Freebox POP 2.5gb cutoff... Solved

Question

Hello,

I'm here to ask a question about a recurring problem for which I can find very little information or help... The only thing I've managed to find is that I am apparently not the only one facing this issue, but I cannot find (or understand) the solution to it...

Recently, I have fiber with a Freebox Pop. As a gamer, I have a network card (Ethernet) 1 Gb but also a 2.5 Gb one.

And then I thought it was a miracle because the Freebox Pop has a 2.5 port. So, I connected with a 2.5 Gb cable using a new Cat 8, and there, miracle! Everything works perfectly with speeds up to 260 Mo/s.

However, I quickly became disillusioned as I started experiencing micro-cuts of about 1 to 3 seconds regularly and totally unpredictably... Often, these cuts occur right in the middle of a gaming session or sometimes even while simply browsing the internet...

I couldn't find any cause-and-effect relationship regarding these cuts since they are so random...

That said, I went ahead and conducted "some" tests.

- Replaced the cable with a Cat 7 and 6A (no change).
- Replaced the 2.5 Gb network card with a 2.5 Gb one in PCI (no change).
- Formatted / updated / replaced drivers (no change).
- Tested on a second computer with the 2.5 Gb card (no change).
- Disabled IPv6 or switched to IPv4 + disabled NetBIOS name resolution, switched to a fixed IP, etc... In short, numerous network settings... (no change).
- The firmware of my box is up to date.

However, since I have two cards in my main PC, I switched to the 1 Gb on my PC instead of the 2.5, and there! 0 cuts for over a week.

So in summary, no matter the port and how I'm connected, I have no problems on 1 Gb, but as soon as I switch to 2.5 Gb, boom, cuts...

A few clarifications:

- When the cuts happen, the box becomes impossible to ping, but it still works because no device is disconnected.
- It does not show any errors, does not reboot, or anything like that.

I really feel like it poorly handles packets on 2.5 Gb and that it crashes the 2.5 Gb port.

Any ideas?

Configuration: Windows / Chrome 101.0.4951.54

xyphax · Accepted Answer

Hello, I have exactly the same problem as described by the OP. I found some answers on Reddit in English and the problem seems to come from the Realtek (RTL8125) chip installed on quite a few motherboards, including mine and probably the OP's. It causes fairly frequent network dropouts and despite software updates, the problem persists, which leads me to believe that their chip was poorly designed and that Realtek is trying to fix a hardware issue with software updates… so far without success for me despite the multiple advice/updates.

The only solution I found to avoid the unexpected micro dropouts is to go into the advanced settings of the network card and change the speed to 1 Gbps full duplex.

bazfile · Answer

Hello.
I have the Freebox POP and a 2.5gb PCI network card and I have no issues, you might want to check if the problem is with your Freebox, ask Free for a replacement if they accept to change it because they might tell you that it works.
It could also be a software on your PC that's messing up your connection.

--
bazfile
Moderator/Security Contributor.
A hello, a response, a thank you are always appreciated.

onizuka1000 · Answer

Thank you for your response. I have already considered the problem on the PC side, hence my formatting/testing on another PC, etc... :/.

Indeed, Free will probably refuse the replacement... Without having found a solution, there are still quite a few people who have the problem with this 2.5 port...

brupala · Answer

Hi,
I completely agree with Bazfile, we need to request an exchange for the box which must have a faulty connection on its 2.5 port.
Just a general note for everyone wanting to achieve 2.5 Gbit/s:
There's no need to invest in a cat 6, 7 or worse, 8 cable, the nbase-t protocol related to it is designed to work over standard cat5e cables up to 100m, so for 3 or 4m....
All this to maintain the old wiring while waiting for 10Gbit/s.
Also see 802.3bz
It doesn’t solve your problem, but it's for general knowledge and to save on cabling.

brupala · Answer

By the way, if you connect the gigabit port of the PC to the 2.5 port of the box, do you also have disconnections?  -- and... There you go!

onizuka1000 · Answer

@Brupala, From the 2.5gb port of my PC (integrated card or PCI) to the 2.5gb port of the box, no cuts. I have conducted all these tests over several days/weeks; I have had fiber since February and I have always had this issue when I'm on 2.5->2.5.

Edit: from the 2.5gb port of my PC to a 1gb port of the box, no cuts*.

bazfile · Answer

Free deserves congratulations for its flexibility in managing Ethernet ports; on very few routers and even fewer boxes can one intervene on such fine port settings.  Ça donne ça :

onizuka1000 · Answer

Hello, I confirm that since this change, I have had absolutely no interruptions! So I think there was probably a miscommunication between the 2.5gb cards and the box, which had to switch between 1gb and 2.5, thereby causing a few seconds of interruption. Thank you all.

Tonality · Answer

Hello,
I have the same issue on the 2.5gbps port of my Livebox 6. It's not possible to configure the ports like with Free.
The PC and drivers are up to date, it's not an internet outage since there is no interruption on the 1gbps port.
Help

fredc0s · Answer

Hi,

I've been experiencing exactly the same issue for quite some time, even with the port forcibly set to 2.5 instead of automatic.

I've already submitted a request on the Freebox developer site https://dev.freebox.fr/bugs/task/36722, but no viable response to date.

I just called support; they escalated the issue to support level 2 and my box will be monitored for a week. If there is indeed a problem, they will offer me an exchange; otherwise, it's impossible to change the box since they believe it's functioning.

If several of us are experiencing this issue, please report it to the developers via the link I provided above.

The more of us there are, the faster the problem will be addressed.

The 2.5 port has been causing really significant issues on the Pop since its release...

fredc0s · Answer

I'm sure, I completely changed my setup and the cables

I had another setup and the problem was already there, I changed the cables three times and the Ethernet card twice before upgrading my setup, the problem is still there. Now I have a motherboard with a 2.5 port directly on the motherboard and I have the latest driver, I'm on Windows 11 and the power options are correct, sleep mode is disabled on the card as well.

highway2hell · Answer

same problem. it's definitely a driver issue. no more video stream interruptions in 2.5G. old drivers from 2015... Install_Win10_10031_12192018 microsoft: 9.1.410.2015

Denis · Answer

I solved this problem by adjusting the sound level between the TV remote and the Freebox Pop remote.

Freebox POP 2.5gb cutoff...

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