Systems and techniques relating to channel degradation detection for communication systems are described. A described system includes an interface to transmit signals and receive signals via a channel that includes a cable; an echo canceller coupled with the interface, the echo canceller to perform echo cancellation based on echo tap values to remove portions of the transmitted signals that appear as echoes within the received signals; an equalizer coupled with the interface, the equalizer to perform signal equalization based on equalizer tap values, the equalizer tap values being determined based on at least a portion of the received signals to adjust an impulse response of the channel and reduce inter-symbol interference within the received signals; and circuitry configured to determine a return loss channel quality indicator of the channel based on the echo tap values, determine an insertion loss channel quality indicator of the channel based on the equalizer tap values, or both.