Ethernet Ports on MI424WR router not working

[daisydaddy]

Hello,

Sorry if this overlaps any of the previous issues posted in this forum, but I couldn't find my exact issue when I searched. I'm trying to connect a couple of devices via the ethernet ports on our MI424WR Rev. 1 router, but the lights on the router are not coming on, and the devices are not appearing in the network. One of the devices, a Lacie NAS drive, did connect for about a month, but has since dropped from the network, despite rebooting both the drive and the router. I've never been able to connect the other device, a D-Link 930L network camera, at all, either to the ethernet port, or via WPS (I've never had any luck making a connection to any device via WPS).

I'm wondering if this could be a router setting issue, or is likely to be a hardware issue with the router? On the 'Ethernet Port Configuration" window on the router website, the ethernet port's Speed & Duplex settings are all "Auto", but the Status is Disconnected on all ports, even though the NAS disk is plugged in (see below).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. If there was a solution previously posted, please direct me towards that topic.

Thanks!

[gs0b · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the forums!

There are no settings that control the wired Ethernet ports.  They are always enabled.  If the link lights on either the router or the device are not coming on, it is a "hardware" problem.

Note, that a "hardware" problem could be and most likely is a bad cable.  If you have other Ethernet cables you can use, please try them.

If you have a computer with an Ethernet port try plugging your NAS directly into it.  If the NAS, computer, and cable are working properly, the link lights will come on even though no IP address will be setup.  You can then expand your debugging to include the router.

If you can't get the router's link light to turn on with known good cables and devices, then you need a new router.

I've had router ports fail on me as a result of a nearby lightning strike, so it is possible.

Good Luck.

[mfizzy]

A loopback test is an easy way to test the router ports and cable. Plug one end of ethernet cable to port 1 and the other end in port 2. The lights for 1 and 2 should light up on the router. If it doesn't try a known good cable. If they still don't light up get the router replaced.

[daisydaddy]

Thanks to both of you: the tests you suggested confirmed that it's a hardware issue. I plugged the NAS drive into the ethernet port on one of our PCs, and the connection light on the drive came on. When I did the loopback test on the router, using the same cable that I'd used for the NAS drive test, the ethernet port lights did not come on.

I'll contact Verizon to have them swap out the router. Thanks again!

[Choppercheng]

Kudos to both.  I tried the loop back test and the ethernet port lights started blinking.  Then I hook up the home router and it started working again.  So it was some hardware issue that put the ports in a lock down state some how and cannot be cleared by power down