Nighthawk X6 (R8000) keeps dropping ethernet connection frequently

[nmpth]

Hi

I just connected my new X6 (R8000) model router. I upgraded to latest FW as stated in instructions

I have my TV connected to one of the ethernet LAN ports on the router and i see that it randomly keeps disconnecting.

It is a brand new router and updated to latest FW.

Can you please suggest some solution? Please note i had no such issue with my previous router (which was given by my ISP, in other words ethernet cable is fine)

Please help, this situation is becoming frustrating 

Thanks

[FURRYe38]

Try a different LAN cable to test. Swap out. CAT6 LAN cabling recommended.

Give a IP address reservation for the TV on the router.

Do other LAN cable connected devices exhibit the same behavior?

[nmpth]

@FURRYe38

Thanks for suggestion, i tried swapping the cable and also swapped ethernet port on X6 (R8000)

My LG Smart TV wired LAN connection still drops abruptly (while streaming Netflix)

BTW, why is CAT6 LAN cable required? Shouldn't Cat5 cable work just fine? I have the ethernet cable run through the wall to the router, hence changing cable is bit complicated 

[StephenB]

Cat 5e or better is what you want for gigabit, though cat 5 might work for shorter runs.  Cat 5e has more twists per inch in the twisted pairs, which improves the signal quality.

Most TVs are only fast ethernet (100 mbits) - for them ordinary cat 5 is fine. So maybe check the specs on the TV nic card.

Have you looked at the connectors (including any in wallplates)?

[FURRYe38]

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 Do other devices exhibit the same problem when streaming?

Thanks for suggestion, i tried swapping the cable and also swapped ethernet port on X6 (R8000)

My LG Smart TV wired LAN connection still drops abruptly (while streaming Netflix)

BTW, why is CAT6 LAN cable required?

It's not required. It was "recommended". I prefer CAT6 for his better performances over Cat5/e. Cat5 isn't recommended for 1000mb speeds, CAT5e is. Besure you at least are using CAT5e

Shouldn't Cat5 cable work just fine? I have the ethernet cable run through the wall to the router, hence changing cable is bit complicated 

Can you by pass this in wall cabling temporarily to see if the TV works with the router? Need to be sure that the cabling in the wall isn't a problem.

If after all this and the TV is the only thing havnig problems with Netflix, I would thing maybe there is a problem with the TV. There any FW updates for the TV?

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[nmpth]

Thanks StephanB and FURRYNUTZ

Sorry forgot to mention, only my LG Smart TV has this issue

I have plugged in my apple TV and Fire TV to same router and they don't exhibit this issue

I check FW update for the TV and it shows that i already have latest installed. Prior to connecting X6 i had no such issue with my old router (which was given by my ISP) and i used my ISP's router for 1+ year, so i am not sure that the cable went bad suddenly 

I guess the TV seems to have some compatibility issue with X6. Is there a way to  capture some log where it would show what error is causing LAN connection drop?

Shall i connect TV to ethernet switch and then plug in switch to X6 router ethernet port? Will it help?

Thanks a ton for your help

[FURRYe38]

See if you can directly connect the TV to the router, use a good working CAT5e or 6 cable. If at this point the TV still has problems streaming video, it's time to contact the Mfr of the TV and ask for help and information on this. Let them know about all that you have done and that other devices don't have this issue. Any logs and such with the TV might be on the TV if they support that kind of thing. You'll need to ask them about diagnostic logging on there TV.

[StephenB]

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@nmpth wrote:

Shall i connect TV to ethernet switch and then plug in switch to X6 router ethernet port? Will it help?

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If you have a switch handy you might as well try it.  It does no harm and it could potentially help.  Let us know the result.

[nmpth]

I just found out the smart TV i have (LG LM9600 55") is already discontinued 

I don't have ethernet switch handy but was planning to get one.

I guess i will buy NetGear ethernet switch and try (hopefully same company prodcuts would not have issues) 

Due to physical positioning of TV and modem/router in the house, it is challenging to connect CAT 6 cable from TV to router directly but let me try the switch in the mean time

Thanks for your inputs, i will post the results of my experiments 

[FURRYe38]

No way to temporarily move the TV near the router?

[nmpth]

Unfortunately no.. TV and router are located in diagonaly opposite corners in the house. 

BTW, how can i distinguish between CAT 5/ Cat 5e and CAT 6 cables? 

[StephenB]

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@nmpth wrote:

I guess i will buy NetGear ethernet switch and try (hopefully same company prodcuts would not have issues) 

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The switch is a bit of a long shot.  If the connection is marginal, then sometimes putting a switch in between will change the behavior.  There are also some "green" ethernet modes that the R8000 might use but which the TV doesn't properly support. The switch might also generate ethernet flow control signals that the TV for some reason doesn't (that would apply if the new faster router is delivering bits to the TV faster than it can take them).

The TV ethernet is 10/100 btw (just checked the datasheet), so cat 5 cable should be enough.

Do you know for certain the ethernet disconnecting?  The movie might stutter/stop for other reasons - especially if the netflix client in the TV is old.  Using a different player might be the simplest solution.

[FURRYe38]

Is the TV mounted on a wall or free standing?

Look at the printing on the cabling. There will be printed information on the cable where you will see CAT5 CAT5e or CAT6 printed on the outer sheath of the cable.

Do other apps on the TV do the same thing?

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@nmpth wrote:

Unfortunately no.. TV and router are located in diagonaly opposite corners in the house. 

BTW, how can i distinguish between CAT 5/ Cat 5e and CAT 6 cables? 

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[nmpth]

@Stephanb

Yes, I see "Network is disconnected" message displayed on the TV Screen and after this message i can't stream or browse anything on TV -- so it is disconnected for sure

I guess what you said makes sense, when i log in to router, i see that router assign TV "highest" priority -- may be router is sending data to the TV at a rate the TV is not able to handle

but funny thing is .. even when i am streaming on my Apple TV/ Fire TV (using my LG TV as display) i still see the message "Network is disconnected" -- so even when my LG TV is not actively receiving any data, ethernet connection still drops

may be something goes wrong during the handshake between the router and LG TV 

[StephenB]

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@nmpth wrote:

may be something goes wrong during the handshake between the router and LG TV 

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It is conceivable that something like that might be happening on the ethernet layer.  

Can you move the existing ethernet cable from the TV to the Apple TV, and see if it works properly there?

[FURRYe38]

Possible that the LAN port on this TV maybe using out of date drivers and no longer compatible with more up to date LAN ports seen on newer generation routers.

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@nmpth wrote:

@Stephanb

Yes, I see "Network is disconnected" message displayed on the TV Screen and after this message i can't stream or browse anything on TV -- so it is disconnected for sure

I guess what you said makes sense, when i log in to router, i see that router assign TV "highest" priority -- may be router is sending data to the TV at a rate the TV is not able to handle

but funny thing is .. even when i am streaming on my Apple TV/ Fire TV (using my LG TV as display) i still see the message "Network is disconnected" -- so even when my LG TV is not actively receiving any data, ethernet connection still drops

may be something goes wrong during the handshake between the router and LG TV 

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[nmpth]

@FURRYe38

The TV is wall mounted. I only use built in Netflix app on LG TV.. for all other streaming needs i use either Apple TV or Fire TV, i don't use any other app on LG TV itself 

@StephenB

I connected LG TV ethernet cable to same port where Apple TV was connected previously -- LG TV still has the issue

Apple TV does not have this issue at all

BTW, i have Apple TV 4 which is also 10/100 (same as my LG TV) but it doesn't have any problem so far .. 

[StephenB]

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@FURRYNUTZ wrote:

Possible that the LAN port on this TV maybe using out of date drivers and no longer compatible with more up to date LAN ports seen on newer generation routers.

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Maybe even something physical (marginal connection in the TV ethernet socket).

But trying the same cable and connection path with the Apple TV should let us know if the TV is the culprit.

[FURRYe38]

Understand about wall mount. Well hope trying a network switch might help.

One thing you can do if you really want the TV to stream netflix and it won't connect LAN cable to the router, you could install a wireless bridge and connect the TV to the bridge. I've done this before and works well if it's done right and you use the right wireless bridge. However since your at opposite ends of the house, maybe difficult for wireless since 5Ghz would be resommended to use for streaming video. Just another possible option for you if switch doesn't work out.

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@nmpth wrote:

@FURRYe38

The TV is wall mounted. I only use built in Netflix app on LG TV.. for all other streaming needs i use either Apple TV or Fire TV, i don't use any other app on LG TV itself 

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