Cabled internet connection keeps dropping

cbreemer · Nov 3, 2025

Hey all, Over the past week or so my computer has had a strange issue. Every now and then the internet connection via LAN cable suddenly disappears for no reason I can think of. The tray icon changes from cable connection to the Wi-Fi icon. It's not my router (I think) because the Wi-Fi on my phone still works fine. Rebooting the router does not help anyway. After rebooting the computer things are back to normal again (at least for the time being...).

I can find many posts about Wi-Fi connection dropping, but none about cable connection dropping. Anyone got an idea? My specs:

Model: Intel NUC12WSHi7
CPU: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1260P, 2100 Mhz, 12 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS: Intel Corp. WSADL357.0090.2023.0821.1714, 21/08/2023
Motherboard: Intel NUC12WSHi7 version M46422-304
Memory: 64Gb
Graphics: Onboard Intel Iris Xe Graphics
OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro (64-bit) Version 24H2 10.0.26100.6899
Disk 1: Adata Legend 710 2Tb SSD
Disk 2: PNY CS9000 2Tb SSD

Try3 · Nov 3, 2025

Perhaps the connector plug at one or other end of your Ethernet cable is rattling about.
Perhaps the little plastic securing lever on top has cracked or snapped off.
Try jamming both connectors in place by forcing in a folded up slip of paper.

Denis

cereberus · Nov 3, 2025

OK, first and most obvious thing is to test quality of ethernet cables i.e. are they a tight fit.

Also, I would use cat 7+ cables.

@Try3 beat me to it.

cbreemer · Nov 3, 2025

Thanks guys. I suppose this needs to be checked, even though I'm 99% convinced this is no hardware issue, happening out of the blue and fixed by a soft reboot.

dacrone · Nov 3, 2025

first and foremost, open command prompt as admin and run:

Code:

ipconfig /release

Code:

ipconfig /renew

Code:

ipconfig /flushdns

reboot. if that doesnt help, check the speed of your NIC.

Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings (for your NIC) > Right Click it > Properties > Configure > Advanced > Speed & Duplex - make sure its set properly

DJNelson · Nov 3, 2025

Windows is probably turning off your network adapter to "save power. " (the power saved is negligible.)

Open Device manager from the start menu
Expand Network Adapters
Right Click on your ethernet adapter and select Properties
Select the Power Management tab
Uncheck the boxes and click OK

cbreemer · Nov 3, 2025

dacrone said:
first and foremost, open command prompt as admin and run:

Code:

ipconfig /release

Code:

ipconfig /renew

Code:

ipconfig /flushdns

reboot. if that doesnt help, check the speed of your NIC.

Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings (for your NIC) > Right Click it > Properties > Configure > Advanced > Speed & Duplex - make sure its set properly

Thank you! I'll do the ipconfig stuff at the end of the day.

I checked the NIC properties and the "Speed & Duplex" value is set to "Auto Negotiation". I'm a bit scared to change that...

cbreemer · Nov 3, 2025

DJNelson said:
Windows is probably turning off your network adapter to "save power. " (the power saved is negligible.)

Thanks for that! This seems like a real silly Windows feature to me.
So I went into the NIC properties, and there is no "Power Management" tab. Maybe it's only there on a battery-powered computer?

DJNelson · Nov 3, 2025

Have you checked other devices to see if a power management tab is present? I found, to my annoyance, that everything that can be turned off to "save power" is set to turn off to "save power" by default in spite of having my system set on the Ultimate Performance power plan. There's a script that unlocks all hidden advanced power management settings, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I found it. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to remove everything related to Windows "energy recommendations" without breaking Windows in the process, but so far, no luck.

antspants · Nov 3, 2025

If you plug into a switch between your PC and the router, power off the switch for a minute, turn it back on.
In fact turn both the router and switch off for a minute.

Helmut · Nov 3, 2025

Ethernet/LAN cable plugs can be bad on no-name ones. I have a couple of cables with latches that no longer spring out to keep the connector in properly. Also it is possible for finger contacts to get bent in the sockets hence unreliability. They can normally be bent back in to position with care.

Check all aspects of ethernet cables Plugs/Sockets/Cable.

Because you have the Wireless adapter still on, It may switch to best connection at any time. I forget the exact Windows criteria/priorities.

A soft reboot means nothing as you have both connected so of course that "appears" to correct it.

Ghot · Nov 3, 2025

cbreemer said:
So I went into the NIC properties, and there is no "Power Management" tab. Maybe it's only there on a battery-powered computer?

I have a Power Management tab on my Desktop computer, which is not battery powered.
Maybe you don't have the Power Management tab because that computer is a NUC Mini PC?

Something else to check... call your ISP tech support, and have them run a "line test".

cbreemer · Nov 4, 2025

DJNelson said:
Have you checked other devices to see if a power management tab is present? I found, to my annoyance, that everything that can be turned off to "save power" is set to turn off to "save power" by default in spite of having my system set on the Ultimate Performance power plan. There's a script that unlocks all hidden advanced power management settings, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I found it. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to remove everything related to Windows "energy recommendations" without breaking Windows in the process, but so far, no luck.

I checked some other devices (not all) and none have the Power Management tab. I guess @Ghot may be right in suspecting that this is simply because it's a NUC mini PC. When I check advanced power settings, the only power plan available is "Balanced".

cbreemer · Nov 4, 2025

Helmut said:
Because you have the Wireless adapter still on, It may switch to best connection at any time. I forget the exact Windows criteria/priorities.

That is interesting. I can't imagine what would trigger Windows to suddenly prefer Wi-Fi over cable.

But as I never use Wi-Fi on this system I have switched it off.

cbreemer · Nov 4, 2025

Ghot said:
I have a Power Management tab on my Desktop computer, which is not battery powered.
Maybe you don't have the Power Management tab because that computer is a NUC Mini PC?

Something else to check... call your ISP tech support, and have them run a "line test".

Thanks! I think you are right on the Power Management tab

cbreemer · Nov 4, 2025

antspants said:
If you plug into a switch between your PC and the router, power off the switch for a minute, turn it back on.
In fact turn both the router and switch off for a minute.

Thanks. I don't have a switch though. Turning off the router for a while has not solved this in the past. A PC reboot was needed.

telepro21 · Nov 4, 2025

Windows uses a metric system to determine which network interface is "preferred". One can manually adjust this on systems that contain more than one NIC (Ethernet and Wi-Fi, for example). Here is a list of steps that may assist to set Ethernet as "preferred". (Or at least to verify the current status).
Windows uses a metric system to decide which adapter to use when multiple are available. The lower the metric, the higher the priority.

My original query posted to Copilot--

there is an area in Windows networking where one can set a priority list og network connections so that, for example, LAN would be preferred over Wi-Fi. Where is that?

Quick Answer: Yes—Windows does let you control which network adapter takes priority. By default, Ethernet (LAN) is already preferred over Wi-Fi, but you can manually adjust this by changing the interface metric in the adapter’s advanced settings or by using PowerShell.

Option 1: Control Panel (GUI method)

Press Win + R, type ncpa.cpl, and hit Enter.This opens the Network Connections window.
Right-click your Ethernet adapter → Properties.
Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) → Properties → Advanced.
Uncheck Automatic metric.
In the Interface metric box, enter a lower number (e.g., 5) for Ethernet.
- Do the same for Wi-Fi, but give it a higher number (e.g., 20).
Click OK to save.

Result: Windows will always prefer the adapter with the lower metric (Ethernet in this case).

Hope this helps.

psychocyr · Nov 8, 2025

cbreemer said:
Thanks! I think you are right on the Power Management tab

Odd because I'm using a NUC for my plex server and I have the power management tab.

I would double check to make sure you have the latest drivers.

XxXxX · Nov 8, 2025

it maybe worth while setting your system to static IP addressing.
settings > network & internet > ethernet

IP address
subnet mask
gateway

also the DNS
cloudflare
primary 1.1.1.1
secondary 1.0.0.1

or

google
primary 8.8.8.8
secondary 8.8.4.4

then see if the connection is stable
you can also reserve that static IP address within the router
best of luck Steve ..

PCUser · Nov 8, 2025

XxXxX said:
it maybe worth while setting your system to static IP addressing.
settings > network & internet > ethernet

IP address
subnet mask
gateway

also the DNS
cloudflare
primary 1.1.1.1
secondary 1.0.0.1

or

google
primary 8.8.8.8
secondary 8.8.4.4

then see if the connection is stable
you can also reserve that static IP address within the router
best of luck Steve ..

Agreed, Cloudflare has been a great DNS choice for years!

Cabled internet connection keeps dropping

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My original query posted to Copilot--​

Quick Answer: Yes—Windows does let you control which network adapter takes priority. By default, Ethernet (LAN) is already preferred over Wi-Fi, but you can manually adjust this by changing the interface metric in the adapter’s advanced settings or by using PowerShell.​

Option 1: Control Panel (GUI method)​

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My original query posted to Copilot--

Quick Answer: Yes—Windows does let you control which network adapter takes priority. By default, Ethernet (LAN) is already preferred over Wi-Fi, but you can manually adjust this by changing the interface metric in the adapter’s advanced settings or by using PowerShell.

Option 1: Control Panel (GUI method)