Troubleshooting 101 Asus/RMerlin Routers 2020

[L&LD]

"Once connected, the charge between them has effectively dissipated."

That is all we're after here. An equalization between equipment. It is not just a charge (present) that is the issue. It is a difference in charges that we're minimizing here.

A simple concept to grasp if you care to.

 

[K-2SO]

It is a difference in charges that we're minimizing here

I was trying to be polite. Less patient people will send you straight back to school. If you don't touch the cables, you won't have static charge differences. You exploit the fact most people have no knowledge in networking and enjoy wasting their time with over-complicated guides with unnecessary steps, mixed with your personal beliefs what is better. That's OK. I'm done here. You're right.

 

[L&LD]

No, you're not very polite at all, at least not to me. But thank you for being 'done'. I don't need to be right. But for the simple things I'm sharing here, I believe I am.

The ten steps are remarkably simple. Nothing was overcomplicated until you started with your misguidance/derailing of this thread.

If you want me to learn anything here, let's see you make a guide, so I know how it's done.

 

[StR]

There are numerous scientific & engineering articles published, instructions written, circuitry built to prevent and test, etc... -- all about "ESD" - Electrostatic Discharge in network electronics caused by CDE - Cable Discharge Events.
There is no point in linking them here: the interested people can easily google for "Cable discharge events ethernet".
Here is just a quick example - an application report by Texas Instruments.
This might not be the best document to describe the safety procedures, but it is a good example indicating the vector(s) of the danger: discharge that happens when you connect a network cable to the equipment, and explaining how that happens. Of a particular interest pertaining to this discussion is p.2, the bottom half in particular.

This article goes into a more detailed description of the CDE, and how it occurs, and the relevant parameters (such as voltage developed, time scale, etc.):

Multiple Factors Trigger Cable Discharge Events In Ethernet LANs

Unless its causes and cures are understood, electric-charge buildup on LAN cables can result in system failures.

www.electronicdesign.com

Of a particular interest to this discussion is this quote:
"Once charged, a high-grade cable can retain most of its charge for more than 24 hours."
So, disconnecting the cable for 10 minutes or even 1 hour may not discharge a cable.

tl;dr: Connecting an Ethernet cable to an Ethernet port can result in CDE.

To minimize the potential of a detrimental CDE, it is best if the person connecting the cable is grounded (and if the cable itself is grounded prior to connection).
Obviously, if you can reduce the number of times you connect/disconnect the cable, you lower the probability of a CDE (especially since many (most?) DIY@home equipment installers (and even various ISP installers) do not ground themselves).

Those are evidence based facts.

Now, a speculation: Can a CDE have *some* positive effect? It is not totally impossible in case your equipment is already malfunctioning, say due to the damage caused by the previous CDE: by zapping a blown fuse you might be able to fuse it back by creating a narrow path.
But relying on that would be akin (for a medical doctor) subjecting to the first-aid electric shock all patients regardless of the reasons/problems they came with, even those who came for a physical check-up, - hoping that it will not kill them.

 

[L&LD]

I am not writing about scientific facts, nor am I suggesting my (poor) attempts at explaining why it works, does.

This is just one of the things I have seen work when nothing else seemed to.

I'll leave it up to more 'scientific' people to explain it.

The 'evidence-based facts' are that it has worked for many when troubleshooting random network glitches and other electronic anomalies.

 

[thecheapseats]

beyond 'ufer' grounding for building electrical systems and distributed network-racks tied to them or other accepted electrical code best practices that are standard in large data centers and home labs as well - and without mentioning the CDE mitigation by those who know better (such as capacitvely-decoupled grounding/discharge of skin-effect charges of LAN cabling) - any attempts to diagnose or pretend to 'fix' these issues on a small scale in a 300-buck plastic router is a waste of time...

fix the room, not the router because you can't fix a 300-buck plastic static sponge - unless you understand the physics...

the first thing to look for is any stray voltage and its impedance on a residence or commercial building's grounding system... that's always a surprise - then go from there...