Intel(R) Ethernet Contoller I226-V Download Speed drop MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR5

[Flamefaker]

Hello Intel Support Team,

I have an Issue with the Intel Ethernet Controller I226-V on a MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR5 and I tried to help myself but this issue seems to be more common so I need a little bit of help.

Based off this discussion: https://community.intel.com/t5/Ethernet-Products/Intel-R-Ethernet-Contoller-I226-V-connection-drop-Z790-Board/m-p/1450667/emcs_t/S2h8ZW1haWx8dG9waWNfc3Vic2NyaXB0aW9ufExERThMUzVSWjdXRkJ8MTQ1MDY2N3xTVUJTQ1JJUFRJT05TfGhL#M31990

I also tried the same steps as drzoidberg80 tried but unfortunately, it just won't work however I configure it. I wanted to achieve an always active Network Connection without any S-States activated or any other form of Energy Efficiency in place, hence why under the advanced properties for the I226-V Chip, I tinkered with the following configurations, hoping to potentially resolve the issue:

Enable PME: Enabled -> Disabled
Energy Efficient Ethernet: Enabled -> Disabled
Flow Control: Auto Negotiation -> Rx & Tx Enabled
Interrupt Moderation: Enabled -> Disabled
Interrupt Moderation Rate: Low -> Off
Selective Suspend: Enabled -> Disabled
Speed & Duplex: Auto Negotiation -> 2.5 Gbps Full Duplex
Wake from S0ix on Magic Packet: Enabled -> Disabled
Wake on Link Settings: Forced -> Disabled
Wake on Magic Packet: Enabled -> Disabled

and after that I checked the Events for the I226-V Network Chip and it has some issues with the e2fexpress function/file/.inf(?). As far as I could see, the Device gets started but it doesn't take long for it to encounter some kind of error along the way. I attached some pictures for the issues that I mentioned to get a better understanding of this problem.

I was able to recreate the issue with the following setup: I randomly picked a huge game from Steam and started downloading. This initially works great . However, after I start Spotify while downloading at the same time, the Bandwidth immediately drops from around 1Gbps to around 200Mbps for the Steam download(see Peak Speed and momentary speed in attachment). So as far as I could conclude, it has to be an issue in the Network Management, but I can't pinpoint the Issue itself.

I also tried every possible step with the default configuration of the network Chip. The installed driver version is 1.1.3.28. I also tried the driver version 1.1.3.34 that I found on the ASUS Forum: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?118280-DRIVERS-Intel-Ethernet-WiFi-Bluetooth

but to no avail. I also couldn't find any NVM drivers as stated by drzoidberg80 for my Motherboard too and NVM drivers from Intel could potentially damage the component as stated in the discussion by Mike_Intel.

Any help is appreciated.

With Regards
Flamefaker

[IntelSupport]

Hello Flamefaker,

I'm working directly with our engineering team to help debug this issue. If you are willing, we could use your help.

Can you please share with us the following:

1. Memory dump after the issue reproduced (see instruction below)
2. Collect event viewer log (see instruction below)
3. What is the link partner (switch/mode/router) being used (company and model), it might be that the issue related to interoperability with specific devices.

After the above information is collected, our next step will be to collect a driver log during the failure. Instructions on how to do this will be forthcoming.

Memory dump:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/performance/generate-a-kernel-or-compl...

1. Follow the manually generate memory dump file 
2. After restart MEMORY.DMP will be found in C:\Windows\memory.dmp

Event viewer: In event viewer choose Windows Logs > System > Save All Event As and save the file

Thank you very much for your help.

Best Regards,

Fariz_Intel

[Flamefaker]

Hello Fariz_Intel,

thank you for your message. I couldn't reply earlier because of work. I solved my issue by plugging a second 2.5Gbps Realtek Card and bridging both Controllers. After that, the issue stopped arising. I have attached the file with all events. Around the 19.01.23, there should be issues regarding the Intel Controller but after that, I stopped looking, as I haven't gotten these issues anymore. From what I could see, the Intel Controller is not able to output 1Gbps, it tanks at around 90-95ish Mbps whereas with both of these network cards, I get up to around 115Mbps. As for the dump file, that has to wait, the computer doesn't belong to me and I don't want to ruin the experience for the owner. After clearing that up I should be able to provide the file.

Best Regards

Flamefaker 

[IntelSupport]

Hi Flamefaker,

Thanks for sharing the information and provide us the All-Events log files. We really appreciate it as the investigation is still ongoing for this issue.

After you perform this solution, are you still be able to see the error until today, even after the system is power off and reboot? Let us know if the issue are no longer arise for your side.

Let us know also if you are still be able to get memory dump file from the system. Thanks again.

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel

[amantijt]

Hey I have been literally having maybe a very similar issue with my internet speed? I'm probably not exactly as knowledgeable as the beginner of this thread. I have had my motherboard RMA for internet download issues believing it was something maybe with the port or something. But I will start my PC and test speed i was show 2 gig download and upload but when i open a couple of applications my internet falls anywhere to 200-600mpbs without anything actually being downloaded or being used just an open application. If there are some troubleshooting steps or something I can do I would greatly appreciate this headache to go away as I will have had my ISP out for the 4th time this Sunday. Thanks! Im just glad that im not alone in some issues with this motherboard/ethernet controller.

[IntelSupport]

Hi amantijt,

Thank you for sharing your information about this issue, we welcome your input. 

We have posted a communication on this topic at this LINK.  Future updates from Intel about this issue will be posted on this thread. The issue has been reproduced, and we are working diligently on a root cause and fix.

Important Note:  For any of our customers experiencing this problem, a mitigation option to explore is to disable the “Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)” mode in the Advanced Windows/ Linux driver setting. We believe this should help.

Also, for customers that are experiencing this issue and willing to share some information, please see below what would be of most help to us.

Information to share with Intel:

Did you experience Random connection drops at random times? If yes, can you please provide more information about your hardware setup like BIOS version, CPU, RAM, Cable Modem, and Switch?

• Motherboard:
• BIOS:
• CPU:
• Cable Modem:
• Network Switch:
• I226 LAN driver version:
• Issue Reproduction Steps

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel

[IntelSupport]

Hi Flamefaker,

If you have additional questions or clarifications, feel free to let us know.

We will contact you again within 3 business day for a follow-up. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Thanks.

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel

[Flamefaker]

Hello Fariz_Intel,

i will post you the necessary Memdump tomorrow, i just didn't have the time do so unfortunately.

Best Regards

Flamefaker

[Flamefaker]

Hi Fariz_Intel,

I made the dump, it is too big to attach here so I uploaded it to my Google Drive. Here are the links to the files:

Memory Dump: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pgklb51AKURmoU-twH0l8l3EJzYBiT13/view?usp=sharing

Event Log File: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VdBTFIxRpe-lyw6MIzrl1PR8xte6mVHp/view?usp=sharing

And all the Hardware components that are in use:

Motherboard: MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI (MS-7D91)
BIOS: H.20
CPU: 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-13600K
Cable Modem: FRITZ!Box 6591 Cable
Network Switch: TP-Link
I226 LAN driver version: 1.1.3.28

And the reproduction steps: Let's say I want to download something, like a game from Steam or just do a simple speedtest on speedtest.net while playing music via Spotify or watch movies on Netflix in the background, you get a huge download speed drop. I have a 1000 Mbit/s connection, and it would drop to around 150 to 200 Mbit/s while playing a song with Spotify e.g..

I hope i could help.

Best Regards

Flamefaker

[IntelSupport]

Hi Flamefaker,

We are really sorry for the late response. Thank you for sharing your information about this issue and we will further checking on it . We really appreciate your help.

So mean that we will not see the issue if we only download game or watching Netflix one at a time unless we do both activity together right?

By the way have you try below step and see if any different on your system?

For any of our customers experiencing this problem, a mitigation option to explore is to disable the “Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)” mode in the Advanced Windows/ Linux driver setting. We believe this should help.

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel

[Flamefaker]

Hello Fariz_Intel,

sorry for the late reply, work keeps me busy at the moment. I did disable this option, but it didn't solve my issue back then and it still keeps on persisting.

Any help is appreciated.

Best Regards

Flamefaker

[Fariz_Intel]

Hi Flamefaker,

We are sorry for our late response. We also have a hectic week previously.

Regarding the speed issue, the only option as for now is to keep below settings in the driver and the switch/router that you are using.

Speed & Duplex = Auto Negotiation

Energy Efficiency Ethernet = OFF / Disable

There some news update from MSI that might be worth checking:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MSI_Gaming/comments/11ewyrz/intel_i226i225_mitigation_driver_released_for/

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-patches-stuttering-ethernet-issues-but-its-just-a-workaround-for-now

Can you help to share the full name model of the network switch TP-Link that you are using.

We also found in other thread that also using almost similar Cable Modem which Fritzbox 6660 cable and they experience same issue. We still not sure if this related.

We still continue to find the solution and there might be a new update coming from engineering team. We really appreciate your patience.

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel

[Fariz_Intel]

Hi Flamefaker,

Have you check the latest driver from MSI website as per below?

Intel Network Drivers Win 10 64

Version: 1.1.4.38

Release Date: 2023-03-01

Intel Network Drivers Win 11 64

Version: 2.1.3.3

Release Date: 2023-03-01

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-Z790-TOMAHAWK-WIFI/support#driver

Let us know if you are able to test or already test with the latest driver from MSI and also can you help to share with us what is the Windows version that you're currently using?

Thanks.

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel

[Flamefaker]

Hi Fariz_Intel,

sorry for the late reply. Yes I updated to the Version that you mentioned. My current Windows Version is Win 10 22H2. For now, it's working fine, i get speeds of at least 90Mbit/s, so from the looks of it, it works as it should. However, I will test it extensively during the weekend and reply again with my results.

Best Regards

Flamefaker

[Fariz_Intel]

Hi Flamefaker,

Feel free to let us know if you see some result with the latest driver or if you have additional questions and clarifications.

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel

[jeroz]

I also bought a MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI and was not aware of the LAN issues. I instantly ran into problems. Sometimes it's working and other times it won't connect.

I updated to latest BIOS and I tried the following driver on windows 11:

Intel Network Drivers Win 11 64

Version: 2.1.3.3

Release Date: 2023-03-01

I tried:

Speed & Duplex = Auto Negotiation

Energy Efficiency Ethernet = OFF / Disable

This still does not fix the problem for me. I can only connect when I set the adapter to 100Mbit full duplex, which is far from ideal because I have a 1 Gbit full duplex internet connection.

Is there a fix in the works? I really do not prefer taking my PC apart again to send the board back.

[jeroz]

I sent my board back to MSI via my retailer and MSI fixed the issue. The retailer told me that MSI wouldn’t tell them how they fixed it though.

(It was the same board that I received back. I could tell from a small cooling paste stain on one of the M2 shields :D).

[Fariz_Intel]

Hi,

Thanks for sharing all the information, we really appreciate it.

We are glad to hear some of the news and result that had been discover. Since we have seen some progression on the issue resolution and Intel still continue working towards finding/providing a robust solution while at the same time keep improving the driver hence you may keep following this topics on the Intel Communication: Intel® Ethernet Controller I226 Series-Random connection drops at random times as per link below.

https://community.intel.com/t5/Ethernet-Products/Intel-Communication-Intel-Ethernet-Controller-I226-Series-Random/td-p/1453177/page/3

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Fariz_Intel

[bosk]

Hi Intel Support Team,

I have the same problem as described above. Disabling the option does not solve the problem.

I have a brand new NUC13 but it is useless without correct internet speed.

How can I ship this piece of bad hardware back to you?

Reference:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-NUCs/Intel-NUC-13-Pro-Kit-NUC13ANHi5-100Mbps-LAN-speed-stuck/m-p/1502349

[markp99]

I was troubleshooting the various points/switches in my home setup using a "USB-C to Cat5 adapter" with my laptop.  Everything pointed to the NUC13's I226-V Ethernet controller, as this thread confirms.

When I plugged the Cat5 cable into the NUC's USB-Port via the adapter, I am seeing gigabit speeds!  945Mbps Up/Dn (Fidium fiber w a couple gigabit switches in-line from my router), simplified view:

Fidium Fiber --> [ONT] --> [Router] --> [Sw1] --> [Sw2] --> [NUC] 

This is the adapter I am using:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CK9X9Z8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not ideal, but an easy workaround.