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Review by lgreg See Profile

  • Location: Norfolk, Norfolk City, VA, USA
  • Cost: $35 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Fast, reliable
None to date
Very satisfied
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

In mid-morning procured cable modem and NIC from computer superstore. Picked up self-install kit from Cox office. Tech came late afternoon same day, removed trap (aerial), replaced exterior splitter, replaced couple of F-connectors at splitter. Though NIC on hand, initially tried a USB install but wasn't happy with the slowness of it. Minor glitch in that modem id info entered at Cox office didn't propagate throughout the system. Verbally provided modem id info to support tech over phone. It's obvious immediately that this is BIG change from 56K dialup. A few quick checks show average 1700/225 but no sophisticated tracking undertaken yet. FTP, Webmail, POP, webpage, news all set up and access normally. Support techs at "first-contact" level are friendly and knowledgeable. You will be referred to a higher level of support if they can't answer your question. These observations reflect an activity period of 1-week.

member for 21.8 years, 1229 visits, last login: 4.6 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago


wheres my hat
@capu.net

wheres my hat

Anon

time to uncap!

get a surfboard modem if you dont already have one, and uncap! cox runs great uncapped! they dont do a damn thing either. if they do try to email, just block cox.net from sending you email, that way they cant send their "warning" letter that they are required to. average wdc.speakeasy.net test speeds: 6040k upload: download exceeds 8mbit

cable chick
@206.157.x.x

cable chick

Anon

Re: time to uncap!

Well, it kinda sux that they found out about this. They are putting, or maybe have already, put a filter on to block out any kind of modem tweaks. Dang it. Well it's all good still, if ya get too many people doing that, and people running servers, it's going to kill everyone else' bandwidth and speeds tremendously
MoH Burton
join:2002-05-10
Tempe, AZ

MoH Burton

Member

hmm?

I Was Wondering if Anyone one knew, how specifically u can do that if you can at all, and also I was wondering.... I have a computer with 2nics to share my internet connection becuz its silly to have to pay for more ips but I was wondering if i could get away with getting a cable/dsl router with out having to purchase the ips?

KlaX
@83.xx.254.dsl254-sta

KlaX

Anon

Re: hmm?

Actually, just call them and tell them you need to change ur mac addess, but just tell them the mac address of ur router and then you can hook up 250 computers if u want to..... Thats what a router is for, if they ask "for multiple connection add on for 10$ a month" say "no" and just telll them router mac address and then go for it.

Review by Eskie270 See Profile

  • Location: Tucson, Pima, AZ, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Install: about 1 days
Reliable service
None
Excellent -- better than dial-up!!
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Cox HSI: Signed up through Circuit City...purchased the Self-install kit and Motorola modem. Called Cox and the following day a tech removed the "filter" from the telephone pole. The guy from Cox even looked at my computer to ensure everything was up and running. In fact, he turned he on to this website.

Two days later I purchased LinkSys hardware to hookup lap top (wireless). Will never go back to dial-up!!

Will see what happens with the service during the rainy season.....Lord knows cable goes out every time it rains!

member for 21.8 years, 7 visits, last login: 15.8 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago


Review by TechStar See Profile

  • Location: Solana Beach, San Diego, CA, USA
  • Cost: $35 per month
Fast, reliable, and Tech support is the best.
Not a thing.
Cox HSI is by far the best ISP I've ever had.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Now I've read the posts, and I'm sure that Mr. (or Mrs.) "Blasphemus" is gonna retort with some incoherent, poorly worded garbage because I'm not singing his/her tune... but be that as it may... Cox is awesome. Since day ONE of my service... I have been impressed and always satisfied with it. The few times I've had to call tech support I was always treated like a PERSON... which means I was not patronized or talked down to, and they ALWAYS fixed my problem. Sure Cox had a few kinks to work out, but come ON... it's a BRAND NEW network that was brought up 8 months BEFORE they had intended to, just so we would NOT lose service like AT&T customers did. And any company that shells out 150 million just to keep it's customer's online a couple weeks is OK by me. I have and will continue to recommend Cox HSI to anyone who asks. I get fast download, and totally reasonable upload speeds. This service rocks.

member for 21.8 years, 14 visits, last login: 20.8 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago

blasphemus6
join:2002-05-21
Fredericksburg, VA

blasphemus6

Member

pfffft

Goody goody for you you must have had some awfully welfarish isps before, lol j/k maybe the Fairfax Co. engineer dude that came down this past Friday can bring the issues to light with these downtown bumkins, I mean er field technicians. Actually my past month dealings with Cox hasn't really been bad at all, just like the field tech said "This isn't our fault you need to talk to engineering in Fairfax!" and on the other hand after talking exhaustively to the engineers and Tier 2 Techs comments like "I dont understand why they would tell you this Mr Blasphemus, this is definately a field problem!"

So who's to blame? I figured its either one of 2 things, something's gonna cost a crapload of money to fix, (and they ain't gonna), or maybe my 12 hops to the Gateway has something to do with it, but you can bet you a$$ that its more than likely a lack of communication. Time will tell. Oh, I have really tried to overdue my mental capacity by making sure that all the puntuations and grammer wingdings are in place for all you B.A. Degreed professors out there whom really should lighten up on the grammer lessons and such....this one's for you, disect at will gentlemen! Don't forget that when your playing a FFA ZTN map in Quake 2 server with your fellow clansmen riding in spectator mode, there is no time for grammer, just get the point across. Damn that's right, most of the persons here pay $50 a month for fast webpages and fast e-mail..sorry..forgot!
[text was edited by author 2002-06-09 19:57:36]

[text was edited by author 2002-06-09 20:00:31]

needforspeed59
Cruise Ship Just Passing Through
join:2001-05-02
La Place, LA

needforspeed59

Member

Wroks great on Phoenix!

I agree.My surfing experience has been great. I have had one service call and the field tech took care of things. he even called back that evening to make sure everything was okay!

Review by chaos40 See Profile

  • Location: Woonsocket, Providence, RI, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month
When it's up, it's fast
It's not up too often! Rhode Island connection is horrible since conversion
Beg, borrow or steal any other high-speed 'net connection before going Cox
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've been an @Home customer since it first became available about 4 or 5 years ago. For 99% of that time, it was simply excellent. My 'net connection was the envy of almost every geek I knew. Since just before the conversion from @Home to Cox HSI straight through until my writing this, it's been nothing but grief. If I only had another option, I'd be gone. But as it stands now, Cox HSI is my only option other than dial-up. And, I still have a dial-up account because when the cable connection drops, I still need to be able to get on-line. How rediculous is that?! Nearly $50 per month just for the cable connection, and I still can't rely on it despite the fact that it costs roughly 3-4 times what a steady dial-up account costs.

Avoid Cox HSI if at all possible, and it you do break down and get it, don't say you weren't warned when you can't even get to Google on a Saturday night at 6:30.

member for 22 years, 3 visits, last login: 19.3 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago

blasphemus6
join:2002-05-21
Fredericksburg, VA

blasphemus6

Member

welcome to HSI EAST COAST !!!

welcome fellow HSI get ready to log in some major tech help time and dont you even think about gaming...hope you didnt get snickered into a 1 year contract...muhahhahahhahhahahhahah

2002-06-08 16:12:00 EST: 469 / 125
Your download speed : 469325 bps, or 469 kbps.
A 57.2 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 125195 bps, or 125 kbps.

o and one of the other posters mentioned something about punctuation i got one for ya...? that ought ta cover the grammmerr lesonn mr engliishh thnanx

»/quali ··· l/779404

2002-06-08 16:18:09 Line quality 0% loss latency 73.3ms View..
2002-06-08 16:11:58 Speed test (la) 469/125 kbps
2002-06-08 04:22:36 Line quality 10% loss latency 124ms View..
2002-06-08 04:10:39 Speed test (la) 346/112 kbps
2002-06-08 04:16:42 Line quality ping tests cancelled View..
2002-06-06 19:53:25 Speed test (wc) 338/110 kbps
2002-06-06 20:15:51 Line quality ping tests cancelled View..
2002-06-05 23:10:05 Line quality ping tests cancelled View..
2002-06-05 22:37:12 Speed test (la) 404/96 kbps
2002-06-03 18:55:23 Speed test (la) 1074/101 kbps
2002-06-03 18:54:43 Speed test (wc) 1076/172 kbps
2002-06-03 18:46:49 Line quality 0% loss latency 99.0ms View..
2002-05-30 19:45:16 Speed test (la) 472/100 kbps
2002-05-30 19:56:35 Line quality 0% loss latency 66.2ms View..
2002-05-28 07:36:55 Speed test (ec) 191/239 kbps
2002-05-21 18:27:01 Speed test (www.planetdsl.net) 804/114 kbps
2002-05-21 18:26:13 Speed test (www.planetdsl.net) 550/95 kbps
2002-05-21 18:24:01 Speed test (www.planetdsl.net) 520/187 kbps
vndiktv
join:2001-05-21
Greenville, NC

vndiktv

Member

Re: welcome to HSI EAST COAST !!!

Hey Blas,
I too am on Cox HSI here in NC. It hasn't been as bad a conversion here as in other parts except for intermittent packet loss here and there. I sympathize with ya bro. I am an avid gamer and it's nearly impossible at the present to do so due to packet loss at certain times of the day and night. I did see something on your DSL Reports line test I have to say to ya. It says you had a 73 ms ping to the 1st hop. Well your first hop is your cable modem ( The 10. IP address) which means one of 2 things. You got a bad piece of cat5 or a bad modem. Thought I would throw that atcha. Might want to look into it. Good luck and hope things get better real soon. It can't get any worse. Well good luck man and please post back and let me know what you find out.
blasphemus6
join:2002-05-21
Fredericksburg, VA

blasphemus6

Member

Re: welcome to HSI EAST COAST !!!

dammit this is 3rd time trying to type this cable keeps goin out..for real ok yea i tried everything known to man i swapped 3 nics 3 rental modems 3 sets of net cords alternating the 2 computers to single connect on modem went out purchased own modem surfboard and nothing helps got credited another 50$ (at least someone hears me) to my account yesterday will give Cox credit on that (the complaints finally piling up after a month) but thanks for trying to help dude its really killing me this my only release until i get my Hayabusa but Rob the business side dude from Fairfax was in Fredericksburg on Friday for reasons unknown (hopefully chewing someones ass) so hopefully (please god just this once) he was telling me something last week about how Frederickburg region was supposed to have a T-3 set aside just for business side so hopefully he will be setting up a gateway right here instead of going to Atlanta GA if this is the case my old buddies 5 ms and 11 ms pingtimes will be home again
vndiktv
join:2001-05-21
Greenville, NC

vndiktv

Member

Re: welcome to HSI EAST COAST !!!

Kewl man.. Hope all works out good for ya.. But dude judging by your line test there still looks to be a problem on yourside (not your fault but a problem from tap to set) .. I swear it looks like a bad cat-5 cable or a bad modem, even an old piece of rg-59 unshielded can do this.. But you did say you have multiple hops to the gateway as well, which you shouldn't be but maybe at max 6 or less. I still think I would try and have someone there look at your line test and identify the problem a lil better, but hey I'm not a tech, so there goes that. Well man hope things get better.Peace...
vndiktv

vndiktv

Member

Re: welcome to HSI EAST COAST !!!

Hey, just a thought. Anyway you might download a free version of Neotrace and run one to www.cox.net and let it run for a lil while and then post a snapshot of it in here? Hope you will just curious to see what is happening on the network.
Later man.

emperoroverlord

Anon

Love my Cox HSI

I too have Cox HSI in RI and love it... Have been on for about 1.5 - 2 years and had minor problems during the conversion but its been pretty much hassle free since. And only paying $35 a month... not bad at all..............

Review by Reek See Profile

  • Location: Lubbock, Lubbock, TX, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
Fast when it is working
Bad latency and packet loss
Very bad service and bad tech support
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

The COX HSI service in Lubbock, TX is very unreliable. Every since the change to new cox network I have experienced very bad latency. I play several online games and most nights I get dropped 10 or more times. I have had 5 Cox techs at my house testing and replacing parts. Even the Cox techs have taken screen shots from my computers showing the packet loss through ping testing. I get very good download speeds when it is working but packet loss makes playing online games very difficult. This service is a joke and I recommend anyone in the Texas panhandle to use DSL. DONT BUY COX!

member for 21.8 years, 4 visits, last login: 21.8 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago


DrPondo
@cox.net

DrPondo

Anon

So if you've removed all the possibilites...

if you've had all these techs out checking your line, tap, etc...and they can't find a problem (in regards to THEIR hardware), then maybe, and this is JUST a thought, a suggetion really,I mean MAYBE, it's slightly possible that it's NOT the service, but YOU???
I know it sounds far-fecthed and all. I'm sure you ran a scandisk and defrag already, so if THAT didn' fix it,well, shoot, it MUST be COX.
I'm sure they've got nothing better to do than randomly choose a customer/victim for their next big in-house Latency Joke.
In case youre TRULY dense, that sound you hear while you're reading this is called sarcasm.
Know your PC before laying blanket blame on whatever company you can't "game" on (waaaah).
It's obvious that Cox wants to fix your "problem", evidenced by the 5 techs that have come out to fix it. Yet, you still say they're unreliable?? That you'd rather have DSL?
Do EVERYONE eho knows how to use and ENJOYS their cable modem service a favor....GO TO DSL. PLEASE.
If you can get above 500/bps you'll think you're really FLYING!!!!! (Wow, I'm flying!!! WEEEEEE!!!!)
Come back to earth Peter Pan. Do a traceroute, check for DNS resolution issues, Tech the damn thing instead of whining about it. Ugh.
I've blisters on my eyeballs from reading this swill.
lfowkes5
join:2001-10-14
Flat Rock, MI

lfowkes5

Member

Re: So if you've removed all the possibilites...

You seem to be taking Reek's review rather personally.

I agree there are issues that need to be checked on the customers end as well, however I would think that at least one of the 5 techs would have investigated that while they were there. If 5 tech visits haven't isolated the problem yet then it would seem that Cox needs to ratchet this problem up a level or two, to a network engineer.
ldg
join:2001-08-24
Norman, OK

ldg to DrPondo

Member

to DrPondo
Sounds like DrPondo needs an enema.
My Cox experience has been total hell. Their network sucks, the execs don't care, and I'm dumping their lousy service.
Good riddance.
blasphemus6
join:2002-05-21
Fredericksburg, VA

blasphemus6 to DrPondo

Member

to DrPondo
mth(*er please if you came to my fu*(in house and messed around on a real fukkin computer instead of your welfare need to defrag sh**hole 333 celeron with pc 100 ram that cant play quake 1 offline and played on a real computer aka athlon 1.4 oc'ed geforce 4 128 ddr abit raid twin 80 gig barracudas audigy platinum 5.1 subwoofered 1 gig ddr ive been dealing with these dumf*(kers at Cox for 7 months now and nothing has gotten better but in fact worse for the last month or so , so please THERE IS NO FU(*IN ALTERNATIVES TO COX BUT A FEW PLACES SO STOP SAYING GET DSL BECAUSE ONLY ABOUT 5% OF PPL WHO GOT COX CAN SWITCH.....DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GOD DUDE YOU MUSTA LUCKED OUT AND GOT YOUR OWN PERSONAL NODE CAUSE YOUR THE ONLY ONE THAT AINT BITCHIN... BRRRRR...LOOK FOR SOME FRESH SPEED TESTS AND LATENCY GRAPHS FROM FREDERICKSBURG VA ON THIS THREAD LATER TONIGHT WHEN IM HALF LIT ON GAMESPY!!
blasphemus6

blasphemus6

Member

Re: So if you've removed all the possibilites...

this is 4:10 am eastern time sat june 8....cant be no load on system

2002-06-08 04:10:40 EST: 346 / 112
Your download speed : 346153 bps, or 346 kbps.
A 42.2 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 112170 bps, or 112 kbps.

»/quali ··· l/779044

this is 4 20 am

dueyinNTHFL
@cox.net

dueyinNTHFL to blasphemus6

Anon

to blasphemus6
I feel your pain blas... Ever since about early to mid april here in the northwest side of florida the service has turned to total crap... Im an avid counter-strike fan... Thats really one of the only the reasons I got the service back in Jan 02... Well, that and to d/l music and movies, but its total sh!t right now... my numbers are as bad, if not worse, than blas's numbers... 407kbps d/l and 44kbps u/l... and the only thing keeping me froming goin DSL is the fact that i live in a building older than most of you guys (built in 1950)... The packet loss is unbelievable... Doesnt matter what time it is... And Ive talked to tier 2 now for the past 2 months... They said "we located the problem in one of the routers in pensacola", they said they fixed it, yet my connection is still crap... and its not my computer, like that one guy was suggesting, cuz it runs fine on the connection that the local lan center has... Hmmm, but then again they're not runnin cox HSSh!t... They're on Sprint Business DSL... As we say in the world of counter-strike .... GG Cox HSI!!!
alubyck
Nwflvpnguy
Premium Member
join:2002-03-01
Cantonment, FL

alubyck

Premium Member

Re: I feel your pain

Those rates are crazy! That doesn't look like a router issue. I am off of Nine-mile, and my speed just tested at 2172 and 289 with file share and firewall running. Sure looks as though there is a cable problem WAY WAY before the router. Send me an email as to your general neighborhood, and I will get you a no-BS answer. It has to be somewhere in your neighborhood. I know 2 of the local engineers here in P'cola, and they really do take their jobs seriously. If there IS trouble with the router, they will know about it. P.S. I am NOT a Cox employee
Reek
join:2002-06-05

Reek to DrPondo

Member

to DrPondo
Damn DrPondo, you must work for Cox! Does it hurt knowing that your service sucks! If you read my first msg I said that a Cox tech did find problems with latency and packet loss. They took screen shots and he admitted to me that there are problems with Cox network. The tech also said he just came from another house the had a packet sniffer running and that customer had the same problem. I wonder why all the Lubbock Cox customers playing online go down at the same time? Hmmmm could it be COX! The last lvl 2 tech I spoke to admitted that he was getting packet loss pinging my IP. He also admitted to having the same problem playing online games and FTP work. So, I'm so sorry I hurt your feelings DrPondo but the facts are Cox sucks!

Limpy
@boeing.com

Limpy

Anon

Re: So if you've removed all the possibilites...

My input to this discussion:

I'm in Springfield, VA (considered part of Fairfax, VA by Cox). I lived through almost two years of inconsistent service from the Cox/RoadRunner team. I had 2-3 days of outages occasionally, but most of the time, they would figure out the problems and correct them. I am sure that the RoadRunner guys solved the problems, and the Cox bone heads were just riding coat tails. I have a good friend who works as a network engineer for RoadRunner and he concurs with this. I am also a hard-core Counter-Strike player, and was playing every night. Well at least I was until now....

Now that RoadRunner got smart and left, we are all at the mercy of Cox HSI. Since the "conversion", which is since early May for my area, I have not been able to play Counter-Strike at all. Either I cannot simply even connect to a server, or if I get connected, I would get the dreaded "cl_flushpacket" or something like that and game over. At best I was able to play for about 10 minutes one early Sunday morning, and that was it. And same with most of you, running trace route and Ping Plotter would show packet losses up the butt.
Normal Web surfing seems OK, most of the time, newsgroup downloading is slow, but OK if you don't mind downloading all night while you sleep. But online gaming? "You funny man".

The conversation with Cox technical support when I call them went like this: "Which Operating System are you running Sir? Please reboot your computer?...blah blah blah," the same drill you all got. But here is the interesting part: After several run-arounds and reboots, I finally got routed to the "Top Level" Engineer. Of course he started with the "Please reboot your computer" line. Then he went into the "We don't officially support online games..." line. I then asked him "just out of curiosity, you guys block out certain UDP ports?". There was a silence then he said he did not know what I meant. I started to fume: "You're telling me you're the "Top Level" Engineer and you don't know what UDP port is?" "No sir I do not". After I unleashed a barrage of profanity at him, I told him I wanted to talk to his supervisor. The supervisor did admit to me that they are aware of the online gaming problem, which is occurring everywhere and they are working on it. He said he was an avid Unreal Tourney player himself. So he understands my pain.

So bottom line with COX HSI:

- Web surfing and Email = good.
- Newsgroup downloading = so so.
- Online gaming = Don't even try until they figure it out.
In the mean time, try tweaking your game settings (i.e. cl_upldrate in Counter-Strike). You may get lucky and find a right combination that may work half-way.

There's always online porno to fall back to. Think of it as another way to exercise your hands and reflexes.
Defknot311
join:2002-07-03
Mclean, VA

Defknot311

Member

Agreed

goddamn man I'm a counterstrike/TFC addict myself, and I was just about to play in a league match tonight. I went into the server and I immediately shot up to about 1000+ ms with my good friend cl_flushentitypacket in the right corner of the screen. I didn't get out of that at all, so eventually I just had to leave and get subbed out. Pissed me off like NONE OTHER. But yeah you're right, online gaming for Cox HSI in areas like ours is a JOKE.

s0meguy
@cox.net

s0meguy

Anon

Cox HSI is crap

I'm switching to DSL. I'm not sure it will be any better, but I am positive that Cox HSI doesn't really qualify as broadband. After having techs out at my house, and speaking with them over the phone, it's obvious that they know there's a problem but just don't care. My favorite line was "we don't support games." I'm like ok what do you support? Web surfing ect...So I traceroute yahoo, and 1st hop from my computer to their network is all over the place from 10ms to 310ms and 1% packet loss. The CSR response is the network is fine. I told him I was getting dropped about 20 times a day. He blames it on my modem. I'm like ok why do you think it's my modem? "Because there's nothing wrong with our network." I was like well I'd like to disagree I have more evidence with my traceroute that your network is screwed up than you do my modem is messed up. What gets me is this guy wants me to buy a new modem and he can't even tell me why he thinks it's broken. IMO it's not broadband if you can't get off their network in under 50ms and 0% packetloss. After that I agree they aren't responsible. But the problem with cox is THEIR part of the network needs to be upgraded.
Reek
join:2002-06-05

Reek

Member

Re: Cox HSI is crap

I agree with you S0meguy. The Cox techs used that same line with me..."We dont support games." They tried to blame the problems on my modem but I was renting at the time so they replaced it. Guess what...same problems week after week. On bad days I would get dropped in excess of 20 times no matter what game I play! I ordered DSL from Southwestern Bell and I will run them side by side for a comparison. I'm like you, I dont know if DSL will be better but I'm sick of Cox HSI support techs and the bull@#$% they are feeding us.
jdbehlen
join:2002-11-06
Lubbock, TX

jdbehlen

Member

Cox HSI blows

Cox HSI is a complete joke for me. Packet loss all the time (around 30%), non stop ping spiking which makes gaming impossible, and people who have no clue what they are talking about for their tech support. I know its not me cause my machine works fine at home (i'm at college) and i never get any spiking of loss with ATTBI.

Review by cygnus6 See Profile

  • Location: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, OH, USA
  • Cost: $29 per month
  • Install: about 3 days
Not Blocking Every Port
Blocks Port 80 Speed is only 1/3 of Rated
Service is not bad if you just want to surf
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I have had the service for 2 weeks now, I did the self install so everything worked with no problems. Powered on my machines, and they worked, was receiving mail to my domain, could FTP to my site I host on my machines and then I tried to hit my Web Site no can do. Finally determined that my equipment was not the problem had to be the service. Called Tech Support and sure enough they block port 80 for residental service. No more webmail for me nor a website. Work only allows certain ports through the firewall and port 80 is one. I wish they would state port blocking on their site. Although they do say NO SERVERS. Then I started doing speed test and I am only getting 1/3rd of the rated speed 3000/256. I called Tech Support and informed them that I was only averaging 900-1200 on downloads. I was told I am in specs Famous Phrase "UP TO 3000!" What a bunch of crap. Heck they might as well say up to 10000. Service has been good and solid so far, so if you are looking to surf it works pretty good.

member for 24.2 years, 53 visits, last login: 18.5 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago


belushi
Premium Member
join:2000-11-08
Twinsburg, OH

belushi

Premium Member

You should be happy.

I'm a little confused as to what you are upset about if anything. Your speeds of 900-1200 Kbps down are as about as good as you should get on a cable modem. The advertised speed of 3000 Kbps down is what can happen if no one else in your neighborhood is using their cable modems at the same time you are. You should have known that though. Plus you are only paying $29/month which I must say is far cheaper than the prices you would pay for comparable speeds of DSL. As far as the port blocking, there really is nothing you can do about this. I'm sure you can pay for a service where they don't block the ports necessary to run your webserver, but the price will most likely go way-way up as well. One other thing, have you tried any form of VPN yet. I have seen that some cable companies are sporadically blocking IPSEC traffic (used for VPN) on their residential cable networks. I'm interested to see if they are in the Cleveland area. Remember, things could be a whole lot worse. You could have Adelphia like other Clevelanders.
christhomas8
join:2002-06-01
Rocky River, OH

christhomas8

Member

Re: You should be happy.

You are correct that VPN is the way to go, as I have been using it via my netscreen-5 firewall/VPN on the Cox (rocky river) system for awhile with no problems to date. This was a concern of mine also with their residential (dynamic IP address) service. I wanted a static IP address business service anyway, and will buy this when available soon. Nevertheless, you are correct.
christhomas8

christhomas8

Member

city chicken

This person forgets that no cable service is "guaranteed" bandwidth, because bandwidth is not throttled directly to you as it is with DSL or frame relay...Duhhh...You should have known that the "up to 3 Mbps" statement is shared to a limited extent with other users. He should have purchased the fastest DSL (for 15 times more money) if he wants to complain. I hate whiners. Waaaa Waaaa Waaaa.

ndkskikswe
@bellsouth.net

ndkskikswe

Anon

tweak

have you adjusted your rwin? i have cox at my (on dsl right now) home and when i first got it i was in the 1200-1300 range. after adjusting the rwin it raised to 1800-2300!

Review by tdb See Profile

  • Location: New Orleans, Jefferson, LA, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
Speed, Speed, Speed, no caps that I can see
None really
I didn't have the problems that everyone else has.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I finally got my roommate to get Cox HSI. DSL was not available on our phone line, and Bellsouth had no idea why. Anyway, having had RoadRunner at my parents' house, I was inclined to stick with what I knew. We got the Express setup packet from the Cox retail store on Veterans Blvd. in Metairie, LA, (we live in Harahan) then went to BestBuy to get a LinkSys 4 port Cable/DSL router. There was no up-front charge at all for either the kit or the setup. We decided to rent a modem, so our total is $45 a month ($35 service + $10 modem rental) There is no contract term so we can quit at any time. While we were signing up, I asked the guy at the store several questions about the migration, caps, routers to share the connection, etc... He said that most of the migration issues were solved 4 months ago and that there are no individual user caps, only that the entire greater NOLA area was capped. (he didn't elaborate) He also said they had no problems with us using a router, only that they wouldn't offer tech support for it. Cox HSI only has one level of service in the Orleans/Jefferson Parish (county) area. (apparently the North Shore has a tierd rate plan, test market, I think) We did all of this on Friday afternoon before Memorial Day, so the setup time wound up being Tuesday. (one business day) The kit included a Toshiba PCX 2200 modem (both Ethernet and USB capable), a 20' (or so) and 6' coax cable, a splitter, CD Rom's, and some documentation.

Tuesday rolls around and the installer shows up at about 3:30 pm or so. The installer was actually a sub contractor for Cox, and was a nice guy. The express setup deal is basically that Cox will do whatever it takes up to the modem, everything on the other side of the modem is your responsibility. (unless there is something wrong with the wiring in your house, then they might charge you) We didn't have to worry about that. After he locaed the tap, he pulled the filter off of our line. (apparently Cox put filters on everyones' lines at the tap when they did system upgrades a few years back) The modem didn't work at first, but he messed around a bit more and got us a good, solid connection. All in all, the installation from their end was quick and painless. The tech also said that there are no caps at all in the greater NOLA area.

After it was up and running, and after some tinkering around with the router, I tested the connection and routinely got over 1mbs on three of the four computers connected to the router. (I haven't tweaked the last one yet) During off-peak times I've seen 2.4mbps, so if there is a d/l cap, it's set really high. (both speeds clocked from eatel.net in Baton Rouge, 60 miles up the road) The u/l speeds tend to hover around 250kbps, so the u/l might be capped. I don't know. Cox gives you a dynamic IP address with the lease lasting for 24 hours. However, after some reading, I found out that they seem to try to give you the same IP number based on your MAC address. I tested this with the Linksys (it can clone MAC addresses) and lo and behold, I got a different IP number with a different address. When I switched it back the router's own MAC address, I got the original IP number back. Cox says on their support website that they block a few ports, like 135, 139 and some others associated with Windows file and print sharing, and some common trojan ports as well. I haven't really tested if this is true. The didn't list any common server ports as being blocked, so I don't know if they routinely search for them or what. I didn't even touch the included CD-Roms, so I have no idea if they work or what is on them. I read somewhere (not on any official Cox webpages) that the news servers are capped for bandwidth and speed, but I haven't tested them. It seems that any caps would only be an issue for serious warez hounds.

Overall, I am very happy so far. It's been two days and no problems. (at least none that were Cox's fault) I have read all over the internet about the Migration problems, and most of them seem to be over now or they were related to the @home setup on the user's end. I have also heard about speed problems, but have yet to see any. I don't know how many users are on my node, so we might just be luckey and have few users in our area. It seems like Cox's move to their own system was a good one, and it seems that there is plenty of bandwidth to go around.

[update] The tech was wrong. I just used docsis diag to access the config info on my Toshiba PCX2200 and it reports a download cap of 3mbps (3,000,000 bps) and an upload cap of 256k (256,000 bps) I have come close to hitting the barrier, but haven't done it yet.

member for 21.8 years, 1327 visits, last login: 328 days ago
lodged 21.8 years ago

blasphemus6
join:2002-05-21
Fredericksburg, VA

blasphemus6

Member

thanx...i think ill go shoot myself now

good for you ....check this out
»/quali ··· l/772039

[text was edited by author 2002-05-31 07:23:34]
thanx haveOOLnow appreciate it....i hope no one tried to hack me cause i usually release my modem all day long and get a fresh ip the next day....hope no one hacked grandma..lol
[text was edited by author 2002-05-31 07:24:54]

IncognitoOOL
join:2001-11-13
New York, NY

IncognitoOOL

Member

Re: thanx...i think ill go shoot myself now

Good job! You just gave us your IP adress on that line quality test. I would remove it quickly before anyone else sees it.
tdb
join:2002-05-30
Concord, NC

tdb to blasphemus6

Member

to blasphemus6
Did you get a new IP number? I read, (and independantly verified, see the review) that Cox will more likely then not keep giving you the same IP if at all possible. (based off of your MAC address.)

Review by FreakyGeek See Profile

  • Location: Omaha, Douglas, NE, USA
  • Cost: $34 per month (month by month)
  • Install: about 7 days
Easy and fast (self) setup.
Required to have digital cable to get HSI. +NEVER trust their install software.
56K backup? Pishhh. I'd rather blow the dust off that ol Atari.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Cox HSI
Omaha
Add. 3000/300 real 2140/289 on a good day.

Can someone give me a good link to info on release/new of my IP addy. I've tried it a few times but it stays locked on the same IP. Maybe there's some simple trick i'm overlooking. Or even more likey i'm just ignorent. :P Cox advertises that the IP is dynamic. I havne't seen it change in the past month that i've been watching it.

>>>rant>>>
I never call Cox tech support. That way i am less likey to say rude things to people i don't even know I think the only reason Cox needs a Tech support hotline is due to their own screwup. The install software. They probably looked at the software and said to themselves WOW look at all that left over space on the CD. 649MB left, we just gotta fill that up with something to keep our tech support guys busy. Then we can raise the price of service to pay for the tech support. PERFECT! So yeah anyway, my self setup took me less then 2 minutes. Period.

I dropped my 56K backup. If i can't have broadband then i'd rather be out fishing in a rain puddle. Moving in between DSL and cable nodes seems like a a lot of trouble, but i'm aaallll out of bait.

member for 21.8 years, 174 visits, last login: 17.3 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago


FreakyGeek
join:2002-05-27
Omaha, NE

FreakyGeek

Member

UMMM YEAH RATING STARS

I rated the support at 2 stars and i read my post rating for support is at 4 stars. This happen to anyone else before?

CCLA
@cox.net

CCLA

Anon

Here Ya go

Swap Your NIC, Reboot Modem, You'll more than Likely get a different IP.

theurge
@cox.net

theurge

Anon

Wrong...

Actually, to get cox, you dont have to have digital. In fact you can get it even w/o cable.

SsJBrex
@cox.net

SsJBrex

Anon

better than dsl, not great

really, with @home was getting 1400-2900k dls all the time

but with the hsi i only get 300-900k

i know i shouldnt whine cause with dsl i only got 40-80, but come one @home ruled

Review by t3tris See Profile

  • Location: Mesa, Maricopa, AZ, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 7 days
Great speed, reliability is awesome, great for gamers.
I was charged for a network card I didn't get.
For the cost, you wont find a better speed in Phoenix.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Ordering:
I had a roomate order the service so I can't say exactly how it went, but I was charged an extra 20 dollars for a network card I didn't need. (not a biggie, but was unable to get a refund as i had signed the work order saying he installed one.)

Installation:
Took a little longer than the last cable install I had, at my old house, but we got Digital Cable, and Internet service installed this time. He had to run some cable over the top of the house (very nice installation up there, looks very clean) and drill a hole thru my back wall into my room.

He actually screwed up pretty bad and drilled a hole into a stud, thankfully no damage was done to the house. He put a cover on the extra hole and drilled another, which worked great.

He asked if I needed help installing the modem/etc and I declined... He made sure I knew howto install it myself and made sure I knew where the phone number for customer service was.

The speed was 3m/300k down/up, and after checking the modem's configuration, that was indeed the cap. I rarely see 3m/sec downloads, usually ranging from 700k-100k depending on the server. Upload speeds cap at around 150k up.

Got a Surfboard SB4100, about as close to a static IP as possible (after 6 months I still have the same IP, but it is possible to loose the lease if i'm not online for a long time.)

Overall:
Great price for a great modem, service, reliability, connections to servers within 500 miles ping no higher than 60, usually 30-50. East coast servers ping around 90-120.

Although I do have a few problems with Cox, (hole in the wall, news server not mirroring everything, being charged for a network card I didn't get) ... these are all part of the contract -I- signed, so it doesn't bother me too much.

Can't be beat the price and speed ratio.

member for 21.8 years, 4 visits, last login: 21.8 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago


dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

speeds

Sad, but true. its the best offered in phoenix you can get. there are problem areas as well (phoenix,mesa,tempe)
the next best is qwest dsl 640/272 or 1280/1088 [if you want to spend $200 a month]. @home is being missed everywhere.

FreakyGeek
join:2002-05-27
Omaha, NE

FreakyGeek

Member

Network card

In Omaha, Cox hands out the network cards for free. 6$ for the same card at the local Best Buy. eeerrr maybe that's a bad thing.

susume
@cox.net

susume

Anon

Cox HSI pimps on the weekend

Damn Cox Cable will not admit to the fact that on the weekends it cannot handle the loads it has. My service hits all time new lows every weekend with the lag I experience. Pinging the gateway is like random number generator. The technicians regurgitate helpless info to me and constantly blame lag on either my PC or game server regardless of its location. GG Cox Cable and any other ISP that will blame gaming as a bandwidth hog and not their services inadequacies. Yes occasionally I get good latency but I am now tired of the blame game. Cox wave goodbye to feed-up gamers as the flock to dsl again for stable latency regardless of what amount of bandwidth you offer as you cannot guarantee adequate service 7 days a week.

Review by whmueller See Profile

  • Location: Scottsdale, Maricopa, AZ, USA
  • Cost: $26 per month
Fast reliable connection.
None.
I would recommend Cox to anyone. I come from Qwest DSL.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Coming from Qwest DSL, I am very pleased with Cox HSI. Installed on 4/26 when I moved in to a new apartment, the installer went out of his way to ensure I had everything connected up and working on my first day moved in - even coming back once to check and calling afterwards to ensure everything was working properly.

Even though I came in on the tail end of Cox network conversion, I had only a few days of sub-standard performance (actually, it was like the DSL I was used to). Mostly I seem to be consistently in the low 3000's kbps down and around 270 up.

member for 23.4 years, 3586 visits, last login: 12.5 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago

blasphemus6
join:2002-05-21
Fredericksburg, VA

blasphemus6

Member

must be nice

all of the out west Cox field personel needs to come over and get trained on how to REALLYYY talk to the customer...for instance..."o Mr Blasphemus my supervisor told me to tell you that if you dont like your cable...turn in your cable modem.!!!" "It doesnt matter that you ping the headEND at 200ms, ALLL of your games freeeze, and your speed is only 1/5th the advertised speed (because as you know Mr Blasphemus if you read the fine print...it states" speeds UP TO 1.5M / sec down and 192k up" Go back to dial up." FU

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: must be nice

some people here in phoenix would KILL for 200ms to their headend.
grimtooth
join:2002-01-27
Phoenix, AZ

grimtooth to blasphemus6

Member

to blasphemus6
I was told by the cox reps that the new policy is that THEY DO NOT SUPPORT GAMERS.

I've had it for 8 years and it was great.. The conversion.. Guess what.. Untill the network is stable, we'll be in conversion forever.

I get spikes, lag, packet loss, bottlenecks, my games will freeze at wierd and odd times during normal game play for a few seconds. I will also experience my ping or data rate cycling during some games.

I know Earthlink 1.5 meg dsl is available to me, so it looks like I'm switching. If you want to communicate about performance, just email me and I'll tell you what I know about the cox situation here and in Las Vegas where their main data center is.

Email is grimtooth@cox.net

Jigsaw
Stardust We Are
Premium Member
join:2000-10-21
Cleveland, OH

Jigsaw

Premium Member

Re: must be nice

Heres a line test from here.
»/quali ··· l/769628
It was done in the afternoon about 1:30 pm.Been with Earthlink for about a year and a hlf and Love it.