Member Avatar for MiketheBook

Since I upgraded to Mavericks, my Ethernet Internet connection via HomePlugs keeps dropping randomly. What is strange is that Network Preferences shows Ethernet as connected with a green light.There appears to be nothing wrong. I've tried rebooting the router without effect and all that seems to work is rebooting my Mac Mini when the Internet works again until the next time. It is particularly bad while using Skype but the Internet connection dropping is certainly not confined to the use of Skype.

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Dani AI

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Symptoms — Ethernet over HomePlugs drops while System Preferences still shows a green “Connected” — point to either link-layer flapping (powerline adapters, cable/port negotiation) or a corrupted network/service state in macOS. The temporary relief from rebooting, and the heavier failure rate when Skype runs, suggest either the adapter/router or a macOS networking service hitting a bad state. , and made useful starter suggestions; the following is a concise, evidence-first workflow to isolate the root cause and collect diagnostics.

Start by isolating hardware from software: remove the HomePlugs and attach the MacMini directly to the router or a known-good switch; test the same network from another machine to confirm whether the fault follows the Mac or the LAN segment. Capture link state and packet traces while reproducing the drop so failures can be diagnosed instead of guessed. Useful Terminal commands (run from Terminal):

networksetup -listallhardwareports
ifconfig en0
ping -i 1 8.8.8.8 | tee /tmp/ping.log
sudo tcpdump -i en0 -s 96 -w /tmp/eth.pcap
# flush DNS on Mavericks
dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Flushing the DNS cache is the correct Mavericks command sequence for resolver-related problems. (appletoolbox.com)

If the link is stable when hard‑wired but drops over the HomePlugs, the powerline adapters, outlet wiring or their firmware are the likely culprits — update adapter firmware, try different outlets, or temporarily replace the HomePlugs. If the link still drops when directly cabled, reset macOS network state: back up and remove the files in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration (preferences.plist, NetworkInterfaces.plist, com.apple.network.plist), reboot and recreate a new Network Location; also consider PRAM/NVRAM and SMC resets for odd hardware-level issues. Always keep backups of removed files. (apple.stackexchange.com)

Collect Console (system.log) output at the moment of failure and correlate it with the ping/tcpdump captures — look for “Link DOWN/Link UP” or “network changed” entries to tell whether the OS is seeing a physical link drop or a higher-layer failure. With a short ping log, a pcap and the system.log it becomes clear whether to pursue firmware/hardware replacement, driver/config reset, or further packet-level analysis. (discussions.apple.com)

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for tompatrick

Check your DNS setting. You might fix it by putting correct DNS.

Member Avatar for suley04

I know it might sound silly but have you checked the pins in the connector, another ethernet adaptor, another ethernet cable, etc? - a few days ago we had a customer with a similar issue and it turned out that the pins in the connector (on their Mac) were bent.

Please also ensure that the wireless (wi-fi) is disabled, as this can also interfere.

let us know how it goes. :-)

Member Avatar for rubberman

There were some related bugs in the original release of Mavericks. Have you installed the latest updates?

Member Avatar for MiketheBook

I still have the same problem even though both WiFi and Ethernet are running.

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