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 Review by skeechan 
member for 1.3 years, 660 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated a few hours ago
 Laguna Hills,Orange,CA
 $100 per month about 3 days "Fast, very low latency, reliable" "High price" "14 years of reliable service"
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I have had Cox HSI since the early @Home days, about late 1998 when Orange County, CA was one of the first markets to get cable HSI.
PRESALES: I saw an add in the newspaper for cable Internet and their new Digital Television and signed up.
ORDERING: The order was easy. The price then was $30/mo for service and $15 for the CDLP modem rental. The modem was a Motorola Cybersurfr and could be purchased for $400.
INSTALL: The install was 3 days later and two technicians came out. Back then there were techs who specialized in the modem installs and others for digital TV. Now all of the techs seem to do both. Even though my house has RG59, it was fine. They ran RG6 from the outlet to the modem. Since then I've had the modem moved to a different room and the tech ran a separate RG6 line directly from the J-box to the modem.
RELIABILITY: Over these 14 years the service has gone down but VERY rarely. I would call it extremely reliable. Latency has also been good over the years. To local speed test service in Los Angeles and San Diego I'm seeing less than 10ms, pretty darn good.
TECH SUPPORT: Tech support was never a problem. Issues that cropped up or calling in for tech support to update the MACID for a new modem install were always handled quickly.
SERVICES: The original service was provided by the now defunct @Home and was static IP 3000/256kbps, screaming fast in a day of dialup, 100X faster. Now offerings are typical for a cable provider, multiple tiers starting at around $25-$30 for 3Mb service going up to $100/mo for 50Mb service. Over the years the price has crept up a bit but so have speeds. Now triple bonding DOCSIS 3 provides 25000/2000kbps with "power boost" to about 70000/5000kbps with my plan at $65/mo. Cox has caps but they don't charge for overages and will likely send out a nastygram if you go over a bunch of times. I don't know of anyone who has had their service cancelled for abuse. I got an abuse letter once but it was 12 years ago during the @Home days. I've gone over my Cox caps tons of times and never got an abuse letter.
PRICE: Overall the price is pretty fair with the 25Mb tier going for $65/mo. There are cheaper services around. Cox has caps but as mentioned earlier, there are no overage fees, at least not currently.
VALUE: For all 14 years I think I've been getting good value from Cox for HSI and don't plan on changing unless they start charging for the overages or take substantial price increases without substantial speed increases.
RECOMMENDED: Like ALL services, your mileage will vary and just because service on my street is great doesn't mean service in say CT or AZ is great or even great in the next town. Talk to neighbors, read local reviews, browse the forums for posts about service in your area. Take Cox up on any cancelable promotions and avoid entering in any contracts until you have a chance to really try out the service.
Plan: Cox Ultimate 50/5 DOCSIS 3
Cap: 400GB/mo unenforced
Equipment: Customer owned Motorola SB6180
Bonding: 4 CH Down / 1 CH Up
UPDATE 23.5.2012: Cox has seen fit to "fix" the unlimited power boost people were getting here. Where just a few weeks ago I was seeing 70+Mb with power boost, now I hit the wall at around 32Mb, which isn't much faster than the 25Mb tier I'm paying for so I may as well not have power boost at all. Powerboost should be at least 2X whatever the tier speed is to make any difference, otherwise it isn't worth having. I'm not going to knock off any stars for this change since Cox always advertised PB being this speed, and never claimed I would get 50+Mb with PB but darn it these austerity measures!
UPDATE - Upgraded to 50/5 service, $100/mo. Same modem. Powerboost is about 60Mbps.
UPDATE - 20.12.2012 Cox changed bonding from 3/1 to 4/1
UPDATE - 21.5.2013 Dropping ratings for services and value since my market still hasn't been upgraded while others have been upgraded for several months but of course they still charge the same money.
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Review by TechnoNinj4
member for 50 days, 1 visits, last login: 49 days ago
lodged 50 days ago
- Oceanside,San Diego,CA
- $55 per month
- about 31 days
- "fast connection"
- "inconstant performance and stupid expensive"
- "I really wish there was a ISP in my area"
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Honestly I hate Cox, their duopoly with Time Warner here in Sand Diego is disgusting and I really wish someone offered better download and upload speeds for their price if not cheaper. I just recently upgraded my modem so I now have max speeds of 24 DL x 24 UL but its still leaves a lot to be desired, especially compared to services like Google Fiber or Verizon FiOS.
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 Review by djdanska
member for 12 years, 6568 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 95 days ago
- San Diego,San Diego,CA
- $55 per month
- "Fast speedtests, awesome upload, good latency"
- "Fast speeds don't apply to actual internet browsing/video streaming"
- "Eh, it's not at&t, i guess that's something"
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Have cox in san diego installed. Awesome speedtests
Problem being that you can't watch hulu, netflix, or even use facebook without constant page stalls, timeouts, and buffering over and over again.
Run a speedtest and get awesome speeds. What's the use if i can't upload a pic on facebook or watch netflix?
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Review by TrevorLaneRa
member for 176 days, 18 visits, last login: 65 days ago
updated 170 days ago
- Mesa,Maricopa,AZ
- $60 per month
- (month by month)
- "When it's up, it's great."
- "When it's bad, it's BAD."
- "Too much $ for too little reliability."
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Initially, I went for Cox because of the advertised reliability. There were plenty of competitively cheaper options out there, but I let word of (biased) mouth lead me.
I chose the minimum speed, as it was fairly fast, and the cheapest.
My plan is 3Mb down, .75Mb up. $20 for the first six months, $60 each month after.
The install was fairly fast, since I had done my research, bought my own modem, and made it easy for the tech to just register the MAC, check signal, etc.
Currently, I have a Motorola SB6121 (DOCSIS 3.0) modem (one of the listed models for cox).
The line quality has been dropping out drastically, with 20% to 45% packet loss.
When it was without issues, the quality was great. But now I'm lucky if a simple web page even loads.
I had the same issue with a previous modem I had rented from them. I went and bought a modem I knew would work (My teacher has a communications lab for fun stuff like this), and ended up with the same result.
Cox's support keeps sending people out to their router, and it gets fixed for a few days, only to blink out again, dumping the connection into the ether.
I may be a bit paranoid in saying so, but I'm starting to think techs are purposefully sabotaging their system to stay employed. :/
Comments:
 Reviews:
 ·Cox HSI
| must be ur wiring in home, node placement where u live etc.. Where I live Cox cable for 2 yrs been nothing but great! both TV and HSI ends I am on the Preffered mid of road pack internet listed as 12M down/1up getting much much higher than that most times esp switching to a new DOCSIS 3.0 4-port modem/wifi recently. a Motorola SBG6580 extreme bought best buy. in fact called up Cox tech support to reprovision modem gateway the Upload now 5M! paying 60 per month for just 3Mdown/less 1M up? u should look into that more. I pay 52.99 for the pack getting 15-30M down/5 Up. plus I could live near front end of the node that makes a difference as well I live in a neighborhood of 11,000 ppl too sure most HSI with Cox. | |
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Review by Saikyo
member for 8.8 years, 41 visits, last login: 170 days ago
updated 176 days ago
- Metairie,Jefferson,LA
- $211 per month
- (month by month)
- about 1 days
- "It's good when it works"
- "It's bad when it doesn't work, pray you never need a tech."
- "Expensive compared to what other ISPs offer in other parishes."
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Cox lacks any competition in Jefferson to help keep them honest. Instead we get raising prices over the years for less service.
I had Cox come out 5 different times to finish 1 job. Each time the tech would make an excuse as to why they couldn't complete the task and that I would have to reschedule for another tech. One of them installed a line to a room and didn't bother to hook it up. Another tech installed the phone line and didn't hook that up either.
On a separate occasion I had a lot of connectivity issues, I'm showing the tech all the packet loss I'm experiencing via command promt and I hear him say "I never knew you could send more than 4 pings like that".
Another service call I was experiencing outages. The tech takes a look at my router and asks "what brand that is?" I replied with Asus. He tells me "Yeah, that's a crap router, you need the one we offer cause this here, this is crap." And that was that, he didn't check the signal levels or anything. I didn't even know what to tell the guy.
One month I had 6 techs out to fix a problem none of them could do anything about. Cox sends me a $20 long distance phone card as a "sorry for the problems you've been having"
I was on the phone with tech support trying to figure out why my cable box wasn't working, the lady ended up causing an entire street outage instead.
Consider yourself lucky if your connection or other Cox services work, if you ever have to rely on them for support you will be in for a big disappointment. If were ever get a real competitor in this area I'd gladly switch.
edit:
Now Cox Cable has finally put their bandwidth restrictions into effect in my area, I got a notice that I was at 257gb of data out of my 250gb allocated. I didn't even realize they started to monitor my area. This is so absurd that cable companies are now limiting you to such a low number. I can only download under 8gb a day from now on on average. I don't know what this means for Netflix or the games I get from Steam, PSN, GMG and eShop, among others.
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| | How can someone on the phone take an entire street down? Hmmm. Sounds Fishy... | |
| | Saikyo
join:2004-07-25
Metairie, LA Reviews:
·Cox HSI
1 edit | Re: How can someone on the phone take an entire street down? I don't know honestly, the lady was refreshing my box and the next thing I know my internet is out. I mentioned this and she tells me "Oh, it looks like your street is having an outage". My internet was working just fine before I called in to see why my cable box wasn't working (no tv guide). Of course my cable box was then totally hosed and I had to go exchange it. | |
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Rob_Premium
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL | Did you get help?? »Cox HSI
Let the techs on there help you.
-Rob | |
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 Review by debbieandjon
member for 13.3 years, 1230 visits, last login: 16 days ago
updated 185 days ago
- Capistrano Beach,Orange,CA
- $58 per month
- about 5 days
- "Reliable."
- "Price - holy crap!"
- "18 Mbps down / 2 Mbps up"
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I have been with Cox@home since 1/2000. Forward to 12/2002... Packet loss makes my system crawl many times throughout the years. Before blaming my cable modem the technician changed every connection from the computer to the street and checked packet loss. Still there... After swapping my old Best Data CMX110 (one year warranty expired) for his Toshiba he found the problem. This time I bought the Toshiba PCX2200 with a 5 year warranty. In the past I have found the less experienced or lazy techs will say the problem is your retail modem without going through the obvious checkpoints.
8/2003... We are now paying an additional $3.95 "service ASSurance plan" to
cover our inside cable and modem. DSL will be a consideration in the near future
if we keep getting hit with rate increases. Besides, filesharing is no longer
allowed unless you have deep pockets... Boycott all RIAA products.
3/2004... Download speeds seem a bit higher through BBR speed tests. I haven't
had to use the "service ASSurance plan" yet. San Diego's plan is $2.95. Cox
will not give me a rational answer as to why Orange County is more money.
6/2005... Cox internet has been reliable. While service speeds have increased
the price remains the same. Although DSL is a better deal, I am still using Cox
because of the bundling discount.
11/2006... A price increase of $2.00/month when DSL prices are dropping! Download speeds were increased to 7000, but the upload speed of 512 remains
unchanged. I don't see much of a difference between 4000 and 7000. The TV ads and home mailings want you to believe that KOx is doing us a favor...
Thank you DSL Reports for the excellent service. (c:
05/2007... I am now getting 8000 for download and the upload remains the same at 512. After considering a move to another company, I called Cox to complain about the prices. They gave me a 6 month discount to keep me satisfied.
02/2008... Using a docsis 2.0 cable modem now. (Moto SB5101) Downloads are faster but the upload speed remains the same. The quality of service is still A+
08/2008... Another price hike! $3.04! The 7.25% increase is higher than the rate of inflation. The total with the ASSurance Plan is $48.94. The service is great but at what point will I say enough. Tough financial times call for the need to shop around.
02/2009... The price has remained steady. $44.99 plus $3.95 for the Cox ASSurance Plan. I test my speed on a regular basis. The service has been
reliable during the 4 to 5 hours per day it is used. Speeds: 12 down / 1 up minimum.
06/2010... Price hike to $46.99 plus $3.95 monthly for Cox's ASSurance that I won't be charged for service calls. The "PowerBoost" feature hasn't worked in a couple of weeks. My download speeds have decreased to 10 down / 1 up. Preferred tier.
UPDATE: Speeds were restored by a modem reboot that was recommended by a Cox expert on the forum.
06/2011... Another price increase. The "Preferred" service is now $50! The "we won't charge you extra if our Cox service fails" fee called Cox Service ASSurance Plan still remains $47.40 a year!
11/2011... Cox Service ASSurance plan had it's name changed to something more benign, Cox Service Protection Plan.
11/15/11... The Cox DNS servers were down. Phone service waiting time went from a busy signal to 45 minutes. The rude Cox Customer Service Representative would not provide a work around. See the Dslreports Cox HSI forum for other Cox fumbles...
2/14/12... Again, another price hike. $4.00 or 8% more, for Cox High Speed Internet Preferred. It's now $53.99 plus $3.95 for the Cox Service Protection Plan. (Customer service costs extra if you don't pay the monthly shakedown fee - now how is that fair?)
11/17/12... Speed increase from 12 Mbps / 1 Mbps to 18 / 2.
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| | DNS issue.. this is why I use OpenDNS for DNS resolution. always reliable funny I posted like a month ago on Cox help on forums here about cox virginia DNS numbers glad I didn't use them  | |
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Review by mdbrotha03
member for 11.1 years, 138 visits, last login: 190 days ago
lodged 190 days ago
- Newport News,Newport News City,VA
- $100 per month
- "Free Speed Increase"
- "Costly"
- "Can't get FIOS but I'm not going to complain much."
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They just increased their Ultimate Tier from 50mbps/5mbps to 100 mbps/20mbps
I have done several speed test and I am consistently getting that speed.
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Review by Rakeesh
member for 1.5 years, 221 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 205 days ago
- Mesa,Maricopa,AZ
- $111 per month
- (24 month contract)
- "Great reliability and speed"
- "Tech support are morons"
- "Good internet, bad TV"
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I am on the 27/5mbit package, and the internet connection itself is decent. However, to get a good price you have to bundle with another one of their services.
This is lame because their cable service is downright crappy. If DVRs existed in the 80's, they would closely resemble what cox has now. I think cox just figured "hey, they'll take whatever DVR we give them and won't know the difference" so they just picked the crappiest one they could find.
You'd figure "I could go cablecard and use my own DVR, right?" Well, sort of, but not really. They provide really crappy tuning adapters that are very flaky, so some of your channels can disappear at random. Plus, they blanket flag all channels as copy once, so custom DVR solutions (e.g. HTPC) will be near worthless if your goal is whole home functionality. Most cable providers don't do this, but if you have the misfortune of being with cox...well, I'm sorry.
Also their installers have no idea what the hell they are doing when it comes to cablecards. Had I not been a technically minded person, we never would have gotten them set up proper.
Comments:
kfw
join:2001-11-20
Norman, OK | Cox Cable The programing is terrible and I hate the 2006 DVR's they give us (with 2008 software). These people think we are idoits. I am fixing unbundle go for DIRECTV. At least I will have a better selections. The way they stack 3 progams and let you record only 2 sucks. COX NEEDS TO UPGRADE THIER EQUIPMENT). Sory I had to get that out.... COX TV = Garbage for progaming I paid good money to watch and have to watch again. It gets boring...  | |
| | Rob_Premium
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL | Re: Cox Cable Agree, just don't expect direct tv to work in a rainstorm. Many people are returning their crappy hardware.
-Rob | |
| | | Reviews:
 ·Sprint Mobile Br..
·Cox HSI
| Re: Cox Cable I used to have directv, never had any issues with rainstorms unless they were REALLY bad, and even then the outage wouldn't last long. You can easily get around that problem by using a bigger dish. Up north (canada) they use 24" dishes just to get a proper signal at all on ku band. Just use one of those down south and you'll never have any problems.
I've had more cable outages with cox than I had with directv. That is, hardly any worth mentioning.
Also, directv and dish both offer VASTLY superior equipment to cox. Cox DVR's have a ridiculously slow user interface and all sorts of bugs. I think they picked the cheapest brand available and just thought "hey, it has the letters DVR, that means they'll love it no matter how much of a POS it really is." | |
| | | | kfw
join:2001-11-20
Norman, OK | Re: Cox Cable Rakish, Thanks for your comment, my Dad has Direct TV and loves it so much he cut off the cable company providing him with all his services. He uses Radio Internet instead of AT&T DSL that never got fixed...
Local Cox keeps getting more expensive and more of the basic goes into the top set boxes... Cox's choices of DVR are just stupid. I know of technology that reads between the signals to gives your local and expanded services. I am watching cable companies suing these people. If the outcome is good, (we know the cable companies put an enormous amount of money resisting this.) We just might get what we want at a cheaper price. COX raised their prices here again and I am dreading just looking at the bill, much less paying it… | |
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Review by (hidden by request)
(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 233 days ago
- Las Vegas,Clark,NV
- $18 per month
- (month by month)
- "Affiliated with Hostgator"
- "Doesn't work yet"
- "Low rates are no good to me if the product doesn't work. I really want it to work."
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I've been a Hostgator reseller affiliate for 10 years, so I really wanted
Voipo to work for me. So far I'm not pleased.
Most of the time my phone doesn't ring at all - goes straight to voicemail.
Just now I called with mobile phone and it went straight to voicemail
without ringing. I left a voicemail and the voicemail isn't here.
Sometimes I can dial out, most times not. I have two phones plugged in and
only one rings.
Yesterday, in response to one of my tickets, a tech support person
configured my wireless router via join.me. He told me they were having
server issues, but he made all the configuration changes he thought would
help. Today, the phone is out again, and I've put in my 5th ticket in 4
days. Cheap rates are no good to me if the product doesn't work.
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nmlobo
join:2002-11-02
Yorktown, VA | Not HSI related Isn't this an HSI forum? This user rated his telephone experience, not HSI | |
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 Review by Ascent
member for 8.5 years, 4310 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 249 days ago
- Wichita,Sedgwick,KS
- $50 per month
- (24 month contract)
- about 3 days
- "So far the connection seems fast and great."
- "The installation contractor was clueless and careless."
- "I will fix the installers mess and be happy with real internet"
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I moved here from North West Missouri where my 2 internet options were Hughesnet or 3g. Both work but are slow and minimal bandwidth. I am reasonably certain that I can live with my 200gb cap! The speed so far is great!
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