Gigabyte Aorus z490i integrated Ethernet adapter just disappeared

Associate
Joined
24 Feb 2021
Posts
102
Location
Norfolk
Two days ago the Ethernet NIC suddenly stopped working on my recently built system. It was built about 4 months ago.

When first built I had some issues with the Ethernet connection just disconnecting after a short time, and needed to be re-enabled. A quick Google and I discovered that this was a known issue, but a driver update cleared the problem.

Everything then operated fine for months, until a couple of days ago when there was no Ethernet connection. Further investigation indicated that the network device was now inactive, and no network adapter was being discovered. In the BIOS, the NIC shows N/A for the MAC address.

At this point I’m thinking the motherboard NIC must have failed, and I’m looking at the prospect of an RMA - not a happy prospect, since it will require full disassembly of a very crowded SFF build without even considering how long the system will be out of commission to process the RMA.

However, a further Google suggests that this is a know problem with the Intel I225-V NIC on z490 motherboards, and can be recovered with the right tools to reflash the NIC and reset the MAC address. Information is limited though, and I’ve not been able to track down definitive information or the tools enabling a fix.

Does anyone have any experience of this issue and/or a fix (that doesn’t involve RMAing the motherboard)?
 
Email the motherboard manufacturer they may be able to advise you before rma.

There was a Gigabyte rep on ths forum but cant remember his name.
 
Does it find it if you restart rather than shutdown?

I had this problem for a while on my asus strix z490 f

Seemed that permission was set for the board to control the ethernet adaptor and put it to sleep everything shutdown was selected.

I removed this permission and all has been good since.
 
Email the motherboard manufacturer they may be able to advise you before rma.

There was a Gigabyte rep on ths forum but cant remember his name.

Yes, I'm pursuing a conversation with Gigabyte in parallel - the only route appears to be their support portal; I couldn't find an appropriate email address.
 
Does it find it if you restart rather than shutdown?

I had this problem for a while on my asus strix z490 f

Seemed that permission was set for the board to control the ethernet adaptor and put it to sleep everything shutdown was selected.

I removed this permission and all has been good since.

I've tried both warm restarts, cold restarts and fully discharging the onboard capacitors. Plus leaving the computer unplugged overnight. None seem to make any difference.

One odd thing is that the RJ45 on the motherboard and the network switch show an active connection, suggesting that the NIC is alive and communicating. I suspect the core issue is the lost MAC address. In the BIOS the only option I have available is to enable or disable the NIC, and in Windows no device is available.
 
Back
Top Bottom