Does internet randomly drop when I use it on my computer?
Does internet randomly drop when I use it on my computer?
I'm connected to my TP-LINK Archer VR600 v3 using Ethernet right now. It is super frustrating, especially when playing games. Imagine you are playing a game and suddenly everything goes offline before it comes back three or four minutes later. This happens 3 or 4 times every single hour. Every time I disconnect from the PC, I check my phone which is also on the same router (wireless). On the phone, internet works fine. I can confirm that only the Ethernet connection to my computer breaks completely.
I have tried these steps so far:
1. Reinstalled Windows 11.
2. Upgraded the modem from an older one to this TP-LINK one. This problem happens on both modems.
3. The issue was there before I changed my motherboard (to a Z690 Prime-A). It happened with both motherboards, so it rules out a broken LAN port in the Motherboard or Modem.
I replaced ALL of the cables in the house recently for another reason. This problem existed before and after this replacement too. I tried a few different Ethernet cables as well.
In summary: The problem happens only on my Windows 11 PC. I have updated all drivers, used the latest version of Windows 11 downloaded directly from Microsoft, and whenever the Ethernet disconnects, other devices still get internet. I can also confirm this because I cannot even log into my Modem settings via browser when it decides to disconnect (as if you unplugged the Ethernet cable, the connection completely drops). This leads me to believe there is something wrong with Windows 11. I might be wrong though, if I missed any important information let me know, I really need this fixed!
What else could have caused all those wires to be replaced? Which cables were actually put in as replacements? To check your computer's history, go to Reliability History under Event Viewer on your PC. One or both of those tools might show some errors, warnings, or even just notes about the power cuts. Reliability History is easy to use. Event Viewer takes more time and work. You can also look at the router's logs if they are available and turned on there. The router logs might give you a clue. Open Command Prompt (the box where commands go) and type "ipconfig /all" without using the quotes around it. Then show me what happens next. Also open up "arp -a" in that same box and share the results with me.
So after checking more closely, I think I found why things are acting weird. I looked at how much each device uses my internet and what it looks like: some devices are taking over the whole speed, going beyond our connection limit and filling up the line to the modem. There are usually about four people using that one spot at a time. If I check who is connected now, maybe I can see if it's just one specific gadget doing something strange on its own. But for now, I need to ask: Is this normal? The moment my ethernet connection drops off, another device (which I don't know which one yet, maybe a phone) seems to be using up all the bandwidth too fast.
You need to be careful when describing things here. When you run IPCONFIG /all, your ethernet port looks disconnected. That usually means a hardware problem or a basic driver issue. If "disconnected" makes your machine not have internet or warns you about missing internet, that's totally different. It would be weird if traffic from another machine actually caused the disconnect status.
If something is using too much bandwidth, it depends on whether you can tell what it is. It could be a big file download or some data sent in error. I mean, figuring out most networks is pretty easy. Just plug a cable between two LAN ports on a switch or router and get a broadcast loop. Most consumer gear doesn't stop that. You might have the same trouble if you bridge interfaces together wrong. Maybe something like Resource Manager on your machine could be the clue. It should show the process with all network traffic details.
After this, you should think about tools like Wireshark. Best to load it on the machine causing the problem. This will let you see at least some of what's happening. Most traffic is encrypted, but you might still get a rough idea. If this is something like a TV or another dumb device, it gets hard because either your router needs to tell you in detail about the traffic, or you have to insert a device that can capture and analyze the traffic.