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Ethernet not working on RPI - my fault or the pi's?

Former Member

Hi Everyone,

 

I got my RPI yesterday from E14 in Australia.

 

I was really impressed but haven't been able to get ethernet working.

 

I get no link lights (only OK and PWR) on a 5v/1a power supply. I've tried booting with and without keyboard but no luck. I loaded raspbian but couldn't ping anywhere. When I checked my interfaces file I saw that eth0 didn't have an 'auto' step so I added that and tried a static configuration but no luck. From one of the if/lsusb commands I did see that the Ethernet seemed to have a MAC address (which I imagine means the system can at least sense the port) but I just don't know what to do after trying different cables...


I've tried raspbian and xbian but neither seems to work and I'm not sure how I could definatively confirm if my ethernet is the source (and sole) problem...

Parents

  • If "ip link ls eth0" displays a MAC address on the second line of output (link/ether) then it's a near certainty that everything is fine at interface link level, and all you need is a proper cable to your Ethernet switch or router for all the link LEDs to light up like a Christmas tree.  It's just a hardware problem so focus on getting those lights to appear before worrying about IP addresses or network configuration.  DHCP, IP addresses, and routing aren't relevant until your link lights are lit.

     

    Your tests so far seem to have eliminated the leads and the other end of the Ethernet connection though, so it rather looks like there could be a physical problem on the board.  Have a very close look at the Pi in the vicinity of the RJ45 looking for anomalies like poor solder joints, and peer inside the connector for any bent pins.

Reply

  • If "ip link ls eth0" displays a MAC address on the second line of output (link/ether) then it's a near certainty that everything is fine at interface link level, and all you need is a proper cable to your Ethernet switch or router for all the link LEDs to light up like a Christmas tree.  It's just a hardware problem so focus on getting those lights to appear before worrying about IP addresses or network configuration.  DHCP, IP addresses, and routing aren't relevant until your link lights are lit.

     

    Your tests so far seem to have eliminated the leads and the other end of the Ethernet connection though, so it rather looks like there could be a physical problem on the board.  Have a very close look at the Pi in the vicinity of the RJ45 looking for anomalies like poor solder joints, and peer inside the connector for any bent pins.

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  • in reply to morgaine

    Thanks for that. I'm pretty sure I saw a mac address somewhere in testing and figured that meant the port was getting power but I just wasn't able to make it happy. I was thinking about making a loopback ethernet adapter but thats about as close as I go to technical. I'll check out the board when i get home (in about an hour) and see if anything is out of whack (but wouldn't know where to begin with fixing it..)

  • in reply to morgaine

    Morgaine Dinova wrote:

     

    Your tests so far seem to have eliminated the leads and the other end of the Ethernet connection though, so it rather looks like there could be a physical problem on the board.  Have a very close look at the Pi in the vicinity of the RJ45 looking for anomalies like poor solder joints, and peer inside the connector for any bent pins.

    Yes, definitely look for physical layer problems first.  Also, look for missing components.  I've heard of a board that was missing Ethernet bias resistor R41.  I can't imagine how it passed testing with R41 missing, but we don't know how well they're tested and R41 may have broken off later.  Make sure all the RJ45 pins made it through the PC board.  We've seen USB connectors with pins folded under.  Through-hole components are usually hand-soldered after all the SMT components have been reflow soldered.

     

    Also check X1, the large crystal under LAN9512 IC3.  It's probably also hand soldered, and some people have had good luck resoldering it.  However, it's not likely the culprit because if X1 weren't soldered correctly your USB devices probably wouldn't work either.  Still, worth getting out the magnifier and pretending to be Basil Rathbone.