dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
330
beltz6
join:2011-01-02
Goleta, CA

beltz6

Member

[CA] Random drops of service in Santa Barbara

I've been a Cox Ultimate subscriber for a few years now. I've never had any trouble (using a Motorola 6120 modem and an Apple Airport Time Capsule handling multiple wired and wireless clients).

Starting on or about October 20, the internet service would just periodically spontaneously stop. The only thing that would bring it back would be restarting the cable modem. Sometimes I could get into the modem through 192.168.100.1 on a browser and I could hit the restart button there; other times, the configuration pages wouldn't load so I'd have to physically yank the AC power on the modem then reconnect.

I PM'ed one of the helpful Cox Techs who participates in this forum and he suggested I at least upgrade my modem to an 8-channel version. It's something I should have done anyway since Cox supported it, so I had no issues with upgrading my hardware, problem or not. I swapped it in on 10/25 with a Motorola 6141, provisioned it, and within a day I was still getting service dropouts. A few days later, I replaced the Airport Time Capsule for good measure. Still, dropouts!

I put in a call to Cox and they sent someone out. They found no issues with the signal readings they took. They checked all the coax in my house, connections, etc. and gave me a clean bill of health. Within a day of that visit, the service cut out! To make matters worse, starting on about Nov. 6, the cutouts started happenening every few hours, instead of every few days. Every time I had to yank the AC power and wait a few minutes for service to resume.

I got on the phone with Cox again, and they put me through to the Tier 2 folks. A tech came out to the house on Nov. 12. His verdict was the Motorola 6141 and/or whatever firmware it was using is incompatible with Cox's Ultimate service as of the time they doubled their speeds on or about Oct. 20. His fix was to replace my modem with a Cisco DPC3010. Since then, I've been trouble-free. Three days and counting now. It's nice not to have to yank the plug several times per day.

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

Hard Harry7

Member

Was there a question as part of that post? Sounds like the tech didn't know what the problem was and got lucky with a modem swap. Anyone else in CA/Ultimate have issues with the SB6141?

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

dvd536 to beltz6

Premium Member

to beltz6
the D3 motos are garbage. if you have less than perfect signal levels it'll do that. the 3010 is a reliable workhorse.

odog
Minister of internet doohickies
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Atlanta, GA

odog to beltz6

Premium Member

to beltz6
Shoot me your modem MAC I can take a look as well.

next time it drops, try resetting just the router and leaving the modem alone.
beltz6
join:2011-01-02
Goleta, CA

beltz6

Member

Thanks for the offer, odog. Five days going now and no problems.

As to your suggestion: back when I was having the problem, I did once or twice try resetting just the router and not the modem; the problem did not resolve itself (should have mentioned that in my original post). I took it step further and ran straight from the modem to a computer (i.e., no router in the equation at all). Had a stoppage within an hour.
cookiesowns
join:2010-08-31
Irvine, CA

cookiesowns to dvd536

Member

to dvd536
Have perfect signals. Both my SB6120 and SB6141 did the same.

On SB6183, and so far so good.. Time will tell.