How does this Cox speedtest work?

This Cox speed test begins by identifying your Cox connection and then selecting a speedtest server closest to your area.

When you click the GO button it will send packets of data from the speedtest server to your device.

The Cox speed test is powered by Ookla and calculates the ping (latency), download speed and upload speed from your device and the test server.

The time that it takes this data to arrive and return from the server determines your Cox internet connection speed.

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How accurate is the Cox internet connection speedtest?

This Cox speed test is powered by Ookla which one of the most popular broadband connection speedtest and provides accurate and consistent testing experience and results.

By automatically choosing a speed test server closest to your area, this eliminates latency & bottlenecks which can distort performance metrics.

Ookla has a worldwide network of over 10,000 speedtest servers in over 190 countries.

Source: How Ookla ensures accurate reliable Speedtests

To improve accuracy, we would recommend that you run the Cox speed test from a device connected directly into the Cox gateway modem or router.

This will help to provide a more precise reflection on the performance of your Cox broadband connection and assist to rule out the Wifi related issues.

If you cannot connect your device directly into the Cox modem or router, make sure that the device that you are running this test is as physically close the modem or router as possible. Run the speedtest at least twice and from two separate devices to ensure that the fault is not on one of the devices.

What do the speed test results from my Cox speed test mean?

What is the Ping result mean?

Ping is also referred to as latency which in internet connectivity terms refers to the the time (or delay) it takes for information to travel from one device to another. In this instance, from your device using the Cox internet connection to the closest Ookla server.

Ping sends information to another computer (in this case, the Ookla test server) and measures in milliseconds (ms) the duration it takes to receive a response.

If the server is far or the network is busy then it may take more time to receive a reply and the ping value in ms will be high.

This Cox speed tester will automatically choose a speedtest server closest to your location which will eliminate latency and bottlenecks which can distort speed test results.

A quick ping (low ms value) means a more responsive Cox internet connection.

What’s a good ping result?

An average ping rate to a device in the same city should be lower than 20ms. A good ping rate between cities you’d expect to see ping values between 30-60ms, and between continents that figure can climb to over 200ms.

The speedtest above will show you the location of the Ookla test server so that you can determine whether your ping result is good or not.

What’s Jitter?

All data (e.g. an email, image, video, voice call, etc) is sent across the internet as a series of small packets. These packets typically move at a regular rate and are rebuilt back together at the destination device.

Jitter is the rate of delay during the transmission of the packets.

Think of it similar to running a tap and then increasing or decreasing the flow rate of the water coming out. When the flow becomes irregular (due to the increasing and decreasing), the Jitter value increases – which is not good.

You do not usually notice jitter as networking devices can smooth it out but you will be aware of jitter whilst on a video and voice calls because the internet connection will momentarily stutter or break up.

Cox Download and Upload speed metrics explained

Read More:What does the Download and Upload speed results on my Cox speedtest mean?

Common causes of Cox slow internet connection speed

There are several possible reasons why the Cox internet connection is not performing as expected. Whilst we are unable address every possible cause, we have listed a number of common causes.

Depending on your Cox broadband setup, some of the recommendations may not be applicable in your scenario. We hope that they may trigger possible ideas or get you heading in the right direction to resolve the issue.

Is it the Cox broadband internet that is slow or could it be your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

You need to consider how many apps are concurrently running on your device that could be utilising your system resources (mainly RAM memory and CPU) and your Cox internet bandwidth.

If you are on a PC, you may use the task manager to see your processor and memory usage.

On any other device you should try rebooting the device which should hopefully terminate all programs that may have been running in the background.

Run the Cox speed test on the computer and your smart phone to see how the speedtest results compare between the 2 devices.

Hopefully the will give you some information to work with in terms of if the issue lies with your device or the Cox internet connection.

• What exactly does the Cox download and upload speed mean?
• 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Cox internet connection Speed
• DNS hack to speed up internet browsing on your Cox internet connection

Is your Wi-Fi network connection the problem?

The root cause of the issue could be the Wifi network connection and not the Cox broadband internet connection.

You could rule out the wireless network being the cause of the problem by connecting your computer directly to the Cox internet modem or router using an ethernet cable and run the Cox speed test again.

If the speed is better when you are connected by an ethernet cable then this suggests that the fault may be with your Wi-Fi network.

Other things to investigate are:

• Are the WiFi channels you’re using for your wireless network network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbors?
• Is your Wireless frequency congested? You should consider switching to 5Ghz?
• Is your Wifi signal from the modem or router obstructed?
• Does the performance improve when you are standing directly infront of your Cox wireless modem/router?

The amount of devices connected to your home network

All devices that are connected to your home network or Wireless network is utilising the same Cox broadband internet connection.

If you have multiple devices browsing the internet, streaming videos, streaming music, downloading or uploading files, video conferencing, etc, they will have an impact on the performance on your Cox internet connection because the available bandwidth has to be shared between devices.

Do you know how many devices are connected to your Cox internet connection? Don’t forget about all the smart home devices, CCTV cameras, door cameras, Google or Alexa hub or other similar devices that may be continually connected.

Who is connected to my Wi-Fi network?

• Have you checked that your Wifi network password has not been shared?
• Do you have an unsecured Guest wireless network?

Neighbors may be on your wirelessi network and using up all the Cox internet bandwidth downloading, uploading, streaming or running peer-to-peer file sharing over your Cox internet connection. Worse still, they could be carrying out unlawful activities.

There are 2 apps that you may use to scan your Wifi network to check who is connected:

• Windows users may use Wireless network watcher
• Apple MAC users may use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)

Both apps will scan your Wi-Fi network and display a list of the connected devices.

As an alternative, log into the Cox wireless router to see who is connected to your Wifi network.

Check out this guide on how to use both Apps

Wifi signal strength

If the PC, laptop is not picking up a strong signal it will affect on the throughput, speed and internet performance irrespective of how fast the Cox internet connection is.

Conditions that may affect your wireless signal are;

• Walls, doors or floors between your device and the Cox broadband internet modem or router
• Household appliances such as baby monitors or microwaves
• Overlapping Wifi network signal from your next-door neighbours
• General distance between the device and the Cox internet modem or router.

Do I need a Wifi signal booster for my Cox internet?

If you discover that you have wireless blackhole at your property, a wireless signal extender aka a wireless booster is the fix to boost the signal strength across the property.

The Wifi network booster simply picks up your existing wireless signal as it is starting to become weak and then re-transmits the Wi-Fi network signal at a more stronger rate to extend its coverage.

Place the wireless booster/extender where the wireless signal from the Cox broadband internet router or model is beginning to become weak. Approximately where your wireless signal drops below 2 bars. You could use your phone to determine where this is.

Health of your Device

Viruses and malware can slow down your device and the performance of your device. Viruses or malware could be working quietly and hidden in the behind the scenes download and uploading data and slowing the performance of your whole internal network down.

When was the last time you ran a full Virus and Malware check on your device?

When’s the last time the Cox internet modem or router was rebooted?

In the same way as other Internet Service Providers, Cox’s broadband infrastructure is frequently refreshed to support new features and changes in technology. Equally, the broadband internet routers or modem at your home will also occasionally need an update to support changes in the Cox internet network.

The update could be in the form of a software update or an upgrade of the physical Cox modem/router hardware to a the newest version.

You can carry out the software update by logging in to the Cox modem/router. If you cannot do this or are not confident doing this, get in contact with Cox and they are able to either it for you or guide you through it.

The type and age of the device

Newer PCs, smart phones and other internet enabled devices are generally faster than old devices due to advancements in networking technology and protocols.

Are you seeing the same problems or newer devices?

Is the problem external to your home?

This is one of the most likely reasons for Cox internet connectivity faults. There are miles of cables used to present the Cox broadband internet connection to your property.

The problem may be with the physical connection that comes into your home and terminates into the modem or router in your property.

You should get in contact with Cox who should be able to conduct the relevant connection tests to see if there’s a problem on the Cox broadband internet connection.