Ethernet is not working but wifi does

Hardware Support
1

Hello, I'm new to Linux and need some help, if possible.
I have two machines and ethernet is DOWN is both of them since a couple of days ago. WiFi is still working. Zorin is the only OS installed.

What I already did:
Updated the OS; restarted the NetworkManager; booted from another version in GRUB; turned off Secure Boot in UEFI; followed IA instructions to try to fix it.

Computer 'A':

uname -a
Linux starfish-MS-7A38 6.17.0-35-generic #35~24.04.1-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue May 26 19:30:42 UTC 2 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

sudo lshw -C network
*-network
descrição: Ethernet interface
produto: RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
fabricante: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
ID físico: 0
informações do barramento: pci@0000:25:00.0
nome lógico: enp37s0
versão: 15
serial: 04:7c:16:c9:7a:7a
capacidade: 1Gbit/s
largura: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capacidades: pm msi pciexpress msix bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
configuração: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=6.17.0-35-generic firmware=rtl8168h-2_0.0.2 02/26/15 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=twisted pair
recursos: irq:32 porta de E/S:f000(tamanho=256) memória:fcd04000-fcd04fff memória:fcd00000-fcd03fff
*-network
descrição: Interface sem fio
ID físico: 5
informações do barramento: usb@1:8
nome lógico: wlxc0252fb6c252
serial: c0:25:2f:b6:c2:52
capacidades: ethernet physical wireless
configuração: broadcast=yes driver=rtl8xxxu driverversion=6.17.0-35-generic firmware=N/A ip=192.168.235.222 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11

inxi
CPU: 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 4600G with Radeon Graphics (-MT MCP-)
speed/min/max: 2434/406/4309 MHz Kernel: 6.17.0-35-generic x86_64 Up: 11m
Mem: 2.49/13.54 GiB (18.4%) Storage: 223.57 GiB (42.5% used) Procs: 473
Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.34

2

Have you tried with the computer which shows the r8169 driver

sudo modprobe -r r8169

sudo modprobe r8169

?

2 Likes
3

Welcome to the Forum!

So, it worked before with Zorin, yes? Can You remember that You received some Updates? Did You try to reboot Your Router? Do the System are running in Wayland or X11? You can check that with the Command echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE via Terminal. Did You checked the ''Additional Drivers'' Tab in Software & Updates if there is a Driver offered?

1 Like
4

Thanks for replying.

Just tried. Didn't work.

5

Thank you.

It's Wayland.

Yes I've been using Zorin since 6 months or so with no problems.

I'm using a hotspot in my smartphone for the internet. WiFi comes from there. Have already restarted the phone.

I remember I received some updates.

The 'Additional Drivers' tab says that there are no drivers to show.

6

I would suggest trying a slightly older kernel from the advanced options grub menu and/or trying the slightly older R8168 driver.

1 Like
7

I posted something about my ethernet having faded and a ? mark. Just a few days ago. Someone led me to this. I was scared a bit. But this seemed to work. Someone else suggested network manager reboot too. This worked for me.

Screenshot from 2026-07-13 13-45-51
Screenshot from 2026-07-13 13-45-51986×645 33.4 KB

8

Can You remember what Updates?

We could see if it behaves different when switching to X11. To do that, go to the Login Screen. click there on Your Profile so that the Password Field appears. When it is appeared, You should see in the bottom right Corner a Gear Icon. Click on it and choose the Option ''Zorin Desktop on Xorg'' and then log in and test if Your Ethernet works again.

9

I agree, it is a quick thing to do and could then rule out a kernel update regression.
Just boot.
Then from grub menu, select "Additional Options for Zorin"
then choose to boot with previous (i.e. older) kernel generic version that is listed.

2 Likes