New G441 - Performance Issue

Deherb124

Just purchased and have been testing this brand new G441 PowerSpec. Seems fine except for one major issue. Just started to watch a simple YouTube video through MS Edge (just like I do with my old G700) and it buffers all streaming - even at the lowest resolution. Checked using another browser and high res does not buffer. Checked internet speed and it shows that is not the issue. Checked all settings on the Edge browser and no issues observed. This is Windows 11 Pro and old machine is Windows 10 Pro. Any ideas before I return it?

Deherb124

Looks like a return of a bad system from PowerSpec. Not fighting this anymore.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

Only an issue on MS Edge? I setup a G441, currently running a random youtube video on Edge with no buffering. WIFI connection. Please provide more information about your network setup and link to a specific video you've seen an issue with.

Deherb124

Seems to be correct. I have a 1 gig Fios connection with a 1000 switch for computer, NAS, and printer. 100%of YouTube videos drop to lowest quality and buffer every 3 to 4 seconds. Monitored the network traffic and it shows the traffic dropping to zero and then picking up again after a second or two. Now also noticing that YouTube using Firefox browser is not connecting to anything once I pick a video (says I don't have an internet connection). Ran a speedtest of internet and showed minimum of 800 Gbps for both upload and download.

None of these issues show up with my current Windows 10 system (6 years old) using same cables from switch.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

Switched to an ethernet connection, watching a 4K video with no buffering, no quality drops for me. Check Device Manager. What driver version is installed for the i225-V under "Network Adapters"?

Deherb124

Checked the unit out at MicroCenter and no issues observed. Now the question is "related to my FIOS G3300 Router?". And how could that affect this machine and not my older unit?

Driver for the network adapter is showing 2.1.1.14 (5/30/2022).

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

It's an Intel i225-V. Overall it's a good 2.5Gb controller, but there are some issues with specific routers/switches that are well documented. Lets try this first, this is a common fix. Go back to the properties page on the adapter, this time go to the "Advanced" tab. Select Speed & Duplex. What speed options are available here? If 1.0Gbps Full Duplex is available, select this, rather than auto negotiate. Also, under the "Power Management" tab, we can disable power saving on this network card for now.

I have a comment here on another customers issue with an ASUS B550 board: https://community.microcenter.com/discussion/comment/39373#Comment_39373

Deherb124

The Speed &Duplex settings changed and Power Management tab does not allow me to change (items are 'grayed out'). Now just sits and looks at me with the buffering ring Seems like it is locking me out somehow. Even the ads take a while to load. Pushing the quality to 144k and still buffers badly.

The cable connector is showing a green light and a yellow blinking light. I've connected with a new cable directly to the router instead of via the switch.

I just tried the WiFi connection and no issues with YouTube. Would rather work on wired network.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

You can't uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"? Do you have any other software installed that might be like a network packet management tool that could effect Edge? Did you install an antivirus?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

Few more things I'd like to try, referencing the Firefox issue. Try this in Edge:

Settings - System and Performance - Open your computer's proxy settings - Automatically detect settings = OFF.

You said at least one browser did work properly. Was this Chrome? Edge is built on Chromium, just curious.

Deherb124

Only using Microsoft AV software.

The Power Management tab is showing "Allow the computer..." no checked, but "Allow this device to Wake..." is checked and grayed out.

Device Manager showing this as Intel(R) Ethernet Controller(3) I225-V

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

That's correct for the ethernet adapter. You've killed power saving features, at least we can rule that out. If disabling autodetect proxy doesn't work, lets try to disabling hardware acceleration.

Settings - System and Performance - Use hardware acceleration when available = OFF.

Deherb124

The change to HW acceleration did not change anything. No real progress with PC settings. Some issue with the router settings that we might need to change.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

I've been looking around with Verizon FIOS. Seem to be quite a few FIOS users reporting issues very similar to yours. Issues with Youtube and GMail on ethernet, fine on WIFI. Solution seems to be disabled IPv6 in the router, or TCP and UDP Checksum Offload for IPV6.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking/comments/x0y332/verizon_fios_gigabit_terrible_connection_to/

https://www.reddit.com/r/verizon/comments/wld2mg/verizon_fios_internet_issue_im_dumbfounded/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fios/comments/6n2ahm/issues_playing_back_youtube_videos_on_verizon_fios/

Deherb124

So, after much investigation and single solutions, I turned off almost all the advanced network features in the device manager. The issue is resolved. However, it would be interesting to slowly turn on the features to determine where the exact issue lies. I would think that it would be beneficial to have better control of the network communications but at this point I'll take the small victory.

Thank you!

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

Glad you got it working and it would be interesting to track that down. Unfortunately I don't have the same router/ISP to do so. Keep in mind with FIOS, if you're only getting internet from them, you can have them run ethernet from the ONT and use your own router. Just make sure if it's an old ONT it has gigabit ethernet.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Deherb124

Wanted to add from one of my posts above. Likely setting is the TCP/UDP Checksum Offload(IPv6) in case you or anyone else encounter this issue again.

schlenkerc18

I'm also having trouble with the wired ethernet connection.

I tried switching the Speed & Duplex to 1 Gbps, and I also tried turning off the TCP/UDP Checksum Offload (IPv6). Neither of these solutions worked for me. I also tried going nuclear and turning everything off to no avail. Any other possible solutions out there?

I'm working with an eero pro 6 router, and the ethernet connection works for my other pc,

PowerSpec_MikeW

@schlenkerc18

Are you having the exact same symptoms as OP?

schlenkerc18

Sorry, not sure what you mean by OP?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@schlenkerc18

The original poster, Deherb. Are you having the exact same issues?

schlenkerc18

Not exactly, my internet is working fine with wifi. But when I connect through an ethernet cable my internet completely drops out. In both cases though it seems that the ethernet cable is degrading/terminating internet connection

PowerSpec_MikeW

@schlenkerc18

This seems to be the default on Windows 11. The ethernet connection will override the WIFI connection. So you can't connect at all on ethernet?

Try Control Panel - Network and Internet - Network and Sharing Center - Changer Adapter Settings (Left Side) - Right click the ethernet connection and select properties - Uncheck Internet Protocol IPv6 and press "OK".

Lets try to verify it's an IPv6 issue first. When I've seen major issues with specific routers and the i225-V one the other easy work arounds is just to put a basic 5 port switch between the router and PC. Having that intermediate interface can be a solution when you have no connectivity at all. We'll go through everything we can to try to get this working for you without adding any additional hardware.

schlenkerc18

Correct, whenever I plug in the ethernet cable to my pc the internet completely goes out.

Tried unchecking Internet Protocol IPv6 and no luck

PowerSpec_MikeW

@schlenkerc18

Okay, this is a little different than the OP's issue. I'd like to rule out an actual hardware issue with the ethernet controller first. Do you have a laptop with an ethernet port?

Reason I asked this. If you do, you can connect the laptop to WIFI and the two systems together via ethernet. You'll be able to connect to the internet on the desktop through the laptop. That'll confirm the ethernet controller is working properly and we're troubleshooting a compatibility issue.

schlenkerc18

Hey Mike, sorry I haven't been able to troubleshoot this recently. It was a very busy week for me.

Tried connecting this to my laptop via the ethernet cord and this did not work. I'm seeing "Unidentified network" for the ethernet connection. I then tried the built in troubleshooting for windows and got this error: "Ethernet" doesn't have a valid ip configuration. To resolve this, I've tried resetting my router, resetting TCP/IP, and clearing my network cache. Haven't been able to get anything to work.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@schlenkerc18

Sounds like it's detected the connection, but can't resolve an IP. This doesn't indicate a problem. When you're connected to your router I assume you're getting a media state disconnected, correct?

schlenkerc18

Correct

PowerSpec_MikeW

@schlenkerc18

Sounds like it's just a compatibility issue with the router. We've seen this type of issue, mostly with the AT&T routers. What router do you have?

schlenkerc18

I have an eero pro 6. Is there a specific router that you'd recommend?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@schlenkerc18

Easy fix here is to put a gigabit switch behind the router to connect through. It's an issue with compatibility with the interface. If there's a switch in the middle, it should work fine.