XBOX One S: Network connectivity issues - Ethernet Packet Loss

For history, please refer to New Xbox One S drops network connection when in Instant On mode

The above thread is locked for further additions, demonstrates a far reaching issue affecting many XBOX owners.

Issue: Xbox One S experiences up to 100% packet loss via Ethernet connection.

Device: XBOX One S, Latest firmware as of 31-OCT-2018

Symptoms: 10-100% packet loss up/down will occur resulting in total connection failure to the network:

• Failure to respond to ICMP ping for local and external traffic
• Intermittent ICMP ping response and increased latency >3-3000ms between LAN nodes
• Inability to reconnect/resolve after restarting the Xbox One
• Inability to sign-in to xbox live (due to failed network)
• Partial success logging into xbox live / intermittent log offs
• In-built troubleshooter will cycle through error codes and troubleshooting steps, including requesting restart of devices, "you are not connected to the internet", NAT not open, "you are not connected to the internet", "Cannot get a Teredo IP address",
  etc.

Detail:

Typically, the XBOX One will, upon first use function as expected, connect to live as expected and cause no problems. Upon a shutdown and restart, or in some cases after significant up-time (>8-12hrs) the XBOX will start to drop
packets. This can be from 10% to 100% in most cases. This then causes XBOX Live to intermittently connect then log a person out of live unexpectedly. Once the packet loss is significant enough, XBOX live will fail to connect. The troubleshooter will cycle
through error messages depending on the level of packet loss, this will be due to some conditions for the test being successful, eg the NAT port test either returning a result or failing or simply the Microsoft Live servers DNS responding / or failing. The
troubleshooter messages returned to the user is contingent on specific conditions for that test being met to return an error. The packet loss does not appear to be tested or form part of the troubleshooter - it simply influences the returned error.

The XBOX has two power modes, "Instant-on" and "Energy saving". Observations has shown that the network state appears to be retained through power cycles in both modes and will respond to ICMP ping tests through a restart and/or
exhibit the packet loss issue throughout the restart. The issue is resolved only when the network state is fully cleared/reset and the connection is re-established. The issue can again be produced by shutting down the XBOX and turning it back on. This, however
may take a few attempts to reproduce or be observed by the user.

This issue is present, and can be reproduced using all most common routers and modems in all standard topology.

How to reproduce:

Assume a real-use test case. Perform these steps to reproduce.

1. From fully unplugged xbox one already configured, ensure latest firmware,
2. connect Ethernet cable to network.
3. Connect power and turn on.
4. Confirm network traffic and sign into xbox live.
5. Utilise the xbox, ie play a game/watch Netflix etc for a reasonable period. Eg 1 hour.
6. Shutdown the xbox from the menu.
7. Leave the xbox for a reasonable period of time, eg 1 hour or more
8. Select "Turn off the console" from the system menu or by holding down the X button on the controller
9. turn on the xbox

The issue and symptoms should be reproduced. If not, shutdown/restart the xbox and repeat steps 4-8.

Workaround/Resolution:

The only way to resolve this issue is to cause the network state to be fully cleared from the XBOX. There is no way to fully resolve this issue, only workarounds.

As described in the forums and in Microsoft XBOX troubleshooting guides, performing a full power drain and fresh startup will resolve the issue. The following processes will often result in a temporary workaround.

Force offline mode and perform a full shutdown (most reliable):

1. Go to Settings > Network > Network settings > Offline Mode
2. Go to Settings > Power and Startup > Turn off or Restart > Full Shut down
3. Once the XBOX is off, turn it on, return to Settings > Network > Network settings > Go online

Force network state change by changing network settings:

1. Go to Settings > Network > Network settings > Advanced settings
2. Select IP settings and enter in a fake and unattainable IP address, such as 1.1.1.1, subnet mask 255.255.255.0.
3. Enter 1.1.1.1 as DNS
4. Note the IP address changing on the XBOX one network page. Confirmation of successful IP 'flush' will be present as 0.0.0.0 and/or the IP address you entered being set. This will fail a network state. The XBOX won’t be a happy chappy!
5. Go back to the IP address settings, return the settings to Automatic OR your specific IP address and immediately restart the XBOX.

Force network state change AND port change:

1. Change network settings as per above
2. Additionally, Go to Alternate Port selection and change the port manually to something else.
3. restart the Xbox immediately

According to forums some success has been noted for people rebooting their modem/router. This can indeed cause the state to change, but a restart of the XBOX is often also required. Hence:

1. Whilst in Go to Settings > Network > Network settings > Advanced settings, Note the IP settings and Fully power-cycle modem/router
2. Noting if the IP address changes to 0.0.0.0 or a 169.x.x.x address, this confirms the IP settings are cleared. (Note static IP address is not likely to change), If the IP address did not change, continue to step 3.
3. Once modem is online attempt to reconnect to XBOX live, if failed, restart the XBOX.

Additional troubleshooting steps or combinations and variations of the above actions may result in successfully working around this issue.

The following steps are NOT valid for occurrences of this issue and will not in most cases assist in resolution.

1. Following the inbuilt XBOX troubleshooter
2. continuously restarting the XBOX without the additional actions above
3. Resetting Modem/Router to factory settings
4. Resetting XBOX to factory settings (issue will reoccur)
5. replacing a known working Modem/Router
6. replacing a known working Cat5, Cat5e UTP network cable
7. Placing the XBOX into the DMZ mode or configuring port triggering/port forwarding

--------------------------- Technical details below ------------------

Technical diagnoses and troubleshooting

The following assumes you have: Started with a fresh XBOX, configure and confirm online and able to sign into xbox live. Install a game for testing purposes. Connected the XBOX to a Switch/Modem/Router with uPNP enabled, DHCP assigned
or Static assigned IP address with ICMP Ping enabled for local LAN traffic and/or no firewall between LAN nodes. Internet is confirmed working and sufficient for the purposes of connecting to XBOX Live. XBOX Live is currently online without service disruption.

1. Turn on the XBOX and start a continual ping test from another machine or From the router on the local LAN.

Suggest, using Microsoft Windows based PC booted from an Windows install CD, thereby illuminating speculation of firewall and linux shaming and other such nonsense. Suggest a static DHCP leased IP configured from router or a static IP configured on
the xbox.

Eg, Ping -t <IP of xbox>

A fully working connection will have 0% packet loss and latency of <5ms node to node. (realistically <2ms or less on 1Gbps network).

2. With continual PING, reproduce the issue as per the steps described above. Take note of the ping results, noting when the XBOX is "switched off" if you are receiving ping response or not. You will be able to identify when the
XBOX is no longer on the network by a failed "Destination host unreachable".

3. Upon restarting/reproducing the issue, you will observe significant packet loss usually >20-30% and increased latency. You should notice sporadic latency and packet response. Symptoms of failure to sign into XBOX live and /or
game launches and network dependent functions, such as checking for updates, signing into Netflix etc will be effected or fail outright.

As this is local node to node traffic within the LAN there should be no reason, for this to fail. At this stage you may wish to observe your DHCP/ARP table in your router. If DHCP assigned, confirm the lease granted time/date (if
displayed) to identify if a new lease has been obtained. (not likely).

Perform the troubleshooting steps as above; continuing the ping test.

You should be able to confirm the connection and link state (visibly on router if needed) of the xbox one during a 'restart', despite the power mode set. You may notice a brief link drop and re-establish. However, if you successfully
cleared the network state, you should observe a full 100% response to all packets at <5ms response and no issues with network connectivity of the XBOX live. IF unsuccessful, you will see the link state is active throughout the restart of the XBOX but the packet
loss will continue even after POST and home screen.

Note however, if you do a full system power cycle (power drain/start) network state is not initialised until AFTER the POST startup. This, should however resolve the issue until reproduced.

It is expected that "Energy saving" should cause a full power off state, and clear the network state by default. However if the unit is still connected to the mains power and, a restart operation is performed, it appears to be retained
and the issue persists. Performing a full shutdown from within Settings > Power also does not seem to resolve the issue.

Further testing possible:

Further isolation testing is possible to completely rule out the modem/router having "incompatibility" issues by:

1. Reproduce the issue as previously described
2. using a PC running a windows installer environment, directly connect a crossover cable or via dumb switch directly to the XBOX with a static IP on the same range and perform the ping test described above.
3. Perform the troubleshooting steps above

It is expected that the results would be similar. This is on the basis of the testing and hardware already described by many users in the forum mentioned and by 3rd party forums. This is also due to the issue being able to be resolved
by restarting the xbox alone, where the DHCP lease or static DHCP entry is present on the modem. Ie, the issue affects multiple devices where the lease was not cleared and settings of the modem/router were not purged but can be resolved.

Speculations and comments:

The Ethernet NIC chipset is Realtek RTL8111HM according to Xbox One S Teardown

This chipset has been noted publicly in many forums as having significant driver issues upon its release, causing packet loss and significant connection issues.



I acknowledge that the additional testing above has not been performed by me, nor have I tested this issue with respect to the Wireless NIC, MediaTek MT7612UN.

I would suggest at this stage that there is likely to be a significant driver issue with respect to the NIC and/or a possible overall issue with respect to the power and sleep state affecting the NIC.

I submit the above based on testing I have performed and observed, and the information publicly available and linked in this document. I would welcome others to test and validate my findings and publicly confirm (or deny) this
as an issue.

I write this with the hope that Microsoft will acknowledge and action and resolve the above, and that it will provide clarity and a suitable course of action for owners of the XBOX One S whom experience this issue.

I am a new to the XBOX and thus far am disappointed that this issue has affected me and moreover so many people over the course of 2+ years without any clear acknowledgement or resolution. I am disappointed that the common responses
in the linked thread, is to blame the Modem manufacturer, the ISP, the cabling and other devices on the network. I am, perhaps overly skeptical, but I am concerned that this issue appears to have been so common yet seemingly has very little correct technical
troubleshooting and identification publicly posted about it. This is clearly a device specific (XBOX) issue and it is highly unlikely that these issues have not been thoroughly troubleshooted and identified before I went out and bought an XBOX One S.

:)

 

can't connect to xbox live

What is going on with xbox one network connectivity? Even Edge days "server error". I have no connection and 100% packet loss

 

Error 0x801901f4

Thanks for that info. Please see our Multiplayer Connection troubleshooting guide as it includes steps for issues pertaining to packet loss
under "You have high packet loss". While your packet loss is not currently high, any packet loss can contribute to any network issues you're experiencing.

 

Hello Lyric!

Thanks for bringing this situation to our attention. It sounds like you have tried a lot of different steps and solutions to get this resolved. I understand your console starts off functioning fine and will sometimes maintain that state for a while but eventually
packet loss starts and continues to the point where the console is unusable online is that correct? If so I recommend taking a look at these support articles for more information:

Xbox Support Networking. If you feel like you have tried all possible actions or troubleshooting on both your network and the console it is possible that the console may need to be serviced (possible internal component failure). You can find more information
about how to replace or exchange your console here (within warranty guidelines):

Getting your Xbox console or Kinect sensor serviced.

Hope this helps

 

Hi George,

Thanks for your reply.

You are more or less understanding correctly; I would like to clarify simply - The XBOX functions as expected and without fault until either specific conditions are met,

A) Usage beyond 8-12 hours (from my observations/experience but threshold unknown, suspect data transfer limit?)

B) Until a standard shutdown other than "Full shutdown" is used.

As per the original poster of the thread I referenced, a few other similar threads currently active in MS forums and with similar other 3rd party forums all indicate this issue and the symptoms, behaviors and conditions I have detailed.

In my opinion, this issue is isolated solely to the XBOX and does not seem consistent with a hardware related issue.

If for example the Realtek NIC chipset itself is faulty, It is a huge misstep by Microsoft and even further by Realtek. Too much testing and quality assurance would have been done. A faulty chipset would, depending on the fault, cause power fluctuations
or even full system crashes or inability to power on, fail at POST etc. In any event, the behavior and symptoms would degrade over time - ie the problem would get worse, mean time between failures would increase etc. It would likely also present as a complete
inability to function, eg no link state etc.

Other component failures would also present with other symptoms. Instead we have 100% functionality and performance for a consistent period of time and it can be measured and reproduced - at least seemingly by my interpretation of other peoples posts and
my own observations.

However, if I am wrong - then I am wrong. In any case I am the 2nd owner of my XBOX so warranty may be an issue there for me personally.

Given the points I have made, I suspect there is a software issue that needs to be addressed, and I really feel for those who have spent money on new cables, modems and even changed ISP's chasing a false resolution of this issue.

George, I also did double check the troubleshooter link you sent me to, I appreciate that, however in this case those support articles are not appropriate to this issue. The troubleshooter will never accommodate for troubleshooting an unexpected fault condition..
In this case, (IMHO) it would be where a physical link state exist, valid IP, subnet and gateway, and limited or no Up or down (or both) traffic is being received/transmitted. It would be interpreted by the most applicable built in troubleshooting rule depending
on the number of packets received.. eg, if 50% loss may be that the NAT test fails or the connection latency is too high.

If the issue can be so easily (buy annoyingly) resolved by restarting the device, then function perfectly again consistently until a failure condition is met, then it does mean that we can test and verify the fault and easily rule out the usual suspects.
It should be a simple matter, if those who also experience this problem could confirm that they too A) have the problem and same circumstances and B) the resolution I offered resolves it, then the course of action would be clear... identify the cause and offer
a firmware update and/or ..if hardware then offer a recall.

For those who are IT savy and experience the same issue with their XBOX, I would appreciate if my observations can be tested and verified or, if it is the case, discounted and those results posted here.