I recently built a new PC using an ASUS TUF B650E-E WiFi motherboard and I'm really struggling to get the Ethernet connection to work. I'm running Windows and have already tried a bunch of troubleshooting steps: I re-installed my network drivers, used a USB 3.0 to Ethernet adapter, fiddled with services.msc, checked that the LAN adapter is enabled in the BIOS, switched to new Ethernet cables, updated the motherboard BIOS, and even reinstalled Windows. I'm confident the Ethernet cables are fine because they work with my laptop. I've come across some info suggesting that this motherboard model has known Ethernet issues, and a lot of people recommend using a USB to Ethernet adapter as a fix. However, neither the Ethernet port nor the adapter shows any lights when I plug them in, which makes me think that there might be a setting I'm missing. When I run the diagnostics in Windows, it says nothing is connected, even though I confirmed that the LAN service is on in services.msc. Someone mentioned trying to boot from a Linux live USB to check if it's a hardware or software issue, and I'm planning to test that out. Any suggestions would be awesome!
4 Answers
Which version of Windows are you using? Did you go through the standard media creation tool or did you do something unusual? Also, do the lights on the Ethernet port blink when you plug in the cable?
Make sure you have the latest BIOS installed. If you're already on the latest version, consider re-flashing it just to ensure everything's in proper order.
Another possibility is to check whether there's a physical switch on your case or network card that might disable the Ethernet port. Sometimes those can be accidentally flipped by mistake!
Have you made sure to attach the WiFi antenna to the motherboard? Sometimes it helps to switch the two connectors around to see if that makes a difference.
I did attach the WiFi antenna to the dedicated WiFi port. I'll try swapping the connectors tonight and see if that helps.
I used the media creation tool from Windows and activated it with an OEM key. Unfortunately, the lights on both the motherboard's LAN port and the adapter are not lighting up at all.