B650 Gaming Plus Wifi - Ethernet controller disappears after shutdown/reboot and only returns after full power drain

[gigibianchi1156402d9]

Hello,

I have an issue with the onboard Ethernet controller on my MSI B650 Gaming Plus WiFi motherboard.

The Ethernet controller disappears randomly and is sometimes no longer detected at all.

The only workaround that sometimes makes it come back is:
- shut down the PC
- unplug PSU power
- hold the power button for around 30 seconds
- reconnect power
- start the PC again

Even then, it does not always work on the first try. Sometimes I have to repeat the full procedure two or three times before the Ethernet controller is detected again.

I have already tried the following to solve the issue:

- updated the BIOS to the latest version
- loaded BIOS default settings
- performed a clear CMOS
- tested with stock BIOS settings
- tested with EXPO disabled / stock configuration
- checked that the onboard LAN is enabled in BIOS
- removed previous LAN drivers and reinstalled the correct Realtek driver
- reinstalled / attempted to reinstall AMD chipset drivers
- disabled Windows power saving options for the network adapter
- tested under Windows
- tested under Linux live USB, with the same issue

- removed the PCIe network card and tested only the onboard Ethernet controller

The problem still remains.

What is most concerning is that after the Ethernet works again, I can use the PC normally, shut it down, power it back on, and the exact same problem happens again. Then I have to repeat the full power drain procedure again.

Because the issue also occurs outside Windows, and because a full power drain is required to sometimes restore detection, this looks more like a hardware / motherboard-level issue than a normal driver issue.

Has anyone seen this before on this board, and does this require RMA?

Thank you.

 

[ericj159802e9]

What is most concerning is that after the Ethernet works again, I can use the PC normally, shut it down, power it back on, and the exact same problem happens again. Then I have to repeat the full power drain procedure again.

Does the problem consistently happen after you shut down the PC? Does it matter whether there is shorter or longer period between shutting down and starting the PC again?

Are you using Windows Fast Startup? If so try disabling and see if that makes a difference.

The onboard Ethernet adapter is hooked up to the 5V Standby voltage line. Do you have another PSU that you could use for testing?

 

[gigibianchi1156402d9]

The amount of time between shutdown and startup does not seem to make any difference. I can leave the PC off overnight, and the same problem still happens.

What is strange is that I first had this issue when I initially built the PC. At that time, I installed the drivers and used the power drain procedure, and then everything worked normally for about 4 to 5 months without any problem.

It is only since about one week ago that the same issue has started happening again. I have not changed anything physically in the PC, and I have not made any software changes either.

Windows Fast Startup was already disabled for testing, but it did not make any difference.

I do not know how to verify whether the onboard Ethernet is powered by the 5V standby line. However, testing with another PSU is a good idea, and I actually have another power supply arriving soon, so I will be able to try that.

In any case, thank you for your quick reply.

 

[ericj159802e9]

I do not know how to verify whether the onboard Ethernet is powered by the 5V standby line.

It is something I learned here at the forums. Coming to think of it it makes sense. In order to be support Wake on Lan an Ethernet or WiFi adapter needs to be powered on. And that's why the draining of the PSU makes sense because it will also drain the 5V Standby Voltate line (which whould otherwise never shut down).

However, testing with another PSU is a good idea, and I actually have another power supply arriving soon, so I will be able to try that.

Keep us posted.

 

[gigibianchi1156402d9]

Here is an update after further testing.

Current configuration before testing:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- GPU: RX 7900 XTX
- RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5
- Storage: 1x SATA drive + 1x NVMe (1TB)
- PSU: Corsair RM1000x

Before doing any changes, the issue was present. I performed a full power drain (PSU unplugged + holding the power button for around 30 seconds), and the Ethernet controller came back.

I then started testing different hardware configurations:

1) Changed PSU to MSI A650GL:
- The issue did not occur anymore
- Multiple shutdown / reboot cycles → Ethernet remained stable

2) Changed GPU to RTX 3070 (with MSI PSU):
- Still no issue

3) Switched back to my original GPU (RX 7900 XTX) with the MSI PSU:
- Still no issue

4) Switched back to my original PSU (Corsair RM1000x):
- The Ethernet still works normally
- No issue even after reboot/shutdown

So at this point:
- I tested different PSU, GPU, and configurations
- I also tested with minimal setup and by disconnecting peripherals and Ethernet cable
- The issue is no longer consistently reproducible

It may be that the issue is more likely to occur after the PC has been powered off for a long period (for example overnight), and then powered on again.

This makes the issue seem intermittent or related to power state rather than a specific component.

At this point, I am not able to clearly identify the root cause.

I will keep you updated if the issue happens again.

 

[C0K01_]

Same issue with B850 edge ti

It also sometimes happens after sleep for me.
Had it happening for 2 days in a row. One time in the morning and one time after sleep.

Also full de-power (removing the cable and "turning it on" without the power cable) is the only thing that helps so far.

PSU NZXT C1200
CPU R7 7700
GPU 5070

 

[expmod154b02d6]

What network driver version are you using? I noticed a problem when installing the driver from different websites and builds, but when I install it from the MSI website, there are no issues with the drivers or the network card disappearing.
I even installed the latest official driver that Realtek updates themselves. The network can simply disappear, and a power reset and a rollback to the driver offered in the motherboard section on the MSI website helps.
In my case, the integrated network adapter is a Realtek RTL8125BG. If you search the internet, you'll see that many people have been complaining about this adapter for a long time.
p.s sorry, i have MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI

 

[gigibianchi1156402d9]

I think I have been able to better identify when the issue happens.

It seems to occur when I leave the PC plugged in overnight.

When I want to start it the next day, if I plug the power cable in and wait about 10–20 seconds before turning the PC on, the Ethernet works normally.

I tried this today and it worked.

However, this does not seem fully reliable. I had already tried a similar procedure last week and it did not work at that time, so the behavior still seems inconsistent.

For reference, the driver version I am currently using is:
rt640x64.cat, 10.079.1003.2025

At this point, I think it is most likely a hardware defect with the motherboard.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to use the warranty, as I bought the board second-hand and the seller did not provide an invoice.

 

[C0K01_]

What network driver version are you using? I noticed a problem when installing the driver from different websites and builds, but when I install it from the MSI website, there are no issues with the drivers or the network card disappearing.
I even installed the latest official driver that Realtek updates themselves. The network can simply disappear, and a power reset and a rollback to the driver offered in the motherboard section on the MSI website helps.
In my case, the integrated network adapter is a Realtek RTL8125BG. If you search the internet, you'll see that many people have been complaining about this adapter for a long time.
p.s sorry, i have MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI

From the MB page, but what's interesting is that when the wifi disappears, the driver can't even be installed.
Unfortunately I don't remeber the exact error, but I just couldn't install it because the button was greyed out. As if wifi didn't exist at all.
"re powring" helped and I could reinstall the driver.