Aaron Scott

Q: Ethernet port not working with a Gigabit switch

I have a MacMini (Early 2009). I fails to connect at gigabit ethernet speed when connected to either a netgear GS605 switch or a brand new Airport Extreme base station.

I have tried different cables, different OSs (both 10.5 and 10.6).

When I force it to 1000baseT the connection jumps between connected and not connected.


This is getting ridiculous, that Apple can't make it work properly, as there are lots of others that have the same issue.

Does anyone have any ideas?

MacBook Pro Santa Rosa 2.2GHz, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Sep 21, 2009 7:13 PM

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Q: Ethernet port not working with a Gigabit switch

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  • by daverx7,

    daverx7 daverx7 Dec 8, 2009 4:35 PM in response to daverx7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 8, 2009 4:35 PM in response to daverx7
    I got my new 10' cat6 cables from monoprice and plugged it directly from my Mac Mini to my HP Procurve 1800 series switch, and the same results as before. If I force the ethernet configuration to 100mbits it connects, but if I go auto or manually configure it to gigabit, it will not connect.

    I have all kinds of devices that are connecting to this switch at gigabit without any issues.

    I really want to use my mac mini as my media pc using PLEX, but I want to have gigabit for that. If I cannot get this to work, I will switch to my Windows 7 PC and use XBMC as it connects gigabit without any hitches.

    I find it hard to believe that I have to resort to a Microsoft Windows 7 box for this application as I would have thought it would have been easier to get going with Apple.

    Can anyone provide any other reasoning why this could be happening? I find it hard to believe that it is anything but the hardware or the OS of my Mac Mini.

    Thanks,

    -Dave
  • by Toshihiko Tambo,

    Toshihiko Tambo Toshihiko Tambo Dec 14, 2009 8:51 PM in response to Aaron Scott
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 14, 2009 8:51 PM in response to Aaron Scott
    Hi
    I met same problem with Cisco 3560E.
    I use Mac Mini(Early2009) with 10.6.2.
    Now I setup 100Base-TX/Full. It works fine.
    However when set autonegotiation or 1000Base-T, ethernet link is not stable.

    Regards,
    Toshihiko
  • by daverx7,

    daverx7 daverx7 Dec 15, 2009 6:55 AM in response to Toshihiko Tambo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2009 6:55 AM in response to Toshihiko Tambo
    I contacted Apple Support and was not able to get a resolution to this problem.

    I could tell they were searching their system and there were several entries with very similar or the same symptoms and each were not resolved.

    Seems to me there is a problem here that needs to be addressed.

    -Dave
  • by Gerry Brown,

    Gerry Brown Gerry Brown Dec 18, 2009 6:45 PM in response to daverx7
    Level 3 (795 points)
    Dec 18, 2009 6:45 PM in response to daverx7
    Same problem here. Both my older Mac Mini 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo and my MacBook Pro connect just fine on the same cable to the same Cisco/Linksys SD2005 5-port Gigabit switch. But my brand new 2009 Mac Mini will not work at gigabit speed. I had to manually configure for 100Base-T.

    The Apple Store was no help.
  • by ILLMATIC23,

    ILLMATIC23 ILLMATIC23 Dec 21, 2009 2:12 AM in response to Aaron Scott
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 2:12 AM in response to Aaron Scott
    Hello everyone,

    Same issue here with my Mac Mini Server Late 2009. I had to force it to go 100/Full Duplex. Then it worked fine. NO GIGABIT!!!! This is surprisingly bad. VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!
  • by Gerry Brown,

    Gerry Brown Gerry Brown Dec 21, 2009 7:49 AM in response to ILLMATIC23
    Level 3 (795 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 7:49 AM in response to ILLMATIC23
    I'm wondering what switch you are using. I am connected to a Linksys (Cisco) SD2005 5-port Gigabit switch. I even swapped the cable from a Cat-5 to a Cat-6e cable with the same results. My other Macs connect at 1000Base-T. But not this Mini.
  • by daverx7,

    daverx7 daverx7 Dec 21, 2009 8:37 AM in response to Gerry Brown
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 8:37 AM in response to Gerry Brown
    I don't believe it is switch or cat5e/cat6 cable related as I have tried multiple switches (dlink and HP Procurve) and have tried both cat5e and cat6 cables. It seems to be a problem on the hardware side.

    Anyone with this issue still with the original memory, hard drive, or even original operating system? I have upgraded all 3 of these.

    -Dave
  • by Gerry Brown,

    Gerry Brown Gerry Brown Dec 21, 2009 9:41 AM in response to daverx7
    Level 3 (795 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:41 AM in response to daverx7
    Dave,
    I tried this "out of the box" before I did my updates. It failed. I even returned the unit to the Apple Store as non-operational. They gave me a new Mac Mini - still in the shrink wrap. I brought it home and it immediately failed. So it is not a "mod" issue.

    I just had a great experience with Apple Expert support. We tried everything and the port will still not work at GigE speeds. He sent me an app that built a "view" of my system and I emailed it to him. He said he would get back to me after escalating. VERY NICE EXPERIENCE, APPLE.
  • by daverx7,

    daverx7 daverx7 Dec 21, 2009 10:46 AM in response to Gerry Brown
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 10:46 AM in response to Gerry Brown
    Thanks for posting this! Absolutely exactly what we needed. It keeps me from having to reverting all my hardware and updates back.

    Did you happen to point Apple support to this thread as it shows that this is not a one off issue?

    I cannot wait to hear what is happening and how they resolve this issue.

    Thanks again,

    -Dave
  • by Gerry Brown,

    Gerry Brown Gerry Brown Dec 21, 2009 10:58 AM in response to daverx7
    Level 3 (795 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 10:58 AM in response to daverx7
    I did give them the thread number and he told me he recorded it in the notes.
  • by daverx7,

    daverx7 daverx7 Dec 21, 2009 1:50 PM in response to Gerry Brown
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 1:50 PM in response to Gerry Brown
    Good deal! When I called support, I also referred to this thread as well. Hopefully, they will fix this soon. I am 90% complete with my project where I am now using a Windows 7 box to do the job for a 1/3rd of the price.

    I am very disappointed that I had to resort to that. Maybe I can repurpose the mini for a different room.

    -Dave
  • by Bass PoP,

    Bass PoP Bass PoP Dec 28, 2009 8:25 AM in response to Aaron Scott
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2009 8:25 AM in response to Aaron Scott
    I have an AT&T U-verse 2Wire router in front of an Airport Extreme router which then is connected to an 8 port Cisco Gigabit switch. (I have 3 different Gigabit switches connected to the Air Port Extreme plus the connection from the U-Verse 2Wire Router fills all 4 ports) My Mac Mini is connected via ethernet to the Gigabit switch. My problem is that my Mac Mini will be connected to the internet and then I get dropped without warning. It is a random thing. I can go for a couple of days or less than a day without being dropped. Rebooting the computer doesn't fix the connection. It says my wired connection is unplugged which it is not. The computer then wants to connect through Airport. The Airport connection through the Mini remains the only way I can stay connected to the Internet. This is very frustrating.

    I had hardwired my home with ethernet and everything worked fine before I got U-Verse 2Wire Router and Gigabit switches (had 10/100 switch before). I have tried connecting the Mac Mini ethernet cable directly into the back of the AirPort Extreme (skipping the Gigabit Switch) with no change to the problem. If I connect it directly into the U-Verse 2Wire Router I can't see the Airport Extreme or other AirPort Express devices connected to my stereo.

    This seems to be a Mac Mini issue since my Mac (+1 Dell) laptops and original iMac computers don't have this problem. Does anyone have any ideas as to why my Mac Mini keeps getting dropped from the Internet while using the ethernet connection from a Gigabit switch?
  • by Gerry Brown,

    Gerry Brown Gerry Brown Dec 28, 2009 9:45 AM in response to Bass PoP
    Level 3 (795 points)
    Dec 28, 2009 9:45 AM in response to Bass PoP
    Bass PoP,
    There are several of us who have this problem. We have reported it to Apple. Please read the whole thread.

    A "hopefully" temporary workaround is to go into System Preferences->Ethernet->Advanced->Ethernet and manually set it to "Manual, 100BaseT, Full Duplex.
  • by m@rts,

    m@rts m@rts Jan 6, 2010 12:12 PM in response to Aaron Scott
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 6, 2010 12:12 PM in response to Aaron Scott
    While our MacMini works fine in a Gigabit ethernet network, we have the same problem with an Imac Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz. At 1000base-T speed the ethernet port is dead, regardless of the network settings, Imac reports "no ethernet cable plugged in". After manually switching back to 100base-T, the connection works fine.

    I can safely say that the problem is not related to any network components and not only to the Mini. I replaced/exchanged cables (Cat5e, Cat6), switches (Dlink), routers and the position of computers in the network - all Gigabit equipped machines work fine, except for this Imac.

    It did have Gigabit, BTW, for a short period right after we upgraded the network to 1000base-T, I can remember the bright green light on the switch. It lasted exactly till the next restart...
  • by akaky76,

    akaky76 akaky76 Jan 11, 2010 10:35 AM in response to m@rts
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 11, 2010 10:35 AM in response to m@rts
    I'm seeing the same thing on this end. Have a brand new Mac Mini with 10.6.2 and it will ONLY connect with the ethernet cable if it is set to 10Base-T! This is crazy! I was using a 6 year-old G5 connected to my gigabit port and it worked (still does) just fine. But plugging this Mac Mini into the same port yields "Cable Not Connected". I've never had any issues getting any Mac on any network!! Will be calling about this later today. I'm now connecting using WiFi but this is not my desired solution. I've tried both CAT5 and CAT6 cables too . . . no go . . .
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