TLDR: Internet stopped randomly working a few weeks ago. I was using ethernet connected to my router. Tried resetting, reconnecting, changing settings etc and nothing worked. Directly using the ethernet cable also did not work. When I remove all connections or reboot sometimes it works for a minute before it stops again. Ethernet works on Windows through the router so it can’t be the cable or the router per se. Using other WiFi works so I think it might be Manjaro in regards to the specific router and ethernet connection. Different kernels also don’t work, not sure if the problem appeared after a kernel update back then.
A few potential problems that could be causing it after spending hours and hours reading stuff:
MAC address: I initially setup the router on my old Laptop. Somewhere in the manuals I think I read that the initial MAC is used by the router/ISP to ensure connection, but not sure if resetting should have solved it.
DNS server: I played around using different DNS servers. Sometimes it is the case that only google works, but as soon as I click a link it does not anymore. I’d be really interested in finding out what the actual correct settings for this are (IPv4 Method Automatic/Automatic (Addresses only), checking ‘IPv4 is required for this connection’, etc)
NetworkManager: restarting systemctl NetworkManager sometimes makes it work for a min. Afraid that rebooting resets some settings and that’s why it doesn’t work
Windows fast boot and BIOS: have read that this could also be a cause. Would rather not play with this as I am a noob.
I’ve been battling this problem for multiple weeks now, tried all kinds of things which did not work and my only solution was to work on my Windows partition. At my wits end, would really appreciate any help!
There are several posts on the internet with an equal problem … but most older. In the most places they say that the ‘r8169-driver’ not worked well with ‘Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411’.
So you could try to install the ‘r8168-driver’. There is a package in the repos called ‘linux514-r8168 8.049.02-13’.
Thanks a lot for the help! Truly incredible how you could find that.
It seems to be going in the right direction. When I installed it yesterday it worked. Today I turned on my PC again at which point it did not work. I reinstalled the package and restarted and now it seems to be working again. Not sure if that’s due to the restarting or the reinstallation.
Do I need to uninstall any other/older drivers so that Manjaro knows to only use the r8168 one?
in /etc/modprobe.d/ create a file called r8169_blacklist.conf or similar. In that file type
blacklist r8169 and save the file. You will need to reboot for the change to take effect.
Nice to hear! Yes blacklist the r8169 driver like @jrichard326 said should help. Unistall this driver would not work because I think its a inbuild Kernel driver.
@jrichard326, @kisun Thanks to the both of you! I set up the blacklist. Wanted to wait and see if the problem’s gone for good, but it seems like shutting off/using Windows must mix up something as the error reoccured today Google worked, but other websites did not. Was able to fix it by reinstalling the r8168 package, but now it seems like it still stops working for no reason at times…
At some point, you have to cut your losses unless you have unlimited time. I would buy a USB 3.0 ethernet adapter, preferably with an ASIX AX88179 chip, which will work out of the box and not look back.
“Windows fast boot and BIOS: have read that this could also be a cause. Would rather not play with this as I am a noob.”
The above could be a lot of the problem here. Fast boot, hybrid sleep and Windows hibernation need to be disabled and Windows always needs to be shutdown completely in a dual boot setup. I would ask myself if you really do need dual boot or can you get by with Windows running in a virtual machine and avoid all of these headaches.
Some basic information here:
Please see section regarding Windows 10 preparation.
I tried out “Enable WOL in Windows driver” which was already enabled, didn’t try the other two options which I might come back to later.
I looked at the Dual Boot link and disabled fast startup and hibernation completely. I’ve tried to recreate the problem twice now and I think that might have fixed it. (Also tried only disabling fast startup which did not work). I’ll come back to you tomorrow and let you know if I am able to reproduce the error! If this is only it, might be able to use r8169 but will also test that tomorrow.
linux514-headers is not installed. If it works, should I still install it?
Thanks for the help! Tried to switch to this approach, but it unfortunately also doesn’t seem to be working.
Something that is always common is that when it turns on, it works for a minute and then stops working. At times google being the only website that works.
Reinstalling r8168 does seem to make it work for a day/until I shut it off. Are you sure that r8169 shouldn’t be the root cause? Due to the fact that it works for a minute and then stops working I’m afraid that maybe the networkmanager (or smth like that) loads/changes something which then makes it stop working…
Google worked, but other websites did not. Was able to fix it by reinstalling the r8168 package, but now it seems like it still stops working for no reason at times…