Is Cox Down... Or Is It Just You?

How to tell if the ISP is experiencing issues or there's a problem on your end

By
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen
Writer
  • Swansea University, Staffordshire University
Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications.
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Published on April 22, 2020

If your Cox internet connection seems to be down, there may be a Cox outage in your area. If you're worried about a Cox cable outage, it's important to know if the service is down or if it's just you. Fortunately, there are some key ways in which you can figure out if the issue is you or if Cox cable is down right now. 

The instructions in this article apply to the Cox ISP but some solutions can be used with other ISPs. 

How to Tell If There Is a Cox Internet Outage

If you think there's a Cox internet outage for everyone and not just you, try these simple steps to check if you're correct. 

You'll need an alternative internet connection to check these. Your smartphone is the perfect alternative, providing you switch Wi-Fi off on it.

  1. Search Twitter for #coxdown. If the ISP is down for everyone, somebody has probably already tweeted about it. Check for tweets but also pay attention to the tweet timestamps to ensure that they're not discussing an earlier time that Cox was having issues.

    Twitter search for #coxdown

  2. Check the Cox Connect app. If there's an outage, an alert will be displayed at the top of the page. 

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    If a red network status alert is displayed, do not reset or reboot your equipment as Cox is aware of the outage and working on it their end. 

  3. Check the Cox website for outages.

    You'll need to log into your Cox account to do so. 

  4. Use a third-party "status checker" website. Popular options include Down For Everyone Or Just Me, Downdetector, Is It Down Right Now?, and Outage.Report. 

    Down Detector page searching for Cox

    Some of these check if the Cox website is working while others detect if the entire service is out or not. Either is a useful guide to what the issue is. 

If no one else is reporting a problem with Cox, then the problem is likely something on your side.

What to Do When You Can't Connect via Cox

There are a few things you can try if Cox internet seems to be working fine for everyone else, but not you.

  1. Restart your router or modem. This often fixes network problems and is the best thing to try. 

  2. Check that your Cox account is fully paid up so far. An unpaid bill can affect your service.

  3. Try a different device that's also connected to the Cox Wi-Fi. Switch to your phone or tablet, and see if that works. If it does, then you know the issue is with one specific device. If that's the case, the next few tips may help solve things for that device. 

  4. Clear your browser's cache.

  5. Clear your browser's cookies.

  6. Check your computer for malware.

  7. Restart your computer.

  8. Sometimes, there can be an issue with your DNS server. If you feel comfortable switching DNS servers, there are many free and public methods, but they can require more advanced knowledge. 

If nothing has fixed Cox for you, you may need to contact its helpline for further help. Its troubleshooting page has advice on where to call. 

Alternatively, you can wait it out if there is an issue on Cox's end. These issues tend to resolve themselves reasonably quickly. 

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