Intel is still working on a comprehensive fix for the intermittent Ethernet connection issues we highlighted in a report back in January. In the meantime, it has a workaround that basically turns off Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) mode. MSI appears to be the first Intel partner to release an installer delivering the workaround. Intel says it is continuing to “work towards a solution.”
If you have a modern Intel motherboard featuring a version of the Intel I225, I226, or Killer E3100 2.5GbE controllers, the headlining update is for you. Users with motherboards packing these controllers have reported intermittent disconnections when using Ethernet. Thus, you will not have observed this particular issue if you only use Wi-Fi for your internet and LAN connectivity.
Intel Raptor Lake motherboards often leverage the new Intel I226-V controller, so this intermittent connection issue (which similarly annoyed users of the previous-gen motherboards/controllers like 2019’s I225) continues to provide disappointment to the newest-gen customers.
Previous advice regarding workarounds, such as reducing the controller’s max transfer rate to 1 Gigabit, were not bulletproof when we last reported on this Ethernet issue. However, Intel appears to have narrowed down the cause of the connectivity dropouts to some kind of energy-saving functionality present in the driver. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the first time that energy efficiency implementations end up causing users to spend a lot of their personal energy in fault-finding and fixing productivity sapping side effects.
Intel’s update, shared by Chi11eddog, says it includes the mitigation of “disabling Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) at 1Gbps / 2.5 Gbps.” It is possible to do this tweak yourself in Advanced Windows/ Linux driver settings, but the downloaded patch may have a little more finesse, as it seems to still apply EEE at 100Mbps speeds.
MSI has released an updated driver for its affected motherboards, like the MPG Z790 Carbon WIFI. We have looked at the download file, which doesn’t include release notes, and are not sure whether the files within will work on motherboards/systems from other brands. We think that others could right click and install the E2FN.INF file, but please apply at your own risk. Please note there are different drivers depending on whether you are using Windows 10 or 11. Also, you should check your own motherboard vendor’s update pages to see if there are Intel Ethernet patch / update files available for your specific product.
We hope that Intel’s investigations reveal that this continuing problem for its networking controllers is fixable by software or firmware update, rather than leaving users with energy saving functionality disabled or a hardware revision being required.
