UD-4VPD Ethernet Randomly Disconnecting

The docking station ethernet works fine for about a day but then starts disconnecting every minute to few minutes, reconnects for a few minutes, and disconnects again. I’ve changed out the ethernet cables and ruled out that as an issue.

I’ve been having this issue since I bought the Docking Station last year. I checked this forum and it seems like many others are having the Ethernet Disconnection issue with other Plugable Docking Stations as well.

I’ve made sure my drivers are up to date and I’ve uninstalled the ethernet driver and reinstalled it to rule out that issue. I’ve been using my laptop’s Wi-Fi connection and haven’t put much thought back into this topic, but it would be nice to use a faster ethernet connection.

Hi,

Thank you for contacting us, I am sorry this is not working as expected and I am happy to help!

We have relatively few reported issues of wired Ethernet disconnections with the UD-4VPD docking station or docking stations that use the same Realtek chipset as this docking station, or our USB Type-C 2.5Gbps Ethernet adapter that utilizes the same chipset.

Based on your description of the issue I recommend we start by getting some additional details about the network setup and try to isolate any devices that could be causing reduced Ethernet reliability.

Is the docking station connected directly ( using a single cable ) to the Ethernet switch or router switch port? If the docking station is connected to a keystone wall port, Ethernet patch panel, or through another device ( like an IP phone system, or UPS battery backup ) then I recommend trying to connect the docking station directly to the router with a Category 6, 6a, or 7 cable to eliminate any devices and connections between the dock and network devices that may be causing reduced reliability.

Is the Ethernet switch or router switch port a Gigabit (1000Mbps) or 2.5Gbps network device? If 2.5Gbps please let me know the manufacturer name and model of the device.

We can also gather some log files from the system when the network is non-functional to check for any potential causes of the disconnection. When the network disconnects please run our PlugDebug utility with the additional networking check box checked and attach the log file created on your desktop to your reply email.

  1. Keep the docking station connected to the computer with the displays and devices connected to the docking station
  2. Download and run our PlugDebug utility ( http://plugable.com/support/plugdebug )
    2a) For Windows: Download the PlugDebug Utility, then Right-click on the PlugDebug application and run as administrator
    2b) For macOS: Click on the red button “Generate PlugDebug Report (Deprecated Pending Update)” to expand the section, select the PlugDebug utility from the Downloads pop-up on the Dock, or double-click if saved to the Desktop
    2c) Follow the on screen instructions to launch the application
  3. Click the “Start” button to begin gathering logs from the system
  4. When completed the application will pop-up a message with the name of the zip file containing the logs on the user desktop directory
  5. Please attach this zip file to your reply email to ‘support@plugable.com’ with the subject line ‘Ticket #437355 - Attention Pat’

This will allow us to examine some log files from your system to help determine the next steps.

Thank you, and I look forward to your reply.

Pat
Plugable Technology
support@plugable.com

Hello,

We narrowed this issue down to a faulty docking station and a replacement has been sent and resolved the network connectivity issue. This thread will be closed.

To any readers, if you encounter similar network connectivity issues please feel free to contact our support team directly via email, or start a new thread.

Thank you,

Pat
Plugable Technologies
support@plugable.com