Unstable WiFi and Ethernet connections suddenly

[pippincp]

As 1000mb doesn't even appear in the options list it could possibly be a driver/NIC issue.

Here's mine for comparison.

[Pale91]

Thank you, I will try the 100mbps thingy!

I have tried 3 different ports on the router now, giving each one plenty time to test it. 

[Pale91]

Could that because of the router's/line's limitations? I don't FULLY understand this duplex thingy... But my net's speed has never surpassed 45-50mbps. (Even that's on a very good day!) 

Thanks for the reply, all of this is helping me narrow it down. I hope. 

[Gary_C]

Duplex is about the link talking in both directions

Half duplex means it can only talk in one direction at a time so takes it in turn to talk backwards and forwards

Full duplex means it can talk backwards and forwards at the same time (so is faster)

Do try setting your adapter to 100 full duplex and see if that stops the ethernet disconnects

This is only the link between the PC and the smart hub, not the link between the smart hub and the internet.

How old is the PC (model number ?), and is the ethernet built in (or a usb device), it might be a driver or port problem, but we are also forgetting that you have had problems on wifi too. But lets get the ethernet link between your PC and the router stable first.

[Pale91]

Thank you for explaining, that is a much simpler explanation than I was finding online. 🙂

The PC was built by a friend of mine. He builds tons of PCs. So I guess the parts inside are varying ages. Some pretty new and some a few years old.

Errr... I'm not sure how to know if the Ethernet is built in. It's an Ethernet cable going into the back of the PC, I can whap it in and out easily. Hope that helps!

I have had it set to 100mbps Full Duplex for 2 days now... during which I've had no weird disconnecting. Keeping an eye on technical logs, etc.

If that is the solution, can you please explain why? I'm afraid it's another bandaid rather than a fix.

If that's the solution, what is the problem?

Thank you!!

[Gary_C]

When an ethernet connection is made (and the system is set to auto negotiate), the two devices work out how fast they can make the connection. If the connection is a bit marginal for noise (bad cable, faulty socket, faulty devices, etc) then it might be able to negotiate a fast speed, but then errors on the line might change its mind and the link can 'fall back' to the slower speed. This causes a disconnection. It can then look at the line and if the 'noise' or fault goes away, it can 'fall forward' to the faster speed and cause another disconnection.
Forcing it to connect at 100mbps might stop that activity, though if the errors are bad enough it may still have problems, but at 100mbps its more resilient to noise. But that still doesn't explain why you had problems on wifi.

As to 'built in' I was thinking lap top and some you have to use a device plugged into the USB port. If the ethernet is on a card plugged into a socket on the motherboard, it might be worth replacing it as they are cheap, but ask your friend to help out as they might have some spare ones 🙂

[Gary_C]

So if your connection is now stable, its possible the ethernet port itself is bad or the driver is corrupted.
You can reinstall the driver for the port. Look up the model name/number online from the manufactures website and download a new driver and try that.

I think you already said you tried a new ethernet cable but it might still be worth it to buy a new cat6 ethernet cable (make sure its cat5e or cat6) as they can be faulty then set it back to auto negotiation.

Though again, as you also had problems with wifi, it might be a problem within some common item, and that might be hard to find (as I can't think what could cause a common fault with the symptoms seen).

end of the day, a stable connection is better than a faster unstable one, especially as 100mbps is still faster than the internet connection.

[Pale91]

Hello 🙂

Sorry I didn't get back to you, I'm pretty much testing how the latest changes go.

The engineer went up the pole outside my house etc, checked the outside wiring going right into my property, etc. He said it all looked alright. After I told him that it 'felt' like something was limiting my broadband whenever I'd try to properly use it (e.g. streaming/two people trying to watch vids at once etc), he said that it sounded like some kind of capping. As if something was holding it back. So, he reset the 'line manager' or whatever it's called, the thing that controls the behaviour of it.... or something.

I'm still using 100 mbps Full Duplex. So yeah, seeing how that goes. It's been almost 2 days now without any weird disconnections. Here's hoping this bandaid works I guess?

I did actually reinstall the driver, before I made this thread. Surely if it was something like that, the wired net would be bad ALL of the time? Rather than intermittently. As you said, that doesn't explain the **bleep** wifi now... I think this will be a long journey of troubleshooting for me. 😥

Thanks so much again 🙂

[Pale91]

Hello! An update after around a week...

The catastrophic disconnections haven't happened for around 9 days. I still have 100mpbs Full Duplex set, instead of automatic.

There's a new 'symptom' now. According to the hub's technical log, the router disconnects every day at approximately 3am.

Am I right in thinking that this is the Dynamic Line Management?

Is this behaviour normal after a DLM reset? Or am I right in thinking that it only disconnects/attempts to change settings like this when the connection has suffered a lot of errors during the day or something?

Thanks for any info! I'm not sure if this is a problem or not, it's never happened before so that's all I have to go on. 😥

[pippincp]

3.00 am sounds like DLM stabalising your line. It should settle down soon.