Thunderbolt gigabit ethernet not working with 'cable unplugged' error

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23 points

Thunderbolt gigabit ethernet not working with 'cable unplugged' error

I have a MacBook Pro Retina 13" early 2015 model running OS X El Capitan. I just bought the Thunderbolt Ethernet gigabit adaptor and connected to my router (I have confirmed that it has 1000/100/10BASE-T Ethernet ports). When I do this and check the network connections, it gives the following:

Status: Cable Unplugged

Either the cable for Thunderbolt Ethernet is not plugged in or the device at the other end is not responding.

Configure IPv4 is 'Using DHCP' and the ports on the router are working for other devices that are plugged in. I have also following the instructions here: If the Ethernet connection on your Mac stopped working recently - Apple Support. I'm running 3.30.1 of the "Incompatible Kernel Extension Configuration Data", so this should not be an issue, but I did the software update as described in case there is a later version still; this didn't resolve the problem.

OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Aug 17, 2016 1:33 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 17, 2016 1:51 PM in response to Will_Ldn

Try setting a static IP that is correct for your network and see if that works (use Network Utility app). For example; if you WiFi IP Address is 192.168.0.6 and subnet 255.255.255.0, try 192.168.0.101 with the same subnet and see if there is a connection. I have similar issues going on with my iMac using the adaptor. It works with a static IP, but does not work with DHCP.

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Answer 2

Will_Ldn Author

Level 1

23 points

Aug 17, 2016 7:37 PM in response to dwinsmith

I have the mac address for my wifi card and both thunderbolt ports; I also have the ip address for my wifi card. However, where do I set the static IP for my Thunderbolt port? On my router, with the associated mac address (although I'm trying to figure out which physical port is Thunderbolt 1 and which is Thunderbolt 2...)?

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