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ChesapeakeChris's avatar
ChesapeakeChris
New Contributor III
5 years ago

Why does MoCA "disable" every night and after reboots with our new CGM4141 Cox modem/router?

Why does the MoCA feature "disable" every night and "disable" after reboots with our new CGM4141 Cox modem/router?

We had an Arris TG2472G 2-Way DOCSIS 3.0 modem/router from Cox (Chesapeake, VA) for over three years using two Actiontec Network Extenders (WCB6200Q) and never had a problem with the MoCA option on the router. We had their highest service at the time which was "up to 300Mbps". Our ethernet speed was about 250Mbps and WIFI was about 100Mbps within about 20 feet of the router or extender. Of course, our incoming signal was NEVER steady and pulsed like a sine wave (slow/fast/slow - on/off/on again, etc.) and had dozens of techs come out to finally tell us Cox just wasn't going to strengthen the signal, so they put an amplifier on the line.

We were thinking of switching to Verizon's fiber optic system (and having the house rewired with CAT 7 with an ONT) to take advantage of their 1Gbps up and down speeds, but Cox kept begging me to switch to their new "Gateway" CGM4141COX - DOCSIS 3.1 modem/router as a free upgrade to "modernize" their system, so I also upgraded to their "up to 940Mbps aka gigablast), which oddly enough was free as well.

I swapped out the modem/router combo, logged into the gui, assigned a few new SSID names/passwords to the 2 radio frequencies (2.4GHz/5GHz), adjusted the firewall setting to "medium" and enabled the MoCA option (so I could use my network extenders). At first, no problems, just good ethernet speeds of 800Mbps and WIFI was about 200Mbps within about 20 feet of the router or extender.

Day two the internet went out except for the router. Both network extenders had zero signal over the coax. I logged into the modem/router's gui and saw the MoCA option was "disabled". I reenabled the MoCA option and voila, the network extenders burst back to life!  All day long and everything was fine.

Day three the internet was out AGAIN, except for the router. Both network extenders had zero signal over the coax. I logged into the modem/router's gui and saw the MoCA option was "disabled" - again. I reenabled the MoCA option and voila, the network extenders burst back to life again!  All day long and everything was fine.

Also, on day three, I did my research and contacted Cox. Twice through "chat", which was a joke and three times on the phone. Once I was disconnected, but got through to two different internet technical support folks. The first had no idea what I was talking about (though he was nice) and made an appointment for a tech to come out (not what I was hoping for). I did some more research and found that others had the same problem - recently!

The third phone call got me to another pleasant Cox internet technical support person who, again, didn't know about this - though she looked through he information for about 15 minutes while on the phone with me and STILL couldn't find anything on it.

Why does MoCA disable itself every night?

  • I am not an internet only customer - I pay for Contour TV Ultimate - 4 Premiums & Record 6, Cox Internet GigaBlast and Cox Voice Premier!

    UPDATE:  Just had the Cox tech out - he really new what he was doing, explained it to me and got me working again without changing my coax MoCA setup with network extenders..

    No way around it, I needed to install a 4K Contour Stream Player to "trick" the modem/router to NOT disable the MoCA feature. 

    The "MoCA" the 4K Contour Stream Player uses - isn't over coax, it's a dedicated frequency of 1150 MHz (the new "wireless" or "coax-less" MoCA).

    He installed the wireless player, which changed the modulation from QAM to IPTV. The IPTV change is what tells the Panoramic gateway to NOT disable it's MoCA feature. After updating the wireless player, he removed the HDMI cable and just left it plugged into120V.

    Now I get to call Cox (with the help of tier two) and see if they will waive the $5/mo and still keep the IPTV selection... 

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ANOTHER UPDATE: The Cox "tier two" guy I spoke with was an obnoxious, self absorbed, POS that might still live in his mother's basement.

    He wouldn't acknowledge anything about the 4K Contour Stream Player's wireless MoCA signal telling the Panoramic WiFi gateway to keep the MoCA signal enabled.

    In fact he lectured me that my using network extenders (over MoCA - hard line coax) violates the user agreement because the "intent" of the MoCA feature in the new Gateway was for IPTV modulation (video) - period.

    He said just because the features of the Gateway are there, it doesn't mean I get to use them as I see fit. Those features are there for Cox, not for me.

    He scolded that the Cox tech shouldn't have "divulged" company information by showing me how to "trick" their $$Billion dollar system to work with my network extenders - instead of BUYING THEIR PODS!

    I pay an extra $2.33/mo for the 4K Contour Stream Player rental fee (which I don't use & is just plugged into 120V behind the TV).

    My ethernet speed from the extenders is 800Mbps (anywhere in the house) and the WiFi is about 200Mbps - better than what I had for just $2.33/mo. extra.

    Just wish Cox was more upfront about it from the beginning...

  • ChesapeakeChris's avatar
    ChesapeakeChris
    New Contributor III

    I am not an internet only customer - I pay for Contour TV Ultimate - 4 Premiums & Record 6, Cox Internet GigaBlast and Cox Voice Premier!

    UPDATE:  Just had the Cox tech out - he really new what he was doing, explained it to me and got me working again without changing my coax MoCA setup with network extenders..

    No way around it, I needed to install a 4K Contour Stream Player to "trick" the modem/router to NOT disable the MoCA feature. 

    The "MoCA" the 4K Contour Stream Player uses - isn't over coax, it's a dedicated frequency of 1150 MHz (the new "wireless" or "coax-less" MoCA).

    He installed the wireless player, which changed the modulation from QAM to IPTV. The IPTV change is what tells the Panoramic gateway to NOT disable it's MoCA feature. After updating the wireless player, he removed the HDMI cable and just left it plugged into120V.

    Now I get to call Cox (with the help of tier two) and see if they will waive the $5/mo and still keep the IPTV selection... 

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ANOTHER UPDATE: The Cox "tier two" guy I spoke with was an obnoxious, self absorbed, POS that might still live in his mother's basement.

    He wouldn't acknowledge anything about the 4K Contour Stream Player's wireless MoCA signal telling the Panoramic WiFi gateway to keep the MoCA signal enabled.

    In fact he lectured me that my using network extenders (over MoCA - hard line coax) violates the user agreement because the "intent" of the MoCA feature in the new Gateway was for IPTV modulation (video) - period.

    He said just because the features of the Gateway are there, it doesn't mean I get to use them as I see fit. Those features are there for Cox, not for me.

    He scolded that the Cox tech shouldn't have "divulged" company information by showing me how to "trick" their $$Billion dollar system to work with my network extenders - instead of BUYING THEIR PODS!

    I pay an extra $2.33/mo for the 4K Contour Stream Player rental fee (which I don't use & is just plugged into 120V behind the TV).

    My ethernet speed from the extenders is 800Mbps (anywhere in the house) and the WiFi is about 200Mbps - better than what I had for just $2.33/mo. extra.

    Just wish Cox was more upfront about it from the beginning...