My PC is connected to a secondary router through Ethernet. For about a month, online games have started disconnecting every few minutes after my computer has been running for a few hours. Browsing, Google, Discord voice chat, and screen sharing continue working normally, so it does not seem like the entire connection is dropping.
The strange part is that other devices are affected at the same time. For example, my brother can be disconnected from Roblox when my PC is kicked from a game. Restarting only my PC temporarily fixes the problem, but it returns after a while.
I tested the connection with continuous pings. The ping to my local router, 192.168.1.1, stays stable with replies under 1 ms. A ping to 1.1.1.1 normally times out, but when the disconnection happens it starts replying normally. Disconnecting my Ethernet cable and using Wi-Fi on the PC also stops the issue, but it returns when Ethernet is plugged back in.
There is an additional network detail: the main router is far away, so my brother and I use a second router in our room. A single Ethernet cable runs from the main router to that secondary router, and my PC is connected to the secondary router by Ethernet. What could be causing this, and what should I test next?
3 Answers
The ping results are useful. Since the local-router ping stays stable, your PC can still reach the secondary router. The fact that 1.1.1.1 becomes reachable during the event does not look like a normal total internet outage, so this may be related to how the two routers are connected or how the games handle NAT and session tracking.
Because Wi-Fi on the PC avoids the problem while Ethernet triggers it, start by replacing the Ethernet cable between the PC and the secondary router and try a different LAN port. Also update the PC's Ethernet driver and temporarily disable Energy Efficient Ethernet or Green Ethernet in the adapter's properties. If possible, connect the PC directly to the cable coming from the main router and see whether the issue still happens.
When the problem returns, compare three pings at once: the secondary router, the main router if you know its address, and 1.1.1.1. Also check whether the router's internet or WAN indicator changes and whether its administration page shows a reconnect or DHCP renewal. If the secondary router loses its upstream connection while the local ping stays fine, the issue is likely the cable or port linking the two routers, the main router's DHCP lease, or the secondary router itself.
Try rebooting or replacing the secondary router, updating its firmware, and testing with the PC connected directly to the main router if that is possible. That will quickly separate a PC Ethernet problem from a problem in the shared network equipment.
The two-router setup is the biggest clue. If the second router is operating as another router instead of access-point or bridge mode, you may have double NAT, DHCP conflicts, or a bad WAN-to-LAN connection. Those problems can affect game sessions while ordinary web traffic and Discord continue working.
Check that only the main router is running DHCP. Put the secondary unit into access-point or bridge mode if it supports that, and connect the incoming cable to the correct port for that mode. If it does not have an access-point mode, disable DHCP on the secondary router and use a LAN-to-LAN connection, unless its manual specifies another arrangement. Restart both routers after changing the configuration.
A damaged Ethernet cable is still worth ruling out, but it would not usually explain both computers being kicked at the same time. Since the secondary router serves both devices, I would focus on its uplink cable, WAN port, firmware, and configuration before blaming only the PC.
The secondary router is in the same room as my PC and brother's devices. The cable from the main router goes into that router, and my PC is connected to one of its LAN ports. Both of us are disconnected at the same time, so I will test a different cable and port first.