Ethernet Not Working - Plugable USB 3.0 Docking Station

We have a Plugable USB 3.0 Docking Station. Everything works except the Ethernet port. The lights light up just fine but there is no connection. The WiFi works fine but that has nothing to do with the docking station. We can use an adapter for our Surface Pro’s and that works just fine but we need the Ethernet port to work. We are running Windows 10 but have also tested out systems running Windows 7, they have the same issue as well. Any suggestions?

Hi Lili,

Thanks for posting, and I would be happy to help with your docking station!

Thank you as well for letting me know the problem affects two different systems. Based on your description of the behavior a few quick additional questions for you…

Would you happen to have another Ethernet cable to swap in and test with to help rule out the current cable as the cause? I know you mentioned the cable works as expected with the adapter for your Surface Pro, but there can be instances where the cable could still be causing a problem…

By any chance is there a VOIP phone connected between the docking station and the network connection in the wall? If there is, can you remove the phone from the setup temporarily and connect the cable directly from the wall to the dock to see if that changes the behavior?

By any chance are you in a location (like a university or business) that has security measures in place that require new wired Ethernet devices to be registered before they will work? If that is the case, the hardware or ‘MAC’ address of the Ethernet adapter in the dock will need to given to those you provide such access (we can provide instructions for finding this out if you need them).

Please let us know if that information helps!

Bob
Plugable Technologies
www.plugable.com/support