On 02/27/2015 11:20 PM, Michael Butash wrote:
I doubt you have a modem failure.  I've never had a modem fail, and very few do - rather they are usually replaced because 1) someone missed a level issue somewhere, 2) they were blew out with lightning, or 3) you wanted a docsis 3.x modem for better speed.
I take that back - buy either a cisco/scientific atlanta modem, or a motorola, always.  Moto made the first docsis modems, and still generally make the best, otherwise cisco (!linksys).  If not, it's a firmware incompat between the cmts and it, it has happened.

I don't know how much they allow crap to enter that market these days, but you used to find the "Best Quality" Fry's special modems in the docsis1.1-2.0 days that would literally degrade over time like an hourglass running out of sand, but electronically.  Crap components, capacitors, ic's and such break down electronically, incomplete hand-solders from workforce sweatships, radio's modulating data on rf freak out doing weird things the cmts doesn't like to enact mitigation techniques. 

Caveat emptor, just buy a moto/cisco and be happy, cox uses cisco cmts's upstream to terminate your connections.  They began blacklisting "bad modems" specifically at one point, I think CableLabs made them clean up to certify (vs. world+dog), maybe...

-mb