Why Is Cox Internet So Bad? (13 Reasons Why)


Why Is Cox Internet So Bad

Have you ever asked yourself or your friend why is Cox’s internet so bad or why is Cox’s internet slow at night? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question.

Does it take too long for you to open a web page? Are your streams choppy and often buffering? Or maybe some upload takes ages to complete?

Do you wonder why is Cox internet so bad at some times? There are 13 reasons why if you are Cox’s customer your internet connection can be atrocious. Sometimes it’s problem with equipment, sometimes with the way it’s used, and sometimes it is an unfortunate circumstance.

Let’s cover all of the potential reasons.

Why is Cox’s internet so bad?

There are numerous reasons why Cox’s internet can be very bad. Let’s name just a few of them:

  • distance and router position,
  • various obstacles for signal,
  • wrong frequency band setting,
  • too many users sharing the same bandwidth,
  • old devices using the internet connection,
  • and more than a few other reasons.

So, let’s discuss all of the 13 possible reasons why your Cox internet connection can be slow, and how these reasons make it slow.

1. Distance to router

If you are using Wi-Fi to connect to the internet in your home, it is very important that your Cox router is set in the optimal place in your home.

If it is placed in some corner, parts of your home will be poorly covered by the Wi-Fi signal, which spreads in all directions from the router. The best is to place it in the middle of your home.

2. Obstacles

Wi-Fi uses radio signals at 2.4GHz and 5GHz and both of them get weaker as they pass through obstacles such as walls, and even furniture can create “shade” areas with a weaker signal.

This is especially pronounced with the 5GHz signal. While it can provide higher speeds, it is more sensitive to obstacles.

You should avoid placing routers in areas that are crowded by furniture, especially stuff containing metals, such as window blinds and mirrors.

3. Wrong frequency band

As I’ve said above, your Cox Wi-Fi router can use both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and the difference between them is primarily in the maximum speeds that can be achieved between your devices and the router.

In theory and under perfect laboratory conditions, 2.4GHz can achieve 450Mbps, but in reality, the maximum is just a third of that.

And the speed additionally drops the further away from the router your device is. So, if you use 2.4GHz your device will not be able to use the full bandwidth of Cox’s internet connection.

4. EM interferences

Wi-Fi routers use radio waves to communicate with your devices, but many appliances in your home also use radio waves or emit electromagnetic fields that can disrupt them.

Microwave ovens, cordless phones, Bluetooth devices, and so on. All of them can influence the quality of your Wi-Fi connection in a very negative way.

5. Other users

When you subscribe to Cox internet services you rent a certain maximum bandwidth. And this is shared by all internet users in your home.

So, if you notice, for example on your phone that your internet connection is very bad it could be because there are too many other devices using the internet at that moment.

6. Old router

Older routers support only the older Wi-Fi standards which can offer you speeds that are much lower than what you have purchased from Cox, in terms of bandwidth.

But also outdated firmware of your router could lead to a very bad internet connection. Upgrading the router or its firmware could solve the issue.

7. Old device

Not all phones, laptops, or desktop computers support the newest Wi-Fi protocols, some are even stuck with support only for decades-old standards.

If your device supports only 802.11g protocol, the maximum speed it can achieve is just 54Mbps, and it doesn’t matter to which plan you are subscribed.

8. Rush hour

Between 6 PM and 10 PM, the majority of people are using the internet at their homes.

This is known as the internet rush hour, and not just Cox’s, but every ISP’s servers can get overwhelmed during those hours.

During this time various problems can be caused, but the main one is that the internet can be very slow.

9. Router cash errors

All routers have cash memory in which they store various temporary data it needs while working, and the longer your router is powered the higher are chances for some error to happen.

Such errors can lead to your Cox internet becoming very slow or even losing Wi-Fi coverage.

10. Temporary outages

Various causes can lead to Cox experiencing technical problems with its infrastructure, power outages, accidents, and so on. Even maintenance and upgrades, while being performed can lead to temporary outages. These problems on Cox’s side can lead to you having either very bad internet or none at all.

11. VPN connection

If you are using VPN services, they add at least one more step into your internet connection, but also divert your traffic to route between some website server and your device which is much less than optimal.

Depending on the VPN provider and the location of the server you are using, this can decrease your connection speed by as much as 90%, in best-case scenarios.

12. Connection throttling

There are people who use their internet connection for downloading and uploading dozens of terabytes of data every month.

And Cox sometimes throttles connection speeds because of them. But, for some reason, they limit the speeds for all of their users in a certain neighborhood, not only the offender.

So, even if you upload and download some reasonable amounts of data, you can suffer this throttling.

13. Bad weather

Wi-Fi uses radio waves, so any strong electromagnetic interference can make Cox’s internet bad. Thunderstorms near your location are the most common culprit, but also the bad weather near Cox’s installations can be the cause.

Conclusion

Why is Cox’s internet so bad is the question on the minds of many of their customers from time to time. And the exact causes can be very different for different people.

We have explained the 13 possible, and often the most probable causes.

References

https://www.cox.com/residential/internet/guides/improving-wifi/fixing-slow-wifi.html

Jessica G.

Jessica Guilmore graduated with an MBA in 2011. Since then, Jessica has worked in the retail and consumer service industry as a manager, advisor, and marketer. Jessica is also the head writer and founder of IfNotPay.com.

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