C6250 not detecting ethernet cable

[oriza]

I tried for the first time to use an ethernet cord with my C6250 yesterday. I plugged one end of the ethernet cord into the ethernet port on the router, and the other end into the ethernet port on my laptop. However, neither my laptop nor the router detected it. The LEDs on the router are off, and my Network Connections window says "network cable unplugged" under "Ethernet". 

I have tried three different cords, and also tried connecting it to my desktop. Nothing worked.

Am I doing something wrong or are my router's ethernet ports dead?

[michaelkenward]

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@oriza wrote:

I tried for the first time to use an ethernet cord with my C6250 yesterday. I plugged one end of the ethernet cord into the ethernet port on the router, and the other end into the ethernet port on my laptop.

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By "the router", do you mean the C6250? That is a modem router.

I ask partly because you have posted in the section of this community given over to General WiFi Routers (Non-Nighthawk & Non-Orbi). Questions about the C6250 are best posted here:

Cable Modems & Routers

Is your C6250 connected to the Internet? What do the LEDs on the front look like?

Then there is this bit:

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@oriza wrote:

....my Network Connections window says "network cable unplugged" under "Ethernet". 

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What is this "Network Connections window"? Something in Windows on the laptop? A browser?

[antinode]

> [...] I plugged one end of the ethernet cord into the ethernet port on
> the router, and the other end into the ethernet port on my laptop.
> However, neither my laptop nor the router detected it. [...]

   So: bad router, bad cable, or bad laptop.  Substitute or test the

pieces.

> I have tried three different cords, [...]

   So: probably not bad cable.

> [...] also tried connecting it to my desktop.

   So: probably not bad laptop.

> Am I doing something wrong or are my router's ethernet ports dead?

   It's hard to do anything wrong.

   You might try connecting your (unspecified) laptop to your
(unspecified) desktop.  It may not do anything useful, but if either
side says that the Ethernet physical link is good, then you'll have
verified both Ethernet interfaces and the cable.

   You might try connecting a known-good cable between two LAN Ethernet
ports on the router.  Again, it won't do anything useful, but the
port-status LEDs should indicate a good physical link.

   Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look
for Documentation.  Get the User Manual (at least).  Read.  Look for the
LED descriptions and "Troubleshoot".

   From what you've stated so far, it sounds like a router problem.  But
its wireless stuff works?

[oriza]

Yes, all the wireless stuff works. I'm getting wifi no problem.

I did look into the troubleshooting options in the manual. All it says is:

"If the Ethernet LED does not light when you connect a device, check the following:
• The Ethernet cable connections are secure at the modem router and at the device.
• The power is turned on to the connected device.
• You are using the correct cable."

I did try all of those things. My cables are all secured. I even tried jimmying and moving the ethernet cable around just to see if that would fix it, but nothing worked. Obviously my laptop and desktop are still on. And I'm definitely using an ethernet cable. So I don't know what else to try.

[oriza]

Thanks for the response!

1. "By "the router", do you mean the C6250? That is a modem router."

Hmm, okay, I assumed it was a WiFi router because in the C6250 user manual it calls it a "WiFi Router". I can post this in the other forum you linked and delete this later. 

2. "Is your C6250 connected to the Internet? What do the LEDs on the front look like?"

It is connected to the Internet. I'm typing this post using the WiFi right now 🙂 All of my LEDs are solid green *except* the ethernet LED, though the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz LEDs are blinking (which is normal since they're transmitting data). The Ethernet LED is off regardless of whether or not it is connected to anything else via an ethernet cable.

3. "What is this "Network Connections window"? Something in Windows on the laptop? A browser?"

Sorry for the lack of clarity. It's a Windows setting in Control Panel. I'm looking at the "Ethernet" option. See attached image, or here on Imgur.

I realized I never mentioned my OS-- I run Windows 10. 

Edit-- my im

[antinode]

> I did look into the troubleshooting options in the manual.

   And the LED descriptions?  Including the LEDs at the LAN Ethernet
ports?

> [...] So I don't know what else to try.

   Really?  You might try the tests which I suggested before.  Look for
"You might try", avove.

> [...] I can post this in the other forum you linked and delete this
> later.

   Not worth the bother.  None of that makes any significant difference.

> internet.PNG

   "Network cable unplugged" doesn't mean much without knowing to what
the Ethernet port is connected (if anything).

   "connecting your (unspecified) laptop to your (unspecified) desktop"
might change that, which, like a better LED description, _would_ be
interesting information.

[michaelkenward]

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@oriza wrote:

Thanks for the response!

1. "By "the router", do you mean the C6250? That is a modem router."

Hmm, okay, I assumed it was a WiFi router because in the C6250 user manual it calls it a "WiFi Router". I can post this in the other forum you linked and delete this later. 

The copy I found calls it a WiFi Cable Modem Router on the top of just about every page in the manual. I asked to eliminate any possible confusion.

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@oriza wrote:

The Ethernet LED is off regardless of whether or not it is connected to anything else via an ethernet cable.

Two possibilities occur to me: the LAN ports on the C6250 are bust; there is something amiss with the things you are connecting. Can you plug the laptop into a different Ethernet device to confirm that this is not where the problem lies?

I assume that the C6250 is not in "Bridge"  mode. You would only need to do that if you were using the C6250 as a modem only and using another device as a router.

[oriza]

" And the LED descriptions?  Including the LEDs at the LAN Ethernet ports?"

Yes? Like I said earlier, all of my LEDs are solid green *except* the ethernet LED. The Ethernet LED is off regardless of whether or not it is connected to anything else via an ethernet cable. This means according to the description in the manual, that "if the Ethernet LED is off, then no device is connected to an ethernet port." Is there something else I should be looking for?

"  "connecting your (unspecified) laptop to your (unspecified) desktop" might change that, which, like a better LED description, _would_ be interesting information."

Okay, I gave a description earlier in this thread of my router's LEDs. "All of my LEDs are solid green *except* the ethernet LED, though the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz LEDs are blinking (which is normal since they're transmitting data). The Ethernet LED is off regardless of whether or not it is connected to anything else via an ethernet cable." Is there some other kind of LED description that would be helpful?

I connected my laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad T450 running Windows 10, sorry for not being specific about the model before) to my desktop (which I built so I'm not sure what model to give-- the motherboard is a gigabyte h110m-s2h if that helps?) I am not really sure what to look for, so let me know if there's something I should post about, but I noticed that the "Ethernet" window in the Network Connections window in Control Panel now says "Unidentified network" instead of "Network Cable Unplugged". See image here.

Finally, you are correct that my ethernet is not in Bridge mode. 

I appreciate all the responses y'all have given me. I am also not quite sure where the impatience/curtness/sarcasm is coming from in some of these replies. I'm new and am really trying not to be stupid or an idiot, but at the same time I don't necessarily know what is obvious and what isn't because I'm new. I'm getting a lot of great info from you all, and so sometimes I miss specific steps or things that you tell me because I'm trying to parse it all. I'm sorry I missed the "you might try" section, and I'm sorry if my posts came across as rude or obnoxious or whiny in any way. I did not intend them that way at all-- it's hard to communicate tone of voice via text, I genuinely meant to sound polite and respectful. I hope this comment also sounds polite/respectful as well. 

[antinode]

> [...] I asked to eliminate any possible confusion.

   Not to _create_ it?  This is a LAN problem.  What possible difference
would the presence/absence of a modem make?

> [...] Can you plug the laptop into a different Ethernet device to
> confirm that this is not where the problem lies?

   I'm such a dope.  Why didn't _I_ suggest anything like that?  Oh,
wait...

> I assume that the C6250 is not in "Bridge" mode. [...]

   Even if it were, do you think that that would affect the Ethernet
LED or the port-status LEDs?  I doubt it.

[antinode]

> Yes? Like I said earlier, all of my LEDs are solid green [...]

   What, exactly, does "all of my LEDs" mean to you?

> [...] The Ethernet LED [...]

> Is there something else I should be looking for?

> > [...] Including the LEDs at the LAN Ethernet ports?

   How about the LEDs at the LAN Ethernet ports?  In the C6250 User
Manual, under "Back Panel", there's a section on the "Two 10/100/1000
Mbps Ethernet ports" and "Table 3. Ethernet port LED descriptions".

   In the description of the "Ethernet" LED, I see, "Each Ethernet port
on the back panel provides two port LEDs (see Back Panel on page 13)."

   This stuff is not that complicated, but actually reading the relevant
material can help.

> [...] but I noticed that the "Ethernet" window in the Network
> Connections window in Control Panel now says "Unidentified network"
> instead of "Network Cable Unplugged". [...]

   Ok.  Different from what it says when it's unplugged.  So, the
physical link is good.  So, you "have verified both Ethernet interfaces
and the cable."

   If everything else is good, then the (modem+)router ports would seem
to be the problem.