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Intermittent Ethernet

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Ethernet is the fastest, most stable and most secure method of connecting to the internet, but sometimes you might find it is not providing the service it should be. In this article are some things you can try yourself to improve an intermittent Ethernet connection, and details on how to contact us in the event the issue is not resolved.

Troubleshooting steps

The first thing to check is that your device is fully up to date:

  • For Windows:

    Press and hold the Windows key (Windows or Windows) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "ncpa.cpl" and press Enter > In this new window, right click the Ethernet/Local area network connection and select Properties > Select Configure, then go to the Driver tab > Click Update Driver > Select Search Automatically > The computer will then check the best driver is installed.

  • For Apple Mac:

    Open the App Store, go to the Updates section and install any updates shown there.

Next, you can check the Power settings on your device (Windows only):

Press and hold the Windows key (Windows or Windows) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "Control Panel" and press Enter > In this new window, select Hardware and Sound > Under Devices and Printers, select Device Manager > Under Network Adapters, double click the 'Ethernet' or 'Local Area' network card > Go to the Power Management tab > Make sure the option to 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power' is unticked.

Sometimes your device's firewalls may be intermittently blocking our network. Try temporarily disabling them and retesting the connection.

  • For Windows:

    Press and hold the Windows key (Windows or Windows) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "Control Panel" and press Enter > In this new window, click System and Security > Click Windows Firewall > On the left, click Turn Windows Firewall on or off.

    You may find a message telling you that these settings are being controlled by a vendor application. This means your Anti-virus includes its own Firewall, and you will need to turn it off through the software's settings.

  • For Apple Mac:

    Click on the Apple icon > Select System Preferences > Select Security and Privacy > Select the Firewall tab at the top > Click Turn Off Firewall.

If disabling the firewalls does help, please remember to re-enable them before you use any other public network.

Lastly, you should also make sure your device is free from any viruses or malware. Any free Anti-Virus software will work for this, such as AVG Free or Avast.

 

Contact the ServiceDesk

If the issue persists, we will need to speak with you in order to work out the best way to improve the connection. You can either call us on 0333 123 0115, or alternatively you can email us some information, and we’ll contact you.
First, we need to you capture some data from a laptop or desktop when the connection is not working.

For Windows:

  1. Press and hold the Windows key (Windows or Windows) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "ncpa.cpl" and press Enter > In this new window, right click the Ethernet/Wired network connection and select Status > Select Details > Copy the IPv4 Default Gateway.
  2. Next, press and hold the Windows key (Windows or Windows) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "cmd" and press Enter > In this new window, type "ping (paste (Ctrl+V) the IPv4 Default Gateway here)" -n 6 > Press Enter.
  3. Once it's finished, do the same again, but this time write 8.8.8.8 instead of the IPv4 Default Gateway.
  4. Take a screenshot of all this information.

You should end up with something like this:

 

The below instructions will create a report that will tell us about your device, and will help us identify any configuration issues and trace your issue on the network:

  1. Press and hold the Windows key (Windows or Windows) and press the letter "R" > In the box, type "cmd" and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter at the same time > A black window will appear. You may receive a pop up notification asking you to allow the program to make changes. As we are not actually making any changes, only obtaining information, click Yes.
  2. With Command Prompt open, copy the below commands one at a time (by highlighting, right-clicking and selecting Copy), then change to the Command Prompt Window and press Ctrl+V to paste them.
  3. Once a command line is pasted, press Enter (the next line will be blank, this is normal). Please do this for the two commands below:

    netsh wlan show interfaces > "c:\interfaces.txt"
    ipconfig /all > c:\ipdetails.txt

  4. Next, find the files you have just created:
    • For Windows 10: Right click the Start menu> Open File Explorer > Find This PC on the left-hand side > Click Windows (C: ).
    • For Windows 8: From the Desktop view,Right click the Start menu> Open File Explorer> Find This PC on the left-hand side > Click Windows (C: ).
    • For Windows 7/Vista: Open My computer > Find and doubleclick Local Desk (C:) on the left.

Find two text files (interfaces.txt and ipdetails.txt) here.

For Apple Mac:

  1. Click the Apple icon (top left) > Select System Preferences > Select Network > Select Ethernet on the left, then click Advanced on the right. > Go to the TCP/IP tab > Copy the Router Address.
  2. Do a Spotlight search (cmd ⌘ + space) for Network Utility, and open the application > Go to the Ping tab > Type the Router Address, enter a number of 6 pings, then click Ping > Take a screenshot (shift + cmd ⌘+ 4) of this information.
  3. Once it's finished, do the same again, but this time enter 8.8.8.8 instead of the Router Address.

You should end up with something like this:

 

The below details are unique to your device, and will help us identify any configuration issues and trace your issue on the network:

  1. Click the Apple icon (top left) > Select System Preferences > Select Network > Select Ethernet on the left and then click Advanced on the right.
  2. On the Hardware tab, please give us the MAC Address.
  3. On the TCP/IP tab, please give us the IPv4 Address and the Router Address.
  4. On the DNS tab, please give us the DNS addresses.

    Please Copy all this information and Paste it into a TextEdit document, then save it with the title DeviceDetails.txt.

Next, consider the following questions:

  • Has the connection ever worked without issue?
  • If so, when did this issue start?
  • Have you tried another Ethernet cable?
  • Are you using any personal networking equipment e.g. a router or switch/splitter?
  • Does your device work without issue on the port in another room?
  • What happens when you're disconnected? Does your computer show any warnings or messages over the network icon? 
  • Are you being shown any warnings or messages from your operating system or within your internet browser?

Please send these screenshots as attachments, along with the answers to the above questions in an email to us, and we will endeavour to get in touch as soon as we can. Alternatively, you can contact us using the form below, and send the attachments when prompted later on. You must include either your Username or Account ID in the email.

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