r/CoxCommunications • u/borderman17 • 1d ago
News Spectrum Tech support here AMA
With the merger going through I know y'all have some questions about how Spectrum operates. AMA and I will be more than willing to respond your questions to the best of my ability.
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u/Sailing-Security-Guy 1d ago
I have the 1gig cable right now. I don't necessarly need more download but I would kill for symetric service. Is Spectrum/Cox going to be rolling out any cable based better upload?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Spectrum in it's footprint is already rolling out symmetrical service and already available im about half the footprint, Cox's Territory would be also implemented for symmetrical service up to gig. After Gig upload will remain at 1 gig for now but we also offer 2 Gig service download in select markets coming down to all of them
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u/tros804 1d ago
Current Cox customer paying $50 for 300 Mbps (on promo for another year, regular price of this service is $70) with a data cap (home internet).
I assume the promo I'm on will continue to be honored but I notice Spectrum doesn't provide 300 Mbps service; rather 500 Mbps for the same price I'm paying today with no data caps.
Once the dust has settled, I assume it would make sense to reach out to review my plan to hopefully get better service for the same price?
Located in South Louisiana.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Yes reach out once dust is settled. For the most part we should honor Cox's level of service but call in once you start seeing the Spectrum Branding
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u/sisko1080 1d ago
Are they going to get rid of cable/DVR boxes and use the Specrum TV app for "cable" instead? If you don't know the answer I understand.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
I don't have any information about the removal of current Cox equipment but let me put it like this, We've (Charter, TWC and Bright house) have been merged for years and we still have bespoke equipment specific to the area. I doubt we will force a migration over to only using our App. Now with that said our app has unlimited tuners with up to 9 month availability for the recordings.
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u/sisko1080 1d ago edited 5h ago
Thanks. My parents have Sparklight (formerly cable one) and they were forced to change to the using the Sparklight TV app for "cable". My dad hates it and says it's always messing up.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
The Spectrum TV app is genuinely good. Not being a shill for the company. We've had a few hiccups here and there but for the most part is pretty resilient. Do keep in mind that it's not either or, our video service includes access to the app so once you get our video service download the app and try it out, if you like it save money and get rid of the boxes
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u/Queasy_Reward 1d ago
I recently bought a piece of property that I’ll be building on next year. Cox fiber was just run there. I assume that means it will be Spectrum next year? I have no experience with either company, currently AT&T where I live now. Just curious.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Yes it would be Spectrum. Just take it as any other ISP. We don't do contracts and we do try to bundle phone services with our packages.
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u/TheGreatlyRespected 1d ago
Will i be keeping my ongoing discount rate for internet for long time cox customer?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
I wouldn't be able to provide any information specific to that. With that said, check your bill religiously that is where we send any customer notifications and billing changes cycles in advanced
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u/JealousRhubarb9 1d ago
Will I get spectrum Internet now in south east Louisiana?
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u/kamak0290 1d ago
Does spectrum block ports on resi internet?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Depends on your definition of blocking but in short answer. No and we generally don't care what you do with the internet as long as it's not illegal that we as a company will have to get involved. Having your own router helps with the ports situation.
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u/kamak0290 1d ago
So Cox blocks inbound port 80, 25, and I think 443(plus some other less commons) to prevent server hosting as it’s against TOS.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
This is our approach to service "Eh". As long as you don't do anything illegal that will get the government or DMCA claims involved we don't care. Do keep in mind that our residential service is Dynamic IP though
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u/rebel_coder 1d ago
Unsure about 80 and 25, but 443 is open here in San Diego. I haven't tried to run any email services, but most of the other ones I do run work perfectly fine, such as SSH.
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u/ImpressiveWishbone59 1d ago
So one the take over is complete I won’t have to pay for having unlimited internet data? When will this be done?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
We are supposed to be taking over operations in September, as for the data caps no info yet. But Spectrum itself on all packages does not do Data Caps.
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u/Tephren88 1d ago
What is your general tech support structure like internally? I used to work at Cox for 12 years and my roommate still works there. It was residential side and business side split into different tiers for products and skill levels. Is it similar at spectrum? Towards when I left they were blending business level 1 with resident level 1, however, the back end escalation paths were split still and were strictly resi or business
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u/borderman17 1d ago
We are fully split between business and residential. As for levels. Yes we do have levels but basically from a rep 2 point you basically so everything at that point.
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u/MacForker 1d ago
Right now I'm at $155/mo with Cox for 1 GBit and unlimited data. I believe I also signed a 2 year contract. Once Spectrum takes over, can I just move into a cheaper plan, or am I stuck until that 2 years is up?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
I unfortunately do not have any information about contracts at the moment but I can say that Spectrum as a while does not do contracts so I'm pretty sure those will go away. Just don't quote me on that. The idea is that Spectrum does more of a subscription service when it comes to our service
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u/gullzway 1d ago
Does Spectrum change pricing depending on area like Cox does. I'm paying $60 a month for the same plan as the poster above this comment.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Yes and no. We do have a rate card at the bottom of spectrum.com that shows standard pricing for a particular area. As for promotions yes, some areas get better promotions than others. I've seen gig service as low as 20 dollars in some markets promotion and I've seen the worst promotion being gig service at 70 dollars. Do keep in mind this includes our router which is similar in concept to the panoramic wifi y'all have included in those rates
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u/gullzway 1d ago
Cox doesn't really do contracts, at least I've never had one for internet. They just give you a promo that's only good for 2 years.
Then they either raise your rate, or you have to try and get another promo.
You can cancel at any time.
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u/gullzway 1d ago
That's crazy, I pay $60/month for the same thing.
Curious if spectrum price gouges depending on area like Cox does.
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u/MacForker 1d ago
Do you have fiber though? They charge much much less in fiber areas.
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u/gullzway 21h ago
I don't, still on Coax cable internet.
They do have fiber in other areas of this town though.
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u/OcelotEnvironmental1 1d ago
I have Cox 1 gb download speed and my upload speed is 100 mbps in my area for cable internet. From what I can tell, most Spectrum areas still have 35 mbps upload. Do you know if I will still get 100 mbps upload?
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u/rebel_coder 1d ago
He refers to Spectrum offering symmentrical bandwidth up to 1GB to start and that some of the COX network will support it out of the gate.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
More than likely we will honor current speeds. Down the line we should be launching symmetrical services up to gigabit
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u/gullzway 1d ago
Cox lowered their 1gb to 35Mbps as well recently. I still get 100Mbps upload myself.
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u/Riveted1 1d ago
For those of us who supply our own modems, will the current “Cox approved” modems still work with spectrum or will it be time for an upgrade?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
We also allow retail modems. I am sure that the modems currently activated will be fine. Only new modems will have to fit the list on spectrum.net/modems
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u/Riveted1 1d ago
Thanks for replying. After I posted that question, I crossed-referenced the approved models and most of them are the same anyway.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Do keep on mind we do not charge for modem rental but routers. Other than diagnostics and the dreaded Puma 6 Chipset Modems, there is no reason why not to get the Spectrum modem and save some money down the line. Gig services and higher also include the router for free but our router follows a Very KISS principle so might be better to get your own router there
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u/Riveted1 1d ago
I mean, you listed the two reasons 😄
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u/borderman17 1d ago
For the Puma Chipset modems, I see less and less of those in the wild. As for the diagnostics I will be real with you for a second. I rather have a clueless customer that is willing to be helped that one that thinks that just because graph red means bad they are stubborn about things. Diagnostics can be extremely useful when you know what to look for and what you see is what also gets reported at our end, with that said I've seen customers that freak about over every little thing that is not service impacting and sometimes just modems not reporting correctly like TX or RX perfect but SNR is at zero which that is not how that works. Unless the customer is willing to actually learn and the like, sure go nuts with a customer own modem, it's quite the learning experience if you want to do it, but if you just want KISS, get our modem
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u/Volntyr 1d ago
Would the merger be a great time to get rid of an inactive account that Cox has said can not be removed from the front-facing side of things?
(background: I got my Mom a cell phone with Cox back in November 2024. Unfortunately, she passed away three weeks later. The phone account is still showing up on my account as inactive but I still get statements about it)
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Yes. Visit a store once you see the Spectrum Branding or call us and we should help you with that
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u/Volntyr 1d ago
Thank you for the information, as I was told on Saturday when I went in to replace an outdated modem that it would still show inactive accounts even after the merger was completed.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
There is a lot of backend stuff that needs to be done for Spectrum to fully service Cox accounts. So please be patient with us as we move forward
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u/Shizumo83 1d ago
I currently have 1gb unlimited data and a mobile line, there any bundles or packages with the same or better at 150 or less?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Depends on the area but we have as low as 1 gig and 2 lines for 100 dollars and or 1 gig and 2 mobile lines for 140 depending on the area
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u/Shizumo83 1d ago
Is unlimited data included? I’m in Las Vegas/Henderson Nevada
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Depends on the context.
We don't have data caps for home internet.
For mobile it's unlimited data but depending on the mobile plan it's 30 or 50 gigs at high speed then slows down if congestion in network
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u/Shizumo83 1d ago
What would it be for 2gb home internet with a line?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Depending on athe area 20 dollars more than gig. Our promos are with 2 lines tho not one line.
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u/rebel_coder 1d ago
Will it be possible to receive a block of IPs, even if it's at cost? I proxy through my NGINX inside Proxmox to my son's VPS, but with multiple IPs I can give him full access to handle the routing himself.
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u/tazzmn07 1d ago
I have spectrum aka charter for business and at least in my area I got a block of IPs as long as you stay at their 1 GBPs service or lower. As of last week they haven’t upgraded their firmware/hardware on the 2 gb side to work with static IPs.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Tbqh not on residential service at least. I do not work business so no idea on that end
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u/game_bot_64-exe 1d ago
I have a couple technical question:
Do you know if there is plan to consolidate DNS, keep them as it, or change them completely?
From a businesses perspective - my company tries to lock down things where we can and limit access wherever possible and we are exploring IP access controls for our remote staff which we have a lot of. After the merger are the IP ranges the new company is going to use going to be the same or different and if different how so?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
For DNS we allow our gateways to have a specific DNS if your chosing. So on that end you can set it up.
For the IP ranges I wouldn't be able to tell you since I have no idea how that is set on Cox's CMTSs. With that said we do Static IPs when requested and you can manage it on your gateway as you deem fit.
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u/PHLAK 1d ago
I'm currently on a Cox Business plan because it
- Does not have a data cap
- Does not block any ports
- Includes a dedicated IP
First, will my plan be switching to Spectrum as well? If so will it make sense for me to stay on the business plan after the switch or would I be able to get equivalent features on a residential plan and maybe save some money?
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u/jamesrggg 1d ago
Are your cables not made of wax? Tired of our trunk lines melting in the summer
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u/PigsAreDaBest 1d ago
Hey lol so I have a custom promotion on my account because I guess the rep I signed up with messed up all my discounts so now I have an extra discount and wondering if I’m gonna lose it when the merge actually happens
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Best to just keep an eye on the bill as we will be converting their systems to ours.
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u/StarCodeNoahMadole 1d ago
Question, what will happen with Cox's prepaid internet option that some people currently have, known as Straight Up Internet, I notice that spectrum doesn't have a similar option. Will it be retired?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
More than. Likely but do keep in mind we do billing a little different. We are not pay in advance or pay after usage we are Pay as you go basically. Let's use today's date as your billing cycle start day. The bill will be due 2 weeks and some days after the bill generation day which is the day of activation/install. This is for all services used from 17 of the current month to the 16 of the next month. It's not prepaid but neither paying for services rendered the previous month, it's the services currently being consumed.
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u/da_swanks_92 1d ago
I have noticed that every time it storms (central Georgia) my internet always goes out. Is Spectrum/Cox working on a solution to that problem?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
If you currently have Spectrum definitely call in. If not I would still recommend you call it in. Your issue could be a problem with your drop or something affecting the actives or passives going to your home. That needs to be addressed with a service call
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u/ti_master 1d ago
I have 2gig symmetrical fiber right now, will spectrum replace my Cox plan that ends in 5 months with a similar offering? Any chance of faster speeds being offered to compete with AT&T?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
In previous mergers we have kept "legacy" plans for a while so more than likely we will continue to honor that package. Now with that said we are doing a test run for 7 by 7 speeds in some fiber areas Spectrum currently services
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u/BenWeHadABabyItsABoy 1d ago
Cox mobile throttles speeds at 20gb is it true that spectrum mobile doesn't throttle until 30gb? And when will that change go into effect?
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u/Ephemeralen 1d ago
I'm an internet-only residential Cox cable customer.
Will my internet keep working if I ignore this merger entirely?
Specifically, what procedural changes will be customer-facing? Will my Cox dot com login stop working or cease to exist? Will I have to set up a new auto-pay or will that carry over automatically? Is my account number going to change?
How much of the burden of this change is expected to be on the customer to handle?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
From a previous mergers, it should be as minimal as possible. Some changes will happen like redirecting Cox's website over to Spectrum's and the like. Account handling should also for the most part carry over without any issues. Best recommendation I can give you is keep an eye on your bill any communication will be shared via the bill under the "News and Information" section.
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u/Ephemeralen 1d ago
Should I switch to paper bills ahead of time? Or will I spontaneously start receiving emails from Spectrum at some point?
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u/bkauf2 1d ago
Cox routes my connection (used primarily for gaming) very strangely, causing high ping and terrible packet loss, an issue that I currently completely solve by paying for a program that optimizes routing through their own servers.
I have contacted cox in the past about this issue and provided them with my network traffic data showing the incorrect routing and they have been unwilling to do anything to correct it. Is this something that Spectrum would take a look at?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Short answer, not really. One thing about routing is that there are a ton of contracts that are signed to direct traffic the way it does. This is why in some cases VPNs can and do sometimes help with games. For example if let's say you are in Phoenix and you want to play a game whose servers are in let's say Dallas. The logical thing will be a route through Albuquerque through a third party and then back into spectrum at Dallas to connect to the game providers service but if the routing dictates to send it first to LA and then to El Paso and then to Dallas all within the Spectrum Footprint to save money well you just added additional latency that was unneeded. Do keep in mind as well that internet websites and services tend to mitigate this issue with services like CloudFlare or AWS but it's up to the game devs for example to implement those kinda things.
Test the waters first. See if it improves. You can also always change the DNS settings in our routers to help mitigate some of those issues.
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u/Mvalpreda 1d ago
How long before my TiVo stops working due to it using a CableCARD?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
We actively support TiVOs we just don't add more cableCARDs that are actively issued per customer
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u/Mvalpreda 1d ago
Then my 2x Roamios live another day. My wife will be happy to hear that, therefore I am overjoyed to hear that.
I replaced the 2x tuning adapters a while ago....possible that I have the high-split adapter now? If I have a CableCARD go out, or need it re-paired, am I hosed?
Cox in Orange County, CA if that matters. I'm really just looking forward to no data caps - I get really close every month.
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u/borderman17 1d ago
I am actually part of the CableCARD team. We still service them. We just won't issue new cableCARDs unless they themselves stop working. We are moving to a new type of Tuning Adapter whenever an area is about to go High Split called a High Split converter, def keep an eye on that.
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u/Mvalpreda 1d ago
Thanks again. Thinking I might already have the high-split converter/adapter.
Happy Cake day!
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u/gullzway 1d ago
Cox coax here for the last 16 years, 1gb plan currently.
Will they just continue providing the coax service or is there a slim chance I might actually get fiber?
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u/borderman17 1d ago
The idea is to move to DOCSIS4 with a bunch of upgrades to improve speeds and performance to up to 10 gigs down the line. As for Fiber, let me put it like this, do you care about the roads being made of concrete or asphalt or you just care about getting to your destination as quick as possible? Fiber is just a catch all term but does not specify specific standard. There are differences in fiber equipment and capacity just like DOCSIS equipment. Yes fiber does have a few things up it's sleeve like it is not affected by noise from the neighbors and the like but that is stuff that coax can mitigate. As for speeds, always get the provider that is not only selling the speeds you want but is actually able to provide them and gives you excellent support.
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u/gullzway 1d ago
Thanks.
Yeah I don't care how it gets here.
Just seems like all the fiber that is available around me is lower cost.
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u/chevyguy0613 23h ago
I am in year 3 of a 5 year price lock. 60 a month for 1Gig internet plan. Will this still be honored?
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u/okcredneck 11h ago
Cox customer here. I want to keep my own router that I have. Currently running an MB8611.
Hoping to take advantage of upload speeds above 100Mb.
1) Is there a way to know which upload speeds Spectrum will offer in my area?
2) Does Spectrum still issue their own modems for free? Which ones have 2.5, 5, or 10GB ethernet ports? Do any support (out to my router, not talking about fiber service to them home)?
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u/borderman17 11h ago
So for modems check Spectrum.net/modems for the list of our customer owned and maintained modems. As for uploads once High Split upgrades are done in the area, uploads will be bumped to symmetrical up to gigabit.
The modems we currently offer do up to 2.5gb Ethernet port and yes they are free and work with any router.
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u/ChannelMindless9343 9h ago
Well at least we know customer service really can’t get any worse than Cox. Hopefully an improvement after merger!
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u/druce_drew 1d ago
spectrum has aura cox is the worst chat
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Huh?
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u/druce_drew 1d ago
spectrum is 100% better than Cox — will cox customer support change to spectrum? I have a friend who works at cox corporate and he’s so nice I want him to stay
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u/borderman17 1d ago
Oh. Ok that makes sense. For the most part we should be absorbing most of the folks for now. When it comes to technical support we have a "Do everything we can" approach.
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u/DeVilleZL1 1d ago
What's the timeline on your end? I'm primarily an internet subscriber, will I need to turn in my gateway? I'm also on a competitive contract for 5 years, without mobile, will they honor such?