Question Router Ethernet ports not working

[Chrisuofa]

Hello. I have an Arris modem/router combo I rent from my ISP. I have a cable from one Ethernet port going to my desktop and another cable from another Ethernet port going to my TV. Everything was working yesterday. Today I came home from work and the WiFi works fine but desktop and TV (wired connections) do not. I’ve tried different cables to different devices. All devices act as if a cable is not plugged in. When I plug cable into Ethernet port, the LED light for the port does not come on. I also tried unplugging everything and starting it back up.
Is it possible for just the ports to go bad even though the wifi works? ISP sending tech but they’re going to charge me if problem is on my end. I just can’t think of anything else it could be. Thanks

 

[BFG-9000]

If you plug the desktop into the TV and the port lights up, then they're probably both working, just not with the modem/router switch ports. If you tried every port and none light up then the switch in it is probably dead, which is their problem as it's a rental.

 

[JohnMGotts]

Inserting an ethernet cable between ports should light the respective port indicators. If they don’t illuminate, the unit is bad. That is, inserting one end of the cable in port 1 the other end in port 2 should light both ports.

 

[Chrisuofa]

Inserting an ethernet cable between ports should light the respective port indicators. If they don’t illuminate, the unit is bad. That is, inserting one end of the cable in port 1 the other end in port 2 should light both ports.

Right, gotcha. I come to that conclusion but it is making me question myself because the wifi part of the router is still working. Thanks

 

[bill001g]

It would depend on how the device is built. There are still devices that use a seperate switch chip to run the lan ports that is then internally connected to the router chip. This chip could have failed. The wifi chips and cpu chips might be fine.

Hard to say and it really doesn't matter because you can't really fix modern hardware and it is the ISP box anyway. There is a very tiny chance it could be some strange software issue but I doubt it. You could try a factory reset of the device....then again it might completely fail and you have no internet at all until the tech gets there.

In general if a ethernet port does not light up when you plug something in and you have tried different cables and connecting a different device it almost always is a bad port

 

[Chrisuofa]

Just an update, they replaced the router/modem. Guy said he had been replacing equipment in my area nonstop after big storm. Problem now is I have intermittent latency spikes. When they check it, it’s not doing it. Resetting router gets rid of it. Going to buy my own modem and router I guess

 

[Ralston18]

Some additional suggestions and thoughts:

Regarding:

"Going to buy my own modem and router"...

If you do so then be sure that the purchased devices are on the ISP's supported list.

Otherwise, the ISP can simply blame the devices, claim that is not their problem, and are thus not obligated to provide any support.

And the latency spikes may not be within your network or even the ISP's purview.

Run "ping", "pathping", and "tracert" via the Command Prompt and post the results.

Target Google at 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4

"pathping" and "tracert" may require a few minutes to run and complete.

You should be able to copy and paste the results of all three commands. No need to retype everything.

 

[Chrisuofa]

@Ralston18

Some additional suggestions and thoughts:

Regarding:

"Going to buy my own modem and router"...

If you do so then be sure that the purchased devices are on the ISP's supported list.

Otherwise, the ISP can simply blame the devices, claim that is not their problem, and are thus not obligated to provide any support.

And the latency spikes may not be within your network or even the ISP's purview.

Run "ping", "pathping", and "tracert" via the Command Prompt and post the results.

Target Google at 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4

"pathping" and "tracert" may require a few minutes to run and complete.

You should be able to copy and paste the results of all three commands. No need to retype everything.

I have no idea what any of this means.

C:\Users\chris>ping 8.8.8.8

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=18ms TTL=114
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=114
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=114
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=12ms TTL=114

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 12ms, Maximum = 18ms, Average = 13ms

C:\Users\chris>pathping 8.8.8.8

Tracing route to dns.google [8.8.8.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
0 DESKTOP-J54KMEB.knology.net [192.168.0.2]
1 arrisatom.knology.net [192.168.0.1]
2 d27-96-1-105.nap.wideopenwest.com [96.27.105.1]
3 10.52.131.96
4 10.42.144.4
5 static-24-214-201-176.knology.net [24.214.201.176]
6 static-24-42-150-210.knology.net [24.42.150.210]
7 75.76.35.115
8 * * *
Computing statistics for 175 seconds...
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 DESKTOP-J54KMEB.knology.net [192.168.0.2]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 0ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% arrisatom.knology.net [192.168.0.1]
0/ 100 = 0% |
2 9ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% d27-96-1-105.nap.wideopenwest.com [96.27.105.1]
0/ 100 = 0% |
3 --- 100/ 100 =100% 100/ 100 =100% 10.52.131.96
0/ 100 = 0% |
4 --- 100/ 100 =100% 100/ 100 =100% 10.42.144.4
0/ 100 = 0% |
5 12ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% static-24-214-201-176.knology.net [24.214.201.176]
0/ 100 = 0% |
6 16ms 2/ 100 = 2% 2/ 100 = 2% static-24-42-150-210.knology.net [24.42.150.210]
0/ 100 = 0% |
7 15ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 75.76.35.115

Trace complete.


C:\Users\chris>tracert 8.8.8.8

Tracing route to dns.google [8.8.8.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms arrisatom.knology.net [192.168.0.1]
2 10 ms 11 ms 8 ms d27-96-1-105.nap.wideopenwest.com [96.27.105.1]
3 12 ms 11 ms 26 ms 10.52.131.96
4 29 ms 12 ms 12 ms 10.42.144.4
5 14 ms 12 ms 11 ms static-24-214-201-176.knology.net [24.214.201.176]
6 14 ms 15 ms 14 ms static-24-42-150-210.knology.net [24.42.150.210]
7 13 ms 15 ms 15 ms 75.76.35.115
8 * * * Request timed out.
9 20 ms 19 ms 14 ms 172.253.71.61
10 14 ms 16 ms 13 ms 142.251.55.117
11 17 ms 17 ms 11 ms dns.google [8.8.8.8]

Trace complete.

 

[Ralston18]

@Chrisuofa

Not really seeing anything astray with ping results etc..

Update being that Desktop and TV are now working but are still having " intermittent latency spikes".

Correct?

The Desktop is requesting and receiving a DHCP IP address of 192.168.0.2 from the Arris Router at 192.168.0.1 (Gateway).

One quick thing to check is to be sure that only one network adapter either wired or wireless is enabled. One or the other. Not both at the same time. One enabled network adapter only.

Use "ipconfig /all" via the Command Prompt to view Desktop's network configuration settings.

What about the TV? Is it possible to check the TV's menu's for the TV's current network configuration settings?

Simply to check the IP addresses that are being used - especially if any are static IP addresses.

= = = =

Do you have admin rights to the Arris? From the Desktop's browser type in 192.168.0.1

You will need the login name and password. However, if the Arris was reset then those values are now at the factory default settings. Which means that anyone could access your network because the default values are common knowledge. Another possibility is that the default login and/or password are provided on the lable plate.

Moot if you or someone did indeed change the defaults after the reset.

My thought being a duplicate IP address somewhere in the home network.

Intermittent problems because the device may or may not be present and may (when present) be being given what amounts to a duplicate IP addresse thus causing a conflict.

Keep in mind that if you purchase your own modem, router, or modem/router then you will be the person responsible for setting up and configuring your home network. Not your ISP.

The setup etc. is not that difficult - many people have done so. You just need to learn and to plan accordingly.

Start by finding the User Guide/Manual for the current Arris device.

And likewise go online and read the applicable User Guide/Manual for devices you are considering to purchase.

 

[JohnMGotts]

Not sure if you’re seeing the latency on both the TV and desktop, but during the issue you might want to just disconnect the ethernet cable of the unaffected port to see if it resolves. It could be that the new unit they gave you is mis configured or defective. Using a simple free network tool like Fing will show you all the devices on your network by IP. You could search for duplicates.