Question Network Cable is Unplugged - Random Disconnects ATT Fiber

[sleepness88]

Hi all,

I'm about to go insane so I would love if anyone had any guidance. Currently have ATT fiber and have had it for the past 3 years, so this issue was not always a thing. Currently using the default modem/router for ATT (It's an all in one, apparently I HAVE to use this modem/router combo. I did previously use it as just a switch and connected a router directly to it, but I stopped doing that a while ago because it was a pain.)

I would say about 1.5 years ago, I started getting daily (1-2 times per day) hardwired ethernet drops, where the error I would get on event viewer was e2express - Network cable is unplugged (pic attached). Sometimes there will be dozens of these errors in event viewer within a 10-20 second period of the internet going down. It would go away by itself in a few seconds and come back online. People in my house on WiFi at the same time that this happens are NOT disconnected, which led me to believe it was a computer issue (by this point, this issue has plagued both of my desktop computers, old and new). I read some posts that my network adapter on my motherboard has this issue, so I went ahead and bought a new network card and it still happened. I found out that if I limited my connection to 100mbps, this problem would NOT occur (this still holds true, however I am tired of having to force my connection to 100mbps when I pay for 1GBS). This led me to believe it was a cable issue. I had a new cable ran to both the router from the ONT box AND my computer to the router to rule out cable issues, and still nothing (CAT6E is used for every connection). My router doesn't seem to provide any useful logs either as to what is actually happening. I’ve also tried different ports on the router, reboots, network troubleshooter, etc. Please save me from this frustration!

 

[bill001g]

I guess it depends on how old a ATT system you are using. Pretty much all their current systems connect a fiber directly to the their modem/router box. There is a wall plate but that is not a ONT it is a simple fiber patch and you run fiber between the wall and the router.

If you have a ethernet cable between them then you have a different kind of install.

BUT that cable even if it is ethernet is not likely the cause. If it was your WIFI connection would also be affected. In addition if that cable goes down you do not get any messages on your pc....at best you would get a no internet but the ethernet would still be up.

Although you have "ruled out" a cable you really want it to be a cable problem. The type of error you are seeing is at a physical level it is not related to say software drivers. Rarely you would see "green" settings on switches have issue on long cables.

So if it not a cable then you must replace the ethernet port which is not really possible. You can of course use a add in pcie cards or a USB3 ethernet adapter. Both are fairly inexpensive.

It is still more likely it is a cable issue even with new cables. There are massive amounts of fake cable sold. To begin with there is no such thing as cat6"E". There is cat5e, cat6 and cat6"a". Cat6a is designed for 10gbit connections. You need nothing better than cat5e unless you can get a cat6 or cat6a cable cheaper. They all will run exactly the same when they are plugged into a 1gbit port.

What is key is the wire must be pure copper (no CCA) and must have wire size 22-24 (none of that flat or thin cable). Quality cable has this printed on the size an vendors selling quality cable make it a point to clearly state this information. If your cables are not marked or you can not find these specs it is highly likely you cables are not actually ethernet cables.

 

[sleepness88]

I guess it depends on how old a ATT system you are using. Pretty much all their current systems connect a fiber directly to the their modem/router box. There is a wall plate but that is not a ONT it is a simple fiber patch and you run fiber between the wall and the router.

If you have a ethernet cable between them then you have a different kind of install.

BUT that cable even if it is ethernet is not likely the cause. If it was your WIFI connection would also be affected. In addition if that cable goes down you do not get any messages on your pc....at best you would get a no internet but the ethernet would still be up.

Although you have "ruled out" a cable you really want it to be a cable problem. The type of error you are seeing is at a physical level it is not related to say software drivers. Rarely you would see "green" settings on switches have issue on long cables.

So if it not a cable then you must replace the ethernet port which is not really possible. You can of course use a add in pcie cards or a USB3 ethernet adapter. Both are fairly inexpensive.

It is still more likely it is a cable issue even with new cables. There are massive amounts of fake cable sold. To begin with there is no such thing as cat6"E". There is cat5e, cat6 and cat6"a". Cat6a is designed for 10gbit connections. You need nothing better than cat5e unless you can get a cat6 or cat6a cable cheaper. They all will run exactly the same when they are plugged into a 1gbit port.

What is key is the wire must be pure copper (no CCA) and must have wire size 22-24 (none of that flat or thin cable). Quality cable has this printed on the size a vendors selling quality cable make it a point to clearly state this information. If your cables are not marked or you can not find these specs it is highly likely you cables are not actually ethernet cables.

Thanks for the detailed information. The cabling was bought through a licensed electrician and the box looked pretty legit so I don’t know if that is the issue. But yeah, this is an older install. The fiber runs to the ONT box and then there’s an Ethernet from the box to the modem/router. Unfortunately a new network card did not fix the issue either. This has plagued two wired PCs so far.

 

[bill001g]

Maybe move the pc closer to the router so you can use a short cable or run a log ethernet over the floor to test.

It depends on what type of electrician you got. "low" power guys are a specialty field. It takes special tool..ie testing meters..to be able to correctly install ethernet. Most cities that license electricians do not really do much testing on low power...you might see fire/smoke detector cables questions on the test. The license stuff is mostly related to safety and it would be really hard for a ethernet cable to kill you. Many electricians do not have much more skill on ethernet that your normal home owner

There really is not much to this. It is done by the chips in the ports on both ends. They measure thing like voltages to determine the speed of the cable. This also means you have almost nothing you can do. It is either a defective port on one end or the other or it is a defective cable. Bad ports in equipment is extremely rare.

If this cable is in the wall you also have 2 more ethernet cables. You have short cable going from the wall jack on one end to the router and a second short cable going from the wall jack on the other to your router. You likely should replace these just to see if they are the source of the problem.

Unfortantly the cost for a meter to really test ethernet can function correctly is close to $1000. This is also why most electricians do not have them. The low power electricians that do have them normally provide you a testing report from the meter to show they certified the connection.

As a home use you can only blindly try replacing stuff. Most software related issues the ethernet port stays electrically up but just does not work correctly.