Genadios's profile

New Contributor II

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3 Messages

Sunday, January 7th, 2024

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Intermittent picture pixelation on all channels

It started approx.4-5 days ago.TV works normally for about 20 to 30 minutes then pixelation starts.Reseting cable box locally or remotely did not resolve the issue.Cox service technician paid us a visit on Saturday 01.06.24 and verified the signal strength is normal.Just after he left problem with pixelation has returned.Intermittent nature of this problem indicates signal strength fluctuation not connectors or cable problem.The question is how to catch it and document?Any practical suggestion are welcome.

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Moderator

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425 Messages

2 years ago

Hi Genadios,

 

I am sorry to learn of your issue.  I would like to schedule a follow up to have the technician reassess the troubles.  Please reach out to us on Twitter at CoxHelp, visit us on Facebook, or by email at cox.help@cox.com.  Please include your full name, complete street address and details of your concern in your message.

 

Cox Forum Support Moderator
 

Honored Contributor

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2K Messages

2 years ago

I agree it sounds like a signal issue.  Did the tech climb the pole and check your signal at the tap?  If you have Cox Complete Care, I'd suggest you continue to contact Cox and schedule tech visits until your issue is resolved.  Eventually, a tech will detect a signal issue, if he checks the mainline signal.  If you don't have CCC, I wouldn't recommend that strategy because it could get expensive, unless you want to subscribe to the service for three months to get your signal issue resolved.   I believe there is a three-month minimum.  I know you shouldn't have to pay to get Cox to fix their issue.  You might be able to negotiate that and get the $10 monthly charge for CCC removed if it's determined there was a mainline signal issue that went undiagnosed by the first tech.

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

2 years ago

Do you have cable internet with Cox? If so, any problems with that? You could look at your modem's signal levels to see if those are fluctuating and when. You could also use pingplotter to measure the disruption over time. Last, you could use the box's diagnostic to see the signal strength. What model box do you have?

Other then that your would need a signal meter to measure the signal going into the box, which is expensive and probably not practical. I can give further instructions based on what you want to try.

Honored Contributor

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2K Messages

Those sound like good, technical answers to OP's request for suggestions.   But if pixelation is being caused by a mainline signal issue, the ultimate solution will require a line repair.  That will only happen after escalation by a Cox tech following a visit that identified a Cox signal issue. 

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

CurtB wrote:

the ultimate solution will require a line repair

I concur but my post was about OP's request to "catch it and document it". I assumed they needed the data to get it properly escalated for the technician to fix it. If nothing else, knowing when it happens would be helpful so they know when to send the tech. out.

Honored Contributor

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2K Messages

CurtB wrote:

Those sound like good, technical answers to OP's request for suggestions

Yeah, I knew you were answering OP's request.  I was just making sure he knew before he invested in any expensive equipment that his user generated documentation might not be enough to get a line tech to make the necessary repairs.  I've always heard that a Cox tech has to escalate a signal issue before a line tech will get involved.  It might be useful in determining when to schedule the tech visit, but if he would need to buy equipment he might only use once, he could just spend $30 for three months of CCC that he might be able to get waived.  Time-of-day when pixelation occurs most often is when I would try to schedule the tech visit, but that's probably going to be at night, so it might not be possible   I think we're agreeing with each other.

New Contributor II

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3 Messages

2 years ago

Thanks to everyone who spend time to reply and trying to help.Here my own “internal” investigation and conclusion.My initial guess about signal strength fluctuation seems to be the root cause of the aforementioned problem.

I have Cisco 8742HDC cable box.Today I started to document signal and S/N levels (Page 8) in diagnostic menu.Here is my observation:TV works normally stable and without any intermittent signal issue for all channels for more than two hours (from 10am to 12:30pm) with following signal Level and S/N ratio.

All would agree that we can put to rest cables and loose connectors issues at this point.

The next screen shot was taken when problem occured

That what was on the screen at the same time.

 After monitoring for more than three hours I can attest no problem,no pixelation or any other issues when signal remains at 2dBmV and S/N =38/39dB.

Esteemed Contributor III

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3.5K Messages

Well done finding the manual and getting into the diagnostics. That would have scared most people away. Hopefully the data will help the technician narrow down the issue. Good luck!

Moderator

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500 Messages

Hi, Genadios. If you do not have a technician scheduled, please reach out to us, please email us the physical address and any other pertinent information to Cox.Help@cox.com with your name and a copy of this forum message. We are glad to assist you. 

New Contributor II

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3 Messages

Once again thanks to everyone who pitched in to my post.

Here is the latest update:Cox has promptly dispatched another tech.yesterday to reassess situation.I ran TV all day with no problem detected.Technician didn’t detect any problem either but still performed “preventive” maintenance like replacing connectors and splitter which was nice.It’s second day that all TVs work normally with no intermittent pixelation or random signal loss.So,I’m going to rest my case with following diagnostic menu screenshots(P4,P8)As long as shown signal and S/N levels maintained by provider no issues on customer side will appear.

 

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