Cox service outages are always a pain to deal with, and diagnosing the culprit can mean digging through mountains of cables and hardware. If you’re dealing with Cox internet or cable TV problems, use our tips to confirm if your services have gone out and plan your next troubleshooting steps.
Is Cox internet down or is it just me?
If your Cox Wi-Fi and TV keep going out, it’s probably either home hardware issues or problems on Cox’s end.
Home TV and internet problems can be traced back to a computer, modem, or Wi-Fi router that’s acting up. If your hardware is showing these types of problems, it’s not working perfectly, but you’re probably not dealing with an outage:
- Computer’s Wi-Fi signal drops and needs to reconnect
- Devices have slower, but still usable, internet speeds
- TV receiver has picture issues, but it can still change channels
But if you’re experiencing some of these severe TV or internet problems, it means that Cox is likely out in your area:
- Computer has no internet access when connected to home Wi-Fi
- Modem and router have flashing lights that don’t go away after a reboot
- Neighborhood has power outages or severe weather
- TV receiver stops receiving a signal
How to confirm a Cox outage
If you’ve already tried resetting a bunch of equipment without any luck, and you’re up to your neck in support tabs, it’s time to move onto the next part of the troubleshooting process: making sure that Cox TV or internet service went down in your neighborhood.
Cox has multiple options to make sure you’re dealing with a TV or internet service outage.
Cox mobile app and account page
Cox doesn’t have a way for you to report outages, but you can see if Cox has confirmed a widespread outage in your area by logging into your Cox account or using the Cox mobile app (available on the Google Play Store and App Store).
If there’s an outage, you’ll see a red notification window that may show an estimated repair time.
Contact Cox customer service
Cox customer support is available 24/7 at +1-800-234-3993. On Twitter, Cox also responds to customer questions around the clock.
Get Cox text notifications
Text UPDATE to 269898 to get updates on outages in your area. To stop outage notifications, text STOP to 269898.
What to do during a Cox outage
You can’t do much about Cox outages except wait for Cox technicians to come out to your neighborhood (we don’t want to climb up those tall poles to fix internet cables, either), but there are still ways to minimize the disruption for your household.
Don’t restart your modem or TV receiver too early
According to Cox, you shouldn’t reboot your modem or receiver while your Cox TV or internet service is out.
But if you’re still experiencing TV or internet issues once Cox gives the all-clear, we recommend restarting your Cox hardware to establish a fresh connection to the provider’s network.
Use your smartphone as a hotspot
If your smartphone has Wi-Fi hotspot features and your carrier’s plan allows for hotspot usage, you can connect devices to your smartphone’s cellular network to get back online during a Cox outage.
Your cell phone won’t be as fast as your home Wi-Fi (average 4G speeds are around 5–30 Mbps), but if you urgently need to get online while your Cox internet is out, your smartphone can be a great backup tool.
Connect to a Cox Wi-Fi hotspot
Cox internet subscribers can access Cox’s network of more than three million Wi-Fi hotspots to get back online for free at any time. Check out Cox’s Wi-Fi hotspot map to find nearby hotspot locations.
Cox outage FAQ
How do I check Cox outages?
You can check for Cox outages by logging into your Cox account, using the Cox mobile app (available on the Google Play Store and App Store), visiting Cox support on Twitter, or texting UPDATE to 269898.
How do I report a Cox internet outage?
Cox doesn’t have an outage map or a way to report internet outages. Still, you can confirm if there’s an outage in your area by contacting Cox customer service at +1-800-234-3993 or asking Cox’s technical support on Twitter.
