-12 10:27 AM
No problems for me.
COMMENT 330652	2012-10-12 10:31 AM
that is prime fap time
COMMENT 330654P	2012-10-12 10:32 AM
Thankfully, no problems at all. I have HDTV, internet, & Business phone service. I am saving a ton of $$$ since switching my business phone from Verizon to Cox Business. FWIW, I am in Carpinteria.
COMMENT 330656	2012-10-12 10:47 AM
A couple weeks ago, I was getting Cox internet outages every day after midnight for a couple hours each time. I called their customer support, and they had an automated message that said they were aware of the problems and that it was affecting a number of people in SB. They must have been working on something, but I never found out what. Since then, it's been okay.
COMMENT 330666	2012-10-12 11:00 AM
Use DSL reports site. It allows you to compare your speed and outages to other users with the same ISP. Accounts are free. Information is useful.
COMMENT 330667	2012-10-12 11:01 AM
My girlfriend was having similar issues for weeks. Mostly drastically decreased internet speeds. Replaced the splitter and modem and it seems to be okay, for now.
COMMENT 330676	2012-10-12 11:09 AM
All the time. They always blame it on your modem and check your modem speed. After they say your modem needs an upgrade then they say you should buy a faster internet plan and try and sell you on it. They have also been raising their prices almost monthly little by little.
COMMENT 330677	2012-10-12 11:13 AM
My Cox internet has been very good. There are occasions where the data rate drops below 10 Mb/s but normally it is close to 30 Mb/s. Cox could never achieve 10 and normally was less than 2 Mb/s.
COMMENT 330679	2012-10-12 11:16 AM
Its important to know that the technicians that Cox has are not very capable. they only know how to install cable and test the lines for signal. they have virtually no knowledge of technology beyond installing lines and testing signal. NEVER listen to them. They will always blame the modem and they havnt a clue about the underlying settings or technologies that drive connectivity. Know that if they were capable they wouldnt be working as install techs for Cox. They'd be making $150k as engineers not 40k as installation techs.
COMMENT 330680	2012-10-12 11:19 AM
Happens all the time. It is so reliable you can set your clock by it. I complained and then my lawyer complained and I got a discount on my bill. A Cox tech explained to my lawyer that they refresh their DNS addresses at midnight (EST) and if there is a hiccup, it can cause a momentary outage. The solution is to reboot your modem. It is simply how they designed there antiquated system.
COMMENT 330682	2012-10-12 11:24 AM
Maybe one outtage a year, tops. Is it possible you are using an older, unsupported DOCSIS 1 modem?
COMMENT 330687	2012-10-12 11:35 AM
I'm in Noleta. Problems all the time. Verizon is much worse. Technology from the '90's. Another greedy company that is an embarassment to the USA.
COMMENT 330689	2012-10-12 11:45 AM
I've had Cox for years and it's always been stable except this one time. I moved to a new apt and had nothing but problems for over a year. Bad internet, bad TV reception. Cox were troopers and came out 8+ times. Replaced the modem, replaced the router, computer tech service you name it, they did it all and I still had problems. Finally they decided to replace all the cable and connectors inside the apt and outside and to the pole. At the pole they found that my wonderful neighbors had tapped into my service with some kind of ancient rusty splitter and it was causing all the problems. Cox removed it and I had no problems after that; but my neighbors had to either pay for their own service or do without.
COMMENT 330702	2012-10-12 12:36 PM
Have to agree with 676. Internet service can sometimes slow to a crawl or go out entirely ... Cox will say the slowdown is probably due to so many people being online at the same time, or to do a modem/router reset or upgrade. Last invoice from Cox had an offer to rent a new combo router/modem (which would be cheaper to buy outright). When asked about the specific model, the rep didn’t seem to know and gave out wrong info. Too bad there’s not more competition.
COMMENT 330711	2012-10-12 01:08 PM
Thanks everyone for letting me know I need to stick with my $32/mo 3355/863Kb Verizon DSL. It's down about 3 hours a year at most. Their support is hard to reach but I rarely need to call them. No problems ever with my Actiontec router from them and the wireless is fabulous. Cox does have very good phone support I think, I've called them many times for clients. I am so jealous of friends who have Cox and get from 11mb up to 32mb, wow almost 10x faster! However outages are so regular as is dramatic slow downs during prime time, not to mention the extra cost, I need reliable over fast...maybe one day when fiber is here and affordable. BTW Impulse is great people and their email service has the best anti-spam filter ever (Postini). However they just resell Verizon DSL and for some reason it is about 1/2 the speed and $10-$15 more a month. Try speedtest dot net or dslreports and make sure you are getting at least 1.5mb or you are are being soaked IMHO.
COMMENT 330713	2012-10-12 01:10 PM
I pay $53/mo for about 20/5 from Cox. Price has been that way for five years without a change, and my speeds are pretty consistent all day and all night. Really, ISPs are the ultimate "Your mileage may vary" thing.
COMMENT 330721	2012-10-12 01:30 PM
LOL @ 652! If you're experiences outages on a regular basis, either your modem or router could be going out. Those are not meant to last for long periods of time.
COMMENT 330751	2012-10-12 02:40 PM
I was getting outages sporadically, and bought a new modem. So far no outages
COMMENT 330776P	2012-10-12 03:44 PM
It is a function of how cable internet works. Essentially it is like a freeway. With no traffic things move very fast but when you do your driving at rush hour everything slows to a crawl. When that happens the cable modem tries to boost the signal. Sometimes you can feel that they get really hot. Typically they start having problems after about 2 years. DSL isn't as fast but it is a Dedicated Subscriber Line. That means every household has its own conduit to the internet and the speed is the same no matter the traffic. I have DSL and it is very reliable. I'll take that over some inflated notion about "speed boost" or whatever Cox has.
COMMENT 330910	2012-10-13 07:48 AM
Agreed. Check the age and "Docsis" version of your modem.
AGENTSME	2012-10-13 10:54 AM
Yes - for me the times of Internet outages are around 9am and then about 6pm and about 9pm..... almost daily... Also when I try to get to my webmail it takes for.ev.er!
COMMENT 330934	2012-10-13 11:06 AM
Happens ALL THE TIME & Cox overcharges like crazy. It's robbery. Seriousy.
COMMENT 330963P	2012-10-13 12:26 PM
A few months ago I had the same intermittent problem. I upgraded my modem and it helped some, but not completely. I called the Cox Internet help line and asked that they check the strength of the signal that I was receiving. They can do this remotely. The signal was very marginal. They sent a technician out. He changed all of my connectors and worked his way outside to the connections in my service junction box and then to the neighborhood connection box. I understand that he also changed a booster amplifier at some point. He did a good job improving my signal strength. Contrary to the complaints noted in some of the other comments, he was competent, did not blame my equipment, and solved my problem. I haven't had any problems since. If you have not been successful at resolving your problem, I suggest you call the Cox help line. Good luck.
COMMENT 330996	2012-10-13 01:36 PM
We experienced outages and very slow downloading for about two weeks. When my husband upgraded that all went away immediately. I wondered if it was a way of Cox getting their customers to upgrade their accounts to a higher level and higher price.
MESAJIM	2012-10-13 02:50 PM
I have this problem as well. A little-known fact for those of you with an axe to grind and time to kill: Note the time of the outage and call COX the next business day and ask for a credit. They will knock off one day's worth of your internet bill for the inconvenience. It's only a couple bucks depending on your plan, but if you do it every day that adds up. Maybe if enough people do this on a regular basis, COX will clean up their act.
COMMENT 331044	2012-10-13 05:34 PM
@Mesajim, no. They'll knock off about 50 cents to a dollar. Check your bill for the credit. They will tell you they are taking off the cost of the internet for that day, but in actuality, it will be less than they charge you for a full day of internet service. Sadly, they are a monopoly and have no reason or motivation to provide service or fairness in market value to the local area when it comes to prices or service. We need to end monopolies in SB County if we wish to change our rates and quality of service.
COMMENT 331069	2012-10-13 08:36 PM
Used to happen all the time, got a new modem and no troubles
COMMENT 331839P	2012-10-16 08:55 AM
Ours has been out since Sunday. The usual unplugging the router, modem, etc., has not helped. We can't get a technician until Wednesday. Our landline, also through Cox, is out as well. Tempted to switch to something else but don't want the hassle.

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