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 Footleg,

    Footleg Footleg Mar 17, 2010 11:41 PM in response to BigDaveyL
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2010 11:41 PM in response to BigDaveyL
    Just a quick update - Mac "Genius" actually very helpful and knowledgeable (thanks Dave) and although they didn't have enough stuff to test it at 1000baseT, they've ordered a new logic board for it.

    It should be in tomorrow and I'll update again when it's been done.

    Interestingly, when I got it back home again, it DID connect at 1000baseT, but only for a few mins before dropping out again...
  • by insanity213,

    insanity213 insanity213 Mar 30, 2010 8:12 PM in response to Aaron Scott
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 30, 2010 8:12 PM in response to Aaron Scott
    Same problem here. Late 2006 Intel Mac Mini used to run at gigabit line rate without issue. I've tried several known good cables and switches and cannot get the mini to run at 1gbps any more. I've tried several cheap Linksys and Netgear switches as well as Cisco Catalyst commercial grade managed switches. There is clearly a problem with the Mini's - probably firmware related. The last time I knew it worked I was still on Leopard. Possibly SL did something?


    For the record, Apple removed my original reply to this thread which contained a ton more data on this problem as well as other Mac hardware failures. I guess they don't want the truth getting out about how bad their hardware actually is. If anyone wants to know the full scoop please email insanity at hellbent dot cc. I have half a dozen dead Mac's lying around here and I suppose the mini is headed for that heap as well.
  • by Footleg,

    Footleg Footleg Mar 31, 2010 12:16 AM in response to insanity213
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2010 12:16 AM in response to insanity213
    Hi All,

    Sorry to hear about your issues Insanity213 - must admit it's a little worrying to hear about these problems given this is my first Mac. I read your original post (was emailed to me) so interesting to see it torn down...

    I just picked up my Mini from the Mac Store (replaced logic board) and it immediately negotiated to 1gbit/s - it's obviously far too early to make any real conclusions on whether it's fixed or not and I certainly won't be holding my breath... But I've copied 1.3gb of data over to the NAS and so far so good.

    Fingers crossed...
  • by Footleg,

    Footleg Footleg Apr 7, 2010 3:48 AM in response to Footleg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 7, 2010 3:48 AM in response to Footleg
    Still connected at 1000baseT - guess that solves it for me... Just hope it doesn't revert in the future.

  • by Thierry Faucounau,

    Thierry Faucounau Thierry Faucounau Apr 7, 2010 4:00 AM in response to Footleg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 7, 2010 4:00 AM in response to Footleg
    I can report the same results as Footleg.

    After the motherboard swap (under warranty thankfully) the mini has been up at 1000BT solidly for 5 days now (and believe me, I check all of the time now ).
  • by Reg@expertreward,

    Reg@expertreward Reg@expertreward Apr 27, 2010 6:12 AM in response to daverx7
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 27, 2010 6:12 AM in response to daverx7
    Until two days ago mine worked fine into a Netgear GS116 Gigabit Switch then I needed to move the cable to get something else connected when I plugged it back in it connected then disconnected now that's all it does continuously seems to be more widespread than I expected. I've got some new cabling and a different switch to test so I'll let you all know what works...
  • by Jupeman,

    Jupeman Jupeman May 26, 2010 11:51 AM in response to Aaron Scott
    Level 1 (40 points)
    May 26, 2010 11:51 AM in response to Aaron Scott
    Misery loves company. We have a new Mini and it cannot maintain a connection. We can switch to wireless and it is fine, but even the wireless will lose a connection. What is odd is that I can ping some things on the network but not others. I hadn't considered it was an 10gb Ethernet issue until finding this thread, but SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH MINI NETWORKING. I have 5 other Macs in the house that work perfectly on this network.
  • by LordMerovingian,

    LordMerovingian LordMerovingian May 28, 2010 9:46 AM in response to Aaron Scott
    Level 1 (145 points)
    May 28, 2010 9:46 AM in response to Aaron Scott
    Read through these threads and have to think that maybe i'm just lucky. My Late 09 Mac Mini works just fine gigabit-wise with my Dlink Extreme Gigabit router and switch. Same with my MBPro as well.
  • by Leo Wiggins III,

    Leo Wiggins III Leo Wiggins III Jul 19, 2010 4:08 PM in response to Aaron Scott
    Level 1 (30 points)
    Jul 19, 2010 4:08 PM in response to Aaron Scott
    I've got a early 2009 Mac Mini and have found that my ethernet port won't connect above 100mbit. I'm connected to a first generation Airport Extreme N router (Gigabit model) but it won't connect if I set it to manually accept 1gbit connection. So I'm hoping Apple comes up with an update that addresses this issue.
  • by Charles Friedberg,

    Charles Friedberg Charles Friedberg Sep 7, 2010 10:29 AM in response to Thierry Faucounau
    Level 1 (30 points)
    Sep 7, 2010 10:29 AM in response to Thierry Faucounau
    how do you test it? I have having the same problem, late 2009 mac mini that for the past 9 months had no problems being set at Jumbo frames, now won't even see the network if i do that, so have to keep it on automatic. Seeing genius bar tomorrow, hopefully for a new logic board
  • by CraigSmith,

    CraigSmith CraigSmith Nov 11, 2010 1:59 PM in response to Charles Friedberg
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 11, 2010 1:59 PM in response to Charles Friedberg
    OK. I have the same problem too. Here is a brief explanation of my setup and some test I have done:

    Qnap TS209 server, iMac 24, macBook (13 inch), mac Mini (2009 model), Netgear GS108 switch.

    All computers are connected to the Gigabit switch with cat 5e cable. Now, the macBook, mac mini and Qnap all connect at 1000T, the iMac only connects at 100T with the "cable unplugged" error if trying to configure it to 1000T. I have tried all the cables in different ports etc. but still the iMac will not connect at 1000T. I checked in the 'About this mac' on the mac Mini and the iMac and both are using the same NVIDIA network cards!

    I bought a cat 5e crossover network cable and connected the iMac directly to the macBook and the iMac automatically connects at 1000T!!!

    So why when it is connected via the Gigabit switch will it only connect at 100T. I don't want to spend out on another network switch, just in case I get the same issue with a different one. If I knew a new switch would do the trick I would probably buy one, but what make and model would be best?
  • by Shane Davis,

    Shane Davis Shane Davis Nov 12, 2010 6:13 AM in response to daverx7
    Level 1 (75 points)
    Nov 12, 2010 6:13 AM in response to daverx7
    anyone tried the new update to see if it fixes this?
  • by Boece,

    Boece Boece Nov 12, 2010 6:24 AM in response to CraigSmith
    Level 5 (6,246 points)
    Nov 12, 2010 6:24 AM in response to CraigSmith
    CraigSmith,

    In my opinion these minis have a poor algorithm to determine cable speed vs cable disconnected.

    How long is the Cat-5e run from the mini to the switch?

    As a test, I suggest placing the mini adjacent to the switch and use the same short cross-over cable that worked at 1000T to connect to the switch. (The mini will auto flip the cable.)

    If that works at 1000T, then you know the issue is the mini and your longer cable, and not the mini and the switch. One fix would be to put a 2nd switch at the mini's end of the long cable run, and the use a short cable to the mini.
  • by CraigSmith,

    CraigSmith CraigSmith Nov 12, 2010 8:21 AM in response to Boece
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 12, 2010 8:21 AM in response to Boece
    Hi Boece,

    I don't think you read my post correctly. The mac Mini connects at 1000T perfectly and has the longest cable run. The macBook also connects at 1000T. The iMac which has a cable length of 1m to the switch connects at 100T.

    I have tested the iMac with the same cable that connects to Mini and the macBook, still only 100T. When connecting with a crossover cable from iMac to macBook, it connects at 1000T.

    Both iMac and Mini have the NVIDIA MCP79-1 network adaptor, so my question still is, why will the mini run at 1000T, but the iMac at 100T?
  • by Boece,

    Boece Boece Nov 12, 2010 9:40 AM in response to CraigSmith
    Level 5 (6,246 points)
    Nov 12, 2010 9:40 AM in response to CraigSmith
    Oops! Sorry, I didn't read carefully and assumed we were discussing a Mac Mini problem in this forum -- and the Mini does have some speed detection issues.

    I'm wondering if you might get better answers by cross-posting this to the iMac forum.
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