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screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

question about front panel LED for Motorola SB6141.

I am on Cox preferred tier and am using a Motorola SB6141 modem. Since I bought the modem, the 3 LED from the top has lights up in blue. About 2 days ago, it switched to green. From the manual, blue means the internet connection is with bonded upstream channels and green is non-bonded. Does it matter if the modem is bonded or not for my tier?

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

Sounds like your upstream channel lost bonding. Probably not "needed" for your tier, but couldn't hurt, and usually helps. Also, a channel bonding problem is usually a symptom of some other kind of signal problem. What are the signal levels of the modem? You can find them on the signal tab at 192.168.100.1
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

For upstream,
Power Level 42 dBmV

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

That seems spot on. Could you post all the signal levels though? Also, have you tried a reboot?
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

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rebooted did not change anything, power cycle did not change anything.

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

Well they either locked upstream channel bonding in your area or there is some signal problem not showing in the data. Perhaps a issue with the US SNR, which you can only see on Cox's end.

I say call Cox, check for known problems in the area and have them check your Upstream SNR (Tx SNR)
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

Thanks. I think I will wait a week or 2 before calling.

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

If you wish. Keep a eye on your service though. I would predict your getting some T3 and T4 errors too. Might want to check the modem logs for them. But if everything is 100% performance wise, yea, I can see waiting as being acceptable.
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

Will keep an eye on the log.
Not sure it is related. I have an IP address in 72.xx.xx.xx for years and was change to 15x.xx.xx.xx last week. Don't know if the LED switched to green at the same time as they switched me back to 72.xx.xx.xx

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

No, not related. What IP you get has nothing to do with the signal going to the modem. Just like your phone number has nothing to do with your phone(talking hard line). Probably indirectly related because with the channel bonding change probably came a reboot, and that reboot might have changed your IP. But even if you had nothing plugged into the modem (and thus no IP) the 2nd and 3rd light should be blue.
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

Am I supposed to have 4 channels bonded? Or 2 or 3?
cookiesowns
join:2010-08-31
Irvine, CA

cookiesowns

Member

Irvine is mainly 3 ATM. Have you tried using the "reset" defaults and rebooting modem?

Supposedly the 3rd channel is mainly used for eMTA's
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

Have tried "reset" and reboot. If I reboot enough time, 2 channels will bond.
cookiesowns
join:2010-08-31
Irvine, CA

cookiesowns

Member

Points to signal issue. Might want to call out a tech.
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

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At this time, I got 2 channels bonded.
screenname

screenname

Member

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After I read Buddylee's post in »[CA] New Motorola SB6141 same connection issues , I added an 1 to 3 splitter to the cable between the wall and my modem. The attached is the signal levels detect by my SB6141.

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

Only thing a splitter does is...well split the signal, so if anything it makes it weaker. But i don't think this is a signal problem. I think its either a modem, firmware, or issue in the area. Or it could be the saturation in the area is really low and they only need to channel to meet throughput. How is your upload speed?
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

1 edit

screenname

Member

I don't upload a whole lot... When I do speed test, it varies between 1.xxx to 5.xxx Mbps depend on time of day. Most of the time, it does meet the 2 Mbps my tier supposed to provide.

Just to clarify. I don't really have connection issue whether the LED is lighted green or blue. Speed wise, they work the same.
screenname

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The modem reverted back to single channel upstream. Power cycle or reboot did not make any diff...
cookiesowns
join:2010-08-31
Irvine, CA

cookiesowns

Member

What package are you on?

Have you PM'd your MAC address to a COX tech?
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

Member

I am on preferred.
No, I have not PM anything to any Cox tech. As mentioned before, my connection speed is Ok, just curious my the send LED is changed from blue to green for the last 2 wks after months on steady blue.

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

I think that has been settled, the change is a lack of channel bonding. If its been going on this long then its not on purpose and probably some weird noise issue that you cant see via the modem's diagnostics. If your not concerned about performance, then ignore it. If your upload starts slowing down during peak times, then I suggest a Tech to track the problem. I doubt its a inside wiring problem.
screenname
join:2004-08-12
Irvine, CA

screenname

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With the speed upgrade, my modem got 3 upstream channels bonded today.
chuckkk
join:2001-11-10
Warner Robins, GA

chuckkk

Member

I saw some of this weirdness a couple of months ago. Turned out that cox had a CMTS "issue" that may have been misprogramming.
Customer service was in the "I don't see anything wrong" mode, and the modem was running in a one up one down mode that played heck with data transfer. This last week, Cox started setting up for a "speed increase". During the several days period, the network was really getting jerked around in terms of speeds and achievable data transfer rates. Things seem to have calmed down for the moment, and I'll have to see what happens over the next few days.

The green instead of blue lights seem to be present when the multichannel modes are inop.