I'm using a Windows 11 PC mainly for online gaming, but my connection occasionally times out even though the PC is connected by Ethernet. Reseating the cable didn't help, and I'm not very familiar with networking. The connection usually drops every 30–60 minutes. I'm using a Home Fiber Box from my Austrian provider, with the PC connected through a network repeater. The repeater is only separated from the main router by one wall, and its indicator lights suggest it sometimes loses contact with the router. Are there any router settings I should change, or is the repeater, Ethernet cable, or another part of the setup more likely to be responsible?
3 Answers
A full router and repeater restart is worth trying, and make sure every connector is firmly seated. If the problem also happens on a direct wired connection, contact the internet provider and ask them to check the fiber box, line, and connection logs. Keep track of the exact times of the outages because that can help identify whether the issue is local equipment or the provider.
Router settings usually aren’t the first thing to change here. Since the repeater’s lights show that it loses its connection to the main router, the repeater or its wireless link is the most likely problem. If possible, connect the PC directly to the router with a long Ethernet cable and see whether the dropouts stop. You could also test with a different Ethernet cable and restart the router and repeater.
Try to isolate each part of the connection. Test the PC directly on the router, then try another known-good cable, and check whether other devices lose internet at the same time. If only the repeater connection fails, repositioning it, updating its firmware, or replacing it with a wired access point or mesh unit would be more useful than changing random router settings.
The repeater is very close to the router, with only one wall between them, but it still appears to lose the signal every so often.