Loosing Ethernet connection nearly every day

[gerdgoebel]

Since upgrading first to 14.4, then 14.4.1, and now to 14.5 I loose my Ethernet connection nearly every day.
Disabling/enabling the interface does not resolve the problem, but after rebooting the MBP 2021 M1 I get the network connection back. WiFi works just fine.
I have checked/replaced the cables but still have the problem.
I also have a Windows PC on the same switch, which works just fine.
Does anybody have the same problem or know what else I can check to fix my problem?

 

[Sciuriware]

Since upgrading first to 14.4, then 14.4.1, and now to 14.5 I loose my Ethernet connection nearly every day.
Disabling/enabling the interface does not resolve the problem, but after rebooting the MBP 2021 M1 I get the network connection back. WiFi works just fine.
I have checked/replaced the cables but still have the problem.
I also have a Windows PC on the same switch, which works just fine.
Does anybody have the same problem or know what else I can check to fix my problem?

Not very clear: did rebooting resolve the problem forever or for some time?
What interface did you disable/enable?
As WIFI works fine (all the time?), are you complaining about an UTP wired connection?

The only thing I can think of is that your wired-network settings are wrong.
;JOOP!

 

[gerdgoebel]

I agree, I should have been more clear.
1) rebooting normally resolves if for a day or 2, then I loose the network connection again
2) it's the USB 10/100/1000 LAN network adapter, that automatically was created in the Mac OS
3) yes, only the wired connection is causing the problem

I have this very same network connection up and running for a long time, and with the previous OS I never had the disconnect.

I even had deleted the service under Network, created it again, the OS created all the settings, I am using DHCP, and everything is working again.

Under the hardware settings I have selected automatic, which sets it to 1GB, full-duplex, and 1500 MTU.

 

[Sciuriware]

I agree, I should have been more clear.
1) rebooting normally resolves if for a day or 2, then I loose the network connection again
2) it's the USB 10/100/1000 LAN network adapter, that automatically was created in the Mac OS
3) yes, only the wired connection is causing the problem

I have this very same network connection up and running for a long time, and with the previous OS I never had the disconnect.

I even had deleted the service under Network, created it again, the OS created all the settings, I am using DHCP, and everything is working again.

Under the hardware settings I have selected automatic, which sets it to 1GB, full-duplex, and 1500 MTU.

Settings as reported: same as with me, on BigSur and Sonoma.
Then, on Sonoma extra settings may be confusing (I did not set all of them myself, like you).
: automatic everywhere; Limit IP tracking: on; DHCP: renew lease; 802.1X: auto; no Proxies; AVB/EA: on

In automation, hardware does seldom change by itself, neither do settings.
If you lose connection after a long time of uninterrupted use, without any hardware modification,
I would suspect a router, hub or modem growing old (you never know).
Finally, can you fully trust your provider? does it happen on a certain time? Mine did ......!
;JOOP!

 

[monokakata]

I have had ethernet cables (their connectors, really) go bad. Very rare, but has happened. Have you swapped in another cable? Also perhaps swapped the port on the switch to another?

 

[genexx]

Do you have WiFi also active on that Mac ?
Connected to the Same Router ?
Does the Router have the ability of Link Aggregation ?
What Router do you use ?
Have you tried the Option DHCP Lease Renew in the SystemSettings / Network for the Interface instead of Reboot ?
Have you tried to deactivate WiFi if it is active ?
How many Devices are connected to your Router ?
Have you tried setting a fixed IP on the Router for your Mac ?

 

[Sciuriware]

Do you have WiFi also active on that Mac ?
Connected to the Same Router ?
Does the Router have the ability of Link Aggregation ?
What Router do you use ?
Have you tried the Option DHCP Lease Renew in the SystemSettings / Network for the Interface instead of Reboot ?
Have you tried to deactivate WiFi if it is active ?
How many Devices are connected to your Router ?
Have you tried setting a fixed IP on the Router for your Mac ?

Good point: WIFI might create a parallel track that might interfere
(I had it once switched on without problem, but you shouldn't).
;JOOP!

 

[Bigwaff]

No one appears to have suggested getting a different USB ethernet adapter. Could be a failing USB ethernet adapter.

 

[Sciuriware]

No one appears to have suggested getting a different USB ethernet adapter. Could be a failing USB ethernet adapter.

IF ... it IS USB. I asked about the wiring, supposing UTP (unshielded twisted pair), but "that page is still blank".
Btw.: UTP and USB-A seem to wear out when frequently taken apart. USB-C seems to be better.
;JOOP!

 

[gerdgoebel]

After I have a MBP M1 with USB-C ports, I got a Satechi USB adapter for my external disks and Ethernet. I had tried another USB adapter with Ethernet, but it did not make a difference. My wired network connection still goes down regularly.

I thought about my switch, but after I also have a Windows PC connected to the same switch, which does not drop the network, I have to assume, the switch is not the problem. And Ethernet cables I already had replaced.

The odd thing also is, that after I reboot I have the network connection up and running. Every time.

 

[mfram]

A big problem is that most commonly used chipset for 1Gig USB ethernet adapters. The combination of that chipset and the driver on MacOS is a problem, especially coming out of sleep. I had constant issues with the 1 gig USB ethernet adapter disappearing or failing altogether on MacOS. It's just not stable. However, the 2.5 Gig USB ethernet adapters use a different chipset and the MacOS driver for that chipset is much more stable. I haven't had any issues with my 2.5 Gig adapter since switching to that. You don't need to have a 2.5Gig switch, you can still use the adapter in 1 Gig mode but it will be much more stable. There is a very long thread on MR about how much the 1 Gig USB adapters just don't work reliably with MacOS.

 

[genexx]

No one appears to have suggested getting a different USB ethernet adapter. Could be a failing USB ethernet adapter.

IF ... it IS USB. I asked about the wiring, supposing UTP (unshielded twisted pair), but "that page is still blank".
Btw.: UTP and USB-A seem to wear out when frequently taken apart. USB-C seems to be better.
;JOOP!

If it is indeed one of the RTL8153 based Adapters ( and both you tested could be ) there are experiences of dropp outs with these Chipset also @ Windows.

Works:
UNI USB-C 2,5Gbit RTL8156B
UNI USB-A 3USB-A + Network AX88179A Based

Problematik:
UNI USB-A Realtek RTL8153

And you have not mentioned anything to my Questions in #6

 

[gerdgoebel]

I have tried another, and fairly new, Satechi USB-Adapter with gigabit ethernet port. And I have changed the Cat 6 ethernet cable, and have connected the cable to a different port on the switch.

I don't have a free USB-C port, as 2 are used for external SSD for backup, and the other one for the USB-Adapter.

I don't use WiFi if my wired network connection is working. I switch to WiFi, if the network disconnects.
We only have a single MEO router (I am in Portugal) with a 500mbit fiber optics connection to the network.
I have no idea about link aggregation, but will contact the company that installed our network.
Renew DHCP Lease is selected (and was automatically used when I had deleted and recreated the network service.
We have 2 Macs and 4 WiFi repeaters connected to the router. Our second Mac uses mainly WiFi. So, basically I only have 1 Mac and 1 Windows PC connected to my small 5-port office switch. The entire house is hard wired with Cat-6 ethernet cable, which connect to the main 16-port (unmanaged) tp-link switch. the switch that is connected to the MEO router.
I have not tried to set a fixed IP address on the router. I would need to contact MEO (which would be a problem) but they normally don't do that.
I would like to point out again, that it started after upgrading from Ventura directly to Sonoma 14.4 after I was released. I don't even think my network connection dropped once before Sonoma.

 

[PublicThunder]

@gerdgoebel I found your post and have experienced the exact same problem almost daily since updating to Sonoma (never once before). A few notes that I have noticed:
- I have a MacBook Air 15-inch, M2, 2023 and my Router/Firewall is a PA-220.
- My company requires Intego security packages, but disabling it after the problem has occurred does not restore service.
- The wired adapter does not just "die" suddenly. It slowly stops working for sort of an application at a time until nothing is communicating. My major applications are SecureCRT, Teams, Outlook, Firefox, and Chrome.
- Different USB adapters does not help, BUT my main one is also a Satechi (Docking Station with NVMe SSD Enclosure)
- A reboot fixes it every time, for about a day.
- Rebuilding the profile also did not help.
- Had a brief respite after one Sonoma upgrade (14.4 maybe?) but now on 14.6.1, and it happens everyday.
- I use a several of VPNs for my consulting work (PA Global protect, Fortient, Viscosity), but killing these apps does not help.
- I recently found out via a packet capture that the adaptor is actually not totally dead, but is sending and receiving to only 1 IP that is an Apple address.

Have you made any progress since your last post in May?

 

[gerdgoebel]

On my MBP M1 I had used a Satechi Multi-Port Adapter with Gigabit Ethernet for the longest time. Because I changed my network to use 2.5Gbit adapters and hubs I changed the Satechi adapter with a new Satechi Multi-Port Adapter with a 2.5Gbit Ethernet port.
I am also on the latest version of Sequoia.
I don't have the drop of the network connection anymore, but can't say if it is the new OS or the new Satechi adapter.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Since you can easily swap the (working-fine) cable to the PC with the Mac, I'd do that and see if the problem repeats (and see if the former Mac cable is then fine used with that PC). I suspect both swaps will prove to be fine, which should mostly- but not necessarily completely- rule out all of the tech outside of your Mac.

I have long suspected that the Ports on Silicon Macs regularly crash/reboot as I see these interruptions several times each day on more than one Mac (but also not on PC) and have already been through all of the "blame everything else" testing (cables/switch/router/modem/settings/etc.). For me, a reboot is not necessary (to recover Ethernet) almost all of the time- just patience until it spontaneously comes back again (as if the reboot of the port is complete).

I further believe that this port crashing/rebooting is not limited to only ethernet but also to the rest of them too... and being the cause or a key contributor to the "unexpected ejections" of some- but not all- third party enclosures (a fairly widespread problem on Silicon Macs, though not everyone and/or every enclosure is affected). This has been a problem for many since Big Sur and some- like me- report having a perfectly fine enclosure working on a pre-Big Sur Mac, then "unexpected ejection" after any macOS upgrade that then becomes perfectly fine again when we go to the trouble of downgrading to something before Big Sur again: cables, hubs, etc all remaining exactly the same. When I sometimes have an Intel Mac running pre-Big Sur right next to "latest & greatest" Silicon Mac and this happens, the Intel Mac is still fine... as it is when connected to external drives that "unexpectedly eject" on the Silicon Mac.

Based on MUCH TESTING, my best guess is that there is a bug(s) in port management software on Mac and it periodically crashes/hard sleeps/resets/reboots all of the ports. Some enclosures are more tolerant of the disconnection than others so they don't "unexpectedly eject" but others need the consistent connection.

And same with ethernet port. If that PC is side by side with that Mac, have both running and next time Mac disconnects, immediately jump on the PC and run a speed-test to verify you have stable internet at that time and near whatever speed you expect. Repeat this several times to rule out the rest of the hardware chain unless you perhaps catch periods where your internet is in fact down on that PC. Then you will have a better sense of where to further explore to try to resolve the issue.

If you happen to have an older- perhaps mostly retired- Mac locked on a macOS older than Big Sur, consider digging it out for one more "purer" test of Mac vs. Mac with the same cable. Next time this happens, quickly unhook the cable and hook it into the old Mac and then speed-test. Maybe even leave the old Mac hooked up that way for an extended period to see if you can make its ethernet port seem to fail you. My bet: NO, it will not... which will further- and strongly- imply that the problem lies within the newer Mac.

Again my best guess: rebooting/crashing port management software in macOS (since Big Sur). I suspect the only solution to this problem is hope that Apple gets around to debugging Port Management software... someday.