Solved Asus RT-AC68U Ethernet dropping connection for a few seconds but wifi is perfect.

[chromeking]

Hello, I have an Asus RT-AC68U which I ran ethernet to various rooms about 4 years ago. (Tested all cables prior to running and after but currently my tester is broke and have a new one coming).

My issue is that the ethernet connects fine but will randomly drop connection for a few seconds (5 to 10)on my xbox or desktop then reconnect. This happens every 10 to 15 minutes. Sometimes on my PC I notice packet loss spike as well on certain games I play. The wifi works fine with no drops or issues. The log files also do not help me from the router. I have three devices currently with ethernet. 2 have issues and one my wife says; supposedly does not. They are all static addresses already reserved and assigned on the router and devices (DHCP pool is assigned around the static addresses to avoid issues). All drivers are updated and energy saving modes are disabled. Also tried uninstalling the network adapter for my pc and using the base one. Still the same issues of drops. Also have tried the latest router update and just reverted to the Version 3.0.0.4.385.20633 with a full reset both before updating the firmware and after the update.

Cant seem to pin point the issue and am leaning towards an issue with the ethernet wires or my router being 4 years old, but do not have a tester at the moment like mentioned earlier and no other cables to try.

If anyone has ideas on this please let me know.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Hello, I have an Asus RT-AC68U which I ran ethernet to various rooms about 4 years ago. (Tested all cables prior to running and after but currently my tester is broke and have a new one coming).

My issue is that the ethernet connects fine but will randomly drop connection for a few seconds (5 to 10)on my xbox or desktop then reconnect. This happens every 10 to 15 minutes. Sometimes on my PC I notice packet loss spike as well on certain games I play. The wifi works fine with no drops or issues. The log files also do not help me from the router. I have three devices currently with ethernet. 2 have issues and one my wife says; supposedly does not. They are all static addresses already reserved and assigned on the router and devices (DHCP pool is assigned around the static addresses to avoid issues). All drivers are updated and energy saving modes are disabled. Also tried uninstalling the network adapter for my pc and using the base one. Still the same issues of drops. Also have tried the latest router update and just reverted to the Version 3.0.0.4.385.20633 with a full reset both before updating the firmware and after the update.

Cant seem to pin point the issue and am leaning towards an issue with the ethernet wires or my router being 4 years old, but do not have a tester at the moment like mentioned earlier and no other cables to try.

If anyone has ideas on this please let me know.

A spare test router could help rule out router LAN hardware.

A long and trusted temporary Ethernet patch cable could help rule out your Ethernet cabling, which is naturally suspect. Disconnect all LAN ports before testing with the trusted cable.

Are all router LAN connections listing as 1 Gbps, if they should?

Removing all but one LAN client could help isolate a rogue LAN client/adapter.

Make sure the router DHCP server IP Pool range includes router manually-assigned IP addresses. But not likely the issue.

OE

 

[chromeking]

A spare test router could help rule out router LAN hardware.

A long and trusted temporary Ethernet patch cable could help rule out your Ethernet cabling, which is naturally suspect. Disconnect all LAN ports before testing with the trusted cable.

Are all router LAN connections listing as 1 Gbps, if the should?

Removing all but one LAN client could help isolate a rogue LAN client/adapter.

Make sure the router DHCP server IP Pool range includes router manually-assigned IP addresses. But not likely the issue.

OE

Thanks so much for the reply! I am going to see where my backup one is later today. I have to do virtually meetings a ton and on wifi its fine so I did not want to switch the network router until this weekend when I am off.

All connections are showing full speed and are 1 Gbps connection.

I have probably two boxes of cat6 wire, but no tester so I will be stuck waiting on that as mine is stuck in delayed mail for weeks but close to being delivered maybe early this week. That way I can make sure and test my current and new wires.

I will also try the one lan client method too this weekend to rule out issues.

I will update this post as I get time to test things.

Thanks again, hoping I can diagnose this here this weekend or next week as it is very odd it started happened only a week or two ago randomly.

 

[chromeking]

A spare test router could help rule out router LAN hardware.

A long and trusted temporary Ethernet patch cable could help rule out your Ethernet cabling, which is naturally suspect. Disconnect all LAN ports before testing with the trusted cable.

Are all router LAN connections listing as 1 Gbps, if they should?

Removing all but one LAN client could help isolate a rogue LAN client/adapter.

Make sure the router DHCP server IP Pool range includes router manually-assigned IP addresses. But not likely the issue.

OE

Sorry for the delayed response. (I believe I figured it out and will mark it resolved). I just got my tester and had more time to diagnose earlier this week. I went through all your steps and it seems to be two issues. One with my desktop Malwarebytes having a new version updated automatically and there was a issue with the internet scanning with that. The second being my router still disconnecting after deeming my isp connection fine, my modem connection fine, and my modem to router fine. Also all ethernet cables tested and modem to a device was fine.
I replaced my router with another AC68U and it has been perfect for me. No drops as of yet. I will be getting a spare router very soon as well for assurance in case this or another happens down the road.

Thanks for the help!

 

[L&LD]

@chromeking, make sure to fully test the backup/spare router before you put it away.

Actually, I would do a full install on it and put the one you're using away. You've already tested it and found it stable!