Fairfax County General :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
alinnova
()
Date: January 30, 2009 08:27AM
Thinking about expanding my Cox Cable's service to include their Digital Telephone. This would replace use of our two-pair wire landline to the house, currently using ATT.
Are there happy or unhappy users of Cox out there?
Are there happy or unhappy users of Cox out there?
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Suburbanite
()
Date: January 30, 2009 08:58AM
Don't have Cox, but you should be aware if you switch to it and the power goes out you may lose your phone service as well. Cox phone relies on the power company to provide their service.
If the power is out for a long time, say over 8 hours, chances are the batteries they have for backup will go as well and then you need to call and tell them it's out so they can send a crew to set up a generator until the power gets fixed. Then you get to listen to a loud generator all day and night, and no they are not required to shut it off over night even if it's a noise disturbance.
If the power is out for a long time, say over 8 hours, chances are the batteries they have for backup will go as well and then you need to call and tell them it's out so they can send a crew to set up a generator until the power gets fixed. Then you get to listen to a loud generator all day and night, and no they are not required to shut it off over night even if it's a noise disturbance.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Bob
()
Date: January 30, 2009 09:33AM
Suburbanite Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't have Cox, but you should be aware if you
> switch to it and the power goes out you may lose
> your phone service as well. Cox phone relies on
> the power company to provide their service.
>
> If the power is out for a long time, say over 8
> hours, chances are the batteries they have for
> backup will go as well and then you need to call
> and tell them it's out so they can send a crew to
> set up a generator until the power gets fixed.
> Then you get to listen to a loud generator all day
> and night, and no they are not required to shut it
> off over night even if it's a noise disturbance.
They aren't going to bring a generator out to your house if the power goes out.
If the power goes out, you don't have phone service, plain and simple. They aren't required to provide any sort of continuity of service or anything.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't have Cox, but you should be aware if you
> switch to it and the power goes out you may lose
> your phone service as well. Cox phone relies on
> the power company to provide their service.
>
> If the power is out for a long time, say over 8
> hours, chances are the batteries they have for
> backup will go as well and then you need to call
> and tell them it's out so they can send a crew to
> set up a generator until the power gets fixed.
> Then you get to listen to a loud generator all day
> and night, and no they are not required to shut it
> off over night even if it's a noise disturbance.
They aren't going to bring a generator out to your house if the power goes out.
If the power goes out, you don't have phone service, plain and simple. They aren't required to provide any sort of continuity of service or anything.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Suburbanite
()
Date: January 30, 2009 12:08PM
I guess I wasn't clear, sorry. No, they don't bring a generator to your house, they bring it to the power lines that are connected to the cox phone lines. In my area, it happens to be at a telephone pole across the street from my house. Last June when we had a big storm come through and knock out power all over they set up a generator after the batteries they have in place died.
There were several complaints across the county about other such generators as they ran all night long.
They have written in their contracts that they must provide a certain 'up time' to the phone service, so yes, they do have to keep it on. Trust me, after listening to it roaring away a mere 100 feet from my bedroom window, I looked into it.
There were several complaints across the county about other such generators as they ran all night long.
They have written in their contracts that they must provide a certain 'up time' to the phone service, so yes, they do have to keep it on. Trust me, after listening to it roaring away a mere 100 feet from my bedroom window, I looked into it.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Bob
()
Date: January 30, 2009 12:29PM
Suburbanite Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I guess I wasn't clear, sorry. No, they don't
> bring a generator to your house, they bring it to
> the power lines that are connected to the cox
> phone lines. In my area, it happens to be at a
> telephone pole across the street from my house.
> Last June when we had a big storm come through and
> knock out power all over they set up a generator
> after the batteries they have in place died.
>
> There were several complaints across the county
> about other such generators as they ran all night
> long.
>
> They have written in their contracts that they
> must provide a certain 'up time' to the phone
> service, so yes, they do have to keep it on. Trust
> me, after listening to it roaring away a mere 100
> feet from my bedroom window, I looked into it.
Seems pointless since they're keeping "up time" only at the "trunk" and the branches are homes that have no power to run a cable modem anyway.
They aren't providing battery backup inside the subscriber's home, to power the cable modem and phone line, are they?
I could understand FIOS doing that, since there is a battery connected to each subscriber's ONT which means that they would still have phone service on their side of the demarc even without mains power.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I guess I wasn't clear, sorry. No, they don't
> bring a generator to your house, they bring it to
> the power lines that are connected to the cox
> phone lines. In my area, it happens to be at a
> telephone pole across the street from my house.
> Last June when we had a big storm come through and
> knock out power all over they set up a generator
> after the batteries they have in place died.
>
> There were several complaints across the county
> about other such generators as they ran all night
> long.
>
> They have written in their contracts that they
> must provide a certain 'up time' to the phone
> service, so yes, they do have to keep it on. Trust
> me, after listening to it roaring away a mere 100
> feet from my bedroom window, I looked into it.
Seems pointless since they're keeping "up time" only at the "trunk" and the branches are homes that have no power to run a cable modem anyway.
They aren't providing battery backup inside the subscriber's home, to power the cable modem and phone line, are they?
I could understand FIOS doing that, since there is a battery connected to each subscriber's ONT which means that they would still have phone service on their side of the demarc even without mains power.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
alinnova
()
Date: January 30, 2009 01:33PM
Suburbanite Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't have Cox, but you should be aware if you
> switch to it and the power goes out you may lose
> your phone service as well. Cox phone relies on
> the power company to provide their service.
>
> If the power is out for a long time, say over 8
> hours, chances are the batteries they have for
> backup will go as well and then you need to call
> and tell them it's out so they can send a crew to
> set up a generator until the power gets fixed.
> Then you get to listen to a loud generator all day
> and night, and no they are not required to shut it
> off over night even if it's a noise disturbance.
Original poster here == we've had generators in two locations several blocks away in the past year or two. They were there for months until Virginia Dominion Power came to the utility poles to connect extra juice. The local story was that there were too many customers on the cable system.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't have Cox, but you should be aware if you
> switch to it and the power goes out you may lose
> your phone service as well. Cox phone relies on
> the power company to provide their service.
>
> If the power is out for a long time, say over 8
> hours, chances are the batteries they have for
> backup will go as well and then you need to call
> and tell them it's out so they can send a crew to
> set up a generator until the power gets fixed.
> Then you get to listen to a loud generator all day
> and night, and no they are not required to shut it
> off over night even if it's a noise disturbance.
Original poster here == we've had generators in two locations several blocks away in the past year or two. They were there for months until Virginia Dominion Power came to the utility poles to connect extra juice. The local story was that there were too many customers on the cable system.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
alinnova
()
Date: January 30, 2009 01:38PM
Thanks for the "power" discussion. But is anybody using the Digital Telephone? Happy? Not happy? Thanks, from the original poster.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
dono
()
Date: January 30, 2009 02:01PM
I have Cox cable for internet, tv and phone. The phone works fine and its cheaper to bundle. Power dies the phones die. true. We have plenty of cell phones to cover that though.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
coolhandbane
()
Date: January 30, 2009 03:30PM
I am extremely happy with Cox Digital telephone. It is cheaper than verizon phone service with and with the bundle.
The only downside is if the power goes out, we only have the phone for up to 8 hours. That is what cell phones are for.
The only downside is if the power goes out, we only have the phone for up to 8 hours. That is what cell phones are for.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
shuckinchuck
()
Date: January 30, 2009 03:32PM
We switched to Cox from Sunrocket and Lingo and the former's service is far superior. No dropped calls, false incoming rings, echos and the like. The voice quality is indistinguishable from a land line. No onerous contracts, either.
The Cox provided modem has a small battery backup which should be adequate for short outages. Like the man said once power goes out, you will soon be without telephone service. If you have a cell phone, it would be a good workaround.
Cox does try to solve problems and their customer service is local and not nearly as bad as the other two providers we have used.
Go for it.
The Cox provided modem has a small battery backup which should be adequate for short outages. Like the man said once power goes out, you will soon be without telephone service. If you have a cell phone, it would be a good workaround.
Cox does try to solve problems and their customer service is local and not nearly as bad as the other two providers we have used.
Go for it.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Gravis
()
Date: February 02, 2009 07:49PM
i use vontage because it's cheaper and their service is good. as for the power going out, if you have a decent UPS, you can have phone service for a good amount of time (like a day or so). the only problem i have with vontage is their draconian rule over their VOIP routers which is a bitch if you want to run servers for ssh or mysql. however, if you only have cordless phones that require power to operate, you are fucked anyway.
"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2009 07:50PM by Gravis.
"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2009 07:50PM by Gravis.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
KeepOnTruckin
()
Date: February 02, 2009 10:31PM
Gravis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> however, if you only have cordless phones that
> require power to operate, you are fucked anyway.
We're talking about phones, isn't it "phucked"
Thats why I keep a standard plug in phone along with my POTS phone system. I can still make phone calls, even when the cell towers are overloaded in a power outage
-------------------------------------------------------
> however, if you only have cordless phones that
> require power to operate, you are fucked anyway.
We're talking about phones, isn't it "phucked"
Thats why I keep a standard plug in phone along with my POTS phone system. I can still make phone calls, even when the cell towers are overloaded in a power outage
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Regretful
()
Date: June 27, 2009 11:51PM
I am not happy with Cox AT ALL!
I just signed up with Cox after having Comcast for 4 years (with no problems) because I moved to a new area. I had been using Vonage which I was happy with but I decided this time I would try the phone/internet/cable bundle since it sounded like a deal. I was in a hurry when I signed up and didn't pay attention to the 12 month contract ($180 fee to cancel or downgrade) and forgot to ask for very specific details as to what I was getting. So for $125 a month, I get basic digital cable, "Tier 1" (I asked to include BBC america which it turns out I didn't get) and the phone does NOT include features like caller ID and voicemail. After getting mutliple features included with Vonage, it didn't even occur to me that these would be *extra* with Cox. So now I have to pay an extra $16 a month (plus all the taxes) just to get those two features. Each additional feature costs more. Its only going to end up being $15 more than what I paid with Comcast and Vonage so I will just live with it until my contract is up but then I'm switching to Verizon and going back to Vonage or Skype. When I called to inquire about this, the customer service guy was polite but totally didn't care that I had not been informed of the details. He was just like "take it or leave it".
Then I discover the real scam. I signed up for service June 10. On June 26, I receive a letter outlining the terms of the contact dated May 28, telling me I have 15 days from the date of the letter to cancel without penalty. Wow they must have psychics on staff who knew before I did that I would be calling for service. Even if the letter was dated correctly from the time I signed up, it didn't even arrive until well after the 15 day deadline leaving me no option to cancel. I will call to complain but I doubt they'll care since I'm now stuck with this stupid bundle. I'll never do that again.
I just signed up with Cox after having Comcast for 4 years (with no problems) because I moved to a new area. I had been using Vonage which I was happy with but I decided this time I would try the phone/internet/cable bundle since it sounded like a deal. I was in a hurry when I signed up and didn't pay attention to the 12 month contract ($180 fee to cancel or downgrade) and forgot to ask for very specific details as to what I was getting. So for $125 a month, I get basic digital cable, "Tier 1" (I asked to include BBC america which it turns out I didn't get) and the phone does NOT include features like caller ID and voicemail. After getting mutliple features included with Vonage, it didn't even occur to me that these would be *extra* with Cox. So now I have to pay an extra $16 a month (plus all the taxes) just to get those two features. Each additional feature costs more. Its only going to end up being $15 more than what I paid with Comcast and Vonage so I will just live with it until my contract is up but then I'm switching to Verizon and going back to Vonage or Skype. When I called to inquire about this, the customer service guy was polite but totally didn't care that I had not been informed of the details. He was just like "take it or leave it".
Then I discover the real scam. I signed up for service June 10. On June 26, I receive a letter outlining the terms of the contact dated May 28, telling me I have 15 days from the date of the letter to cancel without penalty. Wow they must have psychics on staff who knew before I did that I would be calling for service. Even if the letter was dated correctly from the time I signed up, it didn't even arrive until well after the 15 day deadline leaving me no option to cancel. I will call to complain but I doubt they'll care since I'm now stuck with this stupid bundle. I'll never do that again.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
KeepOnTruckin
()
Date: June 28, 2009 12:45AM
call and complain, they will take care of you with credits to your bill, etc
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
-SBS-
()
Date: June 28, 2009 11:28AM
Additional info tidbit:
If you get Cox telephone with caller ID, and you have their cable TV service, you will see caller ID messages pop up on your TV when someone calls. Pretty cool.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2009 08:14PM by -SBS-.
If you get Cox telephone with caller ID, and you have their cable TV service, you will see caller ID messages pop up on your TV when someone calls. Pretty cool.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2009 08:14PM by -SBS-.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
bill sikess
()
Date: June 28, 2009 12:32PM
Ask The Meeper. He likes cocks.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
ffxstoner
()
Date: June 29, 2009 12:23AM
has anyone tried tho usb phone things? magic jack or sumshit
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
wuht
()
Date: June 29, 2009 07:39AM
ffxstoner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> has anyone tried tho usb phone things? magic jack
> or sumshit
do u know how to uz google to luk up things like produc reviews
-------------------------------------------------------
> has anyone tried tho usb phone things? magic jack
> or sumshit
do u know how to uz google to luk up things like produc reviews
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Sharon
()
Date: April 07, 2011 10:23PM
Yes happy with phone service. If power goes out, phones go out but you just use your cell phone. Actually now they are installing battery backups for the phone that last 8 hours.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
heretic
()
Date: April 09, 2011 06:55PM
The contract commitment & the extra charge for features like call waiting is bad enough. But I also got a number that apparently used to belong to some illegal alien related to every other illegal alien on the east coast. I would get 10-20 wrong numbers a day, all jabbering in Spanish and unable to comprehend that "Anna" NO LONGER HAD THIS NUMBER. And it NEVER STOPPED, even after months. I finally unplugged the phone, and then had to see dozens of caller IDs flashing on my TV every night (because they would all keep trying to call, over and over). Asking for a different number would likely have had the same outcome. They recycle them within a week.
On top of it all, the quality was terrible. People I called said they couldn't hear me. If you live in a high density area like an apt. complex it's especially bad.
Vonage was sucky quality too, because guess what? It's going over your equally crappy Cox internet connection.
I now have only my cell (with 2 backup batteries) and Skype. Much happier.
On top of it all, the quality was terrible. People I called said they couldn't hear me. If you live in a high density area like an apt. complex it's especially bad.
Vonage was sucky quality too, because guess what? It's going over your equally crappy Cox internet connection.
I now have only my cell (with 2 backup batteries) and Skype. Much happier.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Unhappy with Cox
()
Date: August 30, 2011 09:05PM
We have Cox telephone service and have never benefited from the battery backup service ~ don't think there is one!!! Our electricity has been on several times when we lost cable service ~ no battery backup on the telephone. Thinking about going back to a land line
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Ooma
()
Date: August 30, 2011 09:12PM
ooma.com
why do you have a landline anyway?
why do you have a landline anyway?
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
theShadowToo
()
Date: August 30, 2011 09:27PM
No Cox. No Verizon. No FiOS.
Like Ooma() above, we have Ooma. The box was $159 at Costco a year or so ago and I pay something like $10 a month for all the domestic phone calls I want to make. I can manage my account online, check messages online, use the existing wiring in my house and, best of all, kept the number I've had for the past 10 years.
Anyone paying more than $20 a month for their home phone service is getting ripped off, I don't care what kind of bundle Verizon or Cox are offering you.
Like Ooma() above, we have Ooma. The box was $159 at Costco a year or so ago and I pay something like $10 a month for all the domestic phone calls I want to make. I can manage my account online, check messages online, use the existing wiring in my house and, best of all, kept the number I've had for the past 10 years.
Anyone paying more than $20 a month for their home phone service is getting ripped off, I don't care what kind of bundle Verizon or Cox are offering you.
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
-SBS-_
()
Date: August 31, 2011 07:57PM
theShadowToo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No Cox. No Verizon. No FiOS.
>
> Anyone paying more than $20 a month for their home
> phone service is getting ripped off, I don't care
> what kind of bundle Verizon or Cox are offering
> you.
Except Cox will sell you the triple bundle (phone, TV, internet) for less than they will sell you a double bundle (TV, internet)
-------------------------------------------------------
> No Cox. No Verizon. No FiOS.
>
> Anyone paying more than $20 a month for their home
> phone service is getting ripped off, I don't care
> what kind of bundle Verizon or Cox are offering
> you.
Except Cox will sell you the triple bundle (phone, TV, internet) for less than they will sell you a double bundle (TV, internet)
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
Becky
()
Date: November 04, 2013 12:34AM
I am interested in this post because I am in the process of bundling with phone. They have an 8 hour back up but so does verizon. The battery backup is in the modem, supposedly. The last time we had a bad snow storm, we didn't have cell phones either! So cells are not always a safe back up either.
I'm torn- should I try to save 67 bucks a month and risk not liking this set up and then having to cancel and lose my original phone number or just stick with Verizon phone?
I've even read that they say the phones in your house will work, but that may not be the case I have Uniden phones and some older ones and they are all over the house. I was told that the WIFI for the phone if on the middle floor should reach all phones. Is this correct? I know it must have improve over the past 5 years or so and really need to know. Thanks!
'
I'm torn- should I try to save 67 bucks a month and risk not liking this set up and then having to cancel and lose my original phone number or just stick with Verizon phone?
I've even read that they say the phones in your house will work, but that may not be the case I have Uniden phones and some older ones and they are all over the house. I was told that the WIFI for the phone if on the middle floor should reach all phones. Is this correct? I know it must have improve over the past 5 years or so and really need to know. Thanks!
'
Re: Cox Cable's Digital Telephone
Posted by:
RoadMusings_
()
Date: November 04, 2013 01:12AM
Suburbanite Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't have Cox, but you should be aware if you
> switch to it and the power goes out you may lose
> your phone service as well. Cox phone relies on
> the power company to provide their service.
>
> If the power is out for a long time, say over 8
> hours, chances are the batteries they have for
> backup will go as well and then you need to call
> and tell them it's out so they can send a crew to
> set up a generator until the power gets fixed.
> Then you get to listen to a loud generator all day
> and night, and no they are not required to shut it
> off over night even if it's a noise disturbance.
This. There is no "ripple current" like there is with analog telephone lines. When the power goes out, you're on backup and then you're done.
Also, be aware, that if it's anything like FiOS (which has a similar setup), they will probably make you pay for the battery when it goes bad (which it will after a year or two).
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't have Cox, but you should be aware if you
> switch to it and the power goes out you may lose
> your phone service as well. Cox phone relies on
> the power company to provide their service.
>
> If the power is out for a long time, say over 8
> hours, chances are the batteries they have for
> backup will go as well and then you need to call
> and tell them it's out so they can send a crew to
> set up a generator until the power gets fixed.
> Then you get to listen to a loud generator all day
> and night, and no they are not required to shut it
> off over night even if it's a noise disturbance.
This. There is no "ripple current" like there is with analog telephone lines. When the power goes out, you're on backup and then you're done.
Also, be aware, that if it's anything like FiOS (which has a similar setup), they will probably make you pay for the battery when it goes bad (which it will after a year or two).