FIX: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

Event ID: 1, Realtek and being disconnected from the internet, the basics.

I have a work laptop where I often play games on as well, during work it is frustrating when your internet occasionally falls away, but when you play a computer game and your internet falls away, this is one of the most frustrating things out there. For games like hearthstone you can lose your progression in dungeons and start over.

Every time my internet disappeared, I saw a warning in my Event Viewer: “Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is not connected to the network“.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.

This sounds like a Realtek driver that does not work correctly. A driver can no longer function properly after a system update. So let’s start by updating your Realtek driver.

Below is a short solution for system administrators and a longer tutorial for the dummies among us.


Let’s fix Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.”

A short tutorial for the system engineers among us.

  • Right click This PC and click Manage.
  • Open Device Manager and search for Network Adapters.
    You need the network adapter that’s named Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller.
  • Right click the Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller adapter and select Update Driver software.
  • Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
    Your driver will now be updated.

If that doesn’t update the Realtek driver, please proceed by downloading the driver from the Realtek website and install the driver manually.


The tutorial for the dummies among us.

Go to start and search for Explorer.exe and right click This PC in the left menu.
Or search for This PC directly, right click This PC and select Manage.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller.

Computer Management will open. Select Device Manager in the left menu.
Now open the tab Network Adapters and select the Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller adapter.
Right click the Realtek network adapter and select Update Driver software.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

You get the same screen as in the screenshot below.
Select Search automatically for updated driver software.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.The latest driver updates are now installed, or you will be notified that the last update has already been installed. If you get that message, this can have two causes:

  • The last update has been installed and this is not the case here.
  • Windows can not find the driver updates.

To be sure that you have the latest update you can download the driver from the Realtek website.

If you follow the link you will get to the drivers page of Realtek. Here you can see the different drivers per operating system. Select the correct driver that fits your OS.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller.

Download the file and unzip it.
Now go back to the Device Manager, and re-open the option to update the driver, but now select Browse my computer for driver software.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

Browse to the directory you’ve unzipped and make sure you check the box for “include subfolders” Windows will now search for the newest driver manually.

Has your driver been updated now? See if you still have disconnect problems.


Did you update the driver, but still have problems? Then keep reading.

Let’s go through a few driver settings.

The Realtek driver has various settings that you can adjust. These adjustments can also ensure a better connection.

If you right-click on the Network Adapter click and choose Properties you see more settings.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

One of these settings is in the Power Management tab. Here you see Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. In my opinion, this option means that Windows can disable your driver to free up resources, but I’m not sure about this. You can disable it in any case.

Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network

Does it still not solve the issue?

Go again to the Realtek PCIe Family Controller driver and click this time on the Advanced tab.

There are three settings we’ll change:

  • Set Auto Disable Gigabit to Disable.
  • Set Green Ethernet to Disable.
  • Set Energy Efficient Ethernet to Disable.

With the settings we have adapted, we ensure that Windows no longer switches off the Realtek driver. The annoying thing about this is that you continue to see the event viewer notification. The problem is no longer there.


Summary

Unfortunately, this is a problem that can have different causes, so this may not solve your problem. If you find the solution, can you put it in the comments for other users?
If you have other questions you can also leave a comment.


The complete event viewer notification for when users are googling something else.

Log Name: System
Source: rt640x64
Date: 5/9/2016 7:49:32 PM
Event ID: 1
Task Category: Non
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: %COMPUTERNAME%
Description:
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="rt640x64" />
<EventID Qualifiers="32768">1</EventID>
<Level>3</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2016-05-09T17:49:32.394855500Z" />
<EventRecordID>19941</EventRecordID>
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>%COMPUTERNAME%</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>\Device\NDMP2</Data>
<Data>Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
<Binary>00000000020030000000000001000080000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000</Binary>
</EventData>
</Event>

Published by

Bas Wijdenes

My name is Bas Wijdenes and I work as a PowerShell DevOps Engineer. In my spare time I write about interesting stuff that I encounter during my work.

29 thoughts on “FIX: Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller is disconnected from network”

  1. This really helped me with my issue. Who would’ve thought power management was applied to my network adapter and that it would turn it off at the first signs of inactivity. smh!! Thank you for a thorogh and thoughtful article – it really helped and made my whole day!! 🙂 Probably more than that.

  2. Here we are in 2021 and still issues with the driver. However, the issue is not the vendor the issue is that MS keeps sending their own flavor of the driver v1.0.0 and it breaks network connections without any issues… So each month as I am doing my Windows update, as there no option to say no to what gets pushed, I have to rollback the RealTeck NIC v1.0.0 to the previous approved vendor driver then I can reboot and complete the windows updates… I really wish MS would fix this POS driver they keep trying to push.

  3. Thanks a lot for this article. My problem was around 2-3 days ago suddenly internet cable connected was appearing as No cable connected or it is broken (in adapter options). I knew that I have a working cable and tested with the other one – same results. Went through all these options and after these steps it started to work:
    Set Auto Disable Gigabit to Disable.
    Set Green Ethernet to Disable.
    Set Energy Efficient Ethernet to Disable.

  4. this is the message i am getting when i right click on properties

    your system computer firmware does not include enough information to property configure and use this device.to use this device contact your computer manufacture to obtain a firmware pr BIOS update (code 35)

  5. I recently just started having an issue where my connectivity on both wifi and ethernet would drop, but there would be no indication in the OS.

    The fix for me, just like a lot of other people, was to disable Energy Efficient Ethernet in the adapter’s advanced properties.

    Device Manager -> Network adapters -> Realtek PCIe -> (r-click) -> Properties -> Advanced tab -> Energy Efficient Ethernet

  6. Hi Bas,
    I have Dell Inspiron 15″ laptop with windows 10 home edition. Wifi is working fine in my laptop but when I connect ethernet, I am seeing network adapter for LAN as cable unplugged. When I tried with my office laptop ethernet connection is working fine and with this I came to know the issue is only with my personal laptop that has Realtek PCIe FE Family controller.
    I have updated drivers and did all the steps as mentioned in the above posts but nothing working for me. I have tried for 3days but still no luck.
    Could you please help me on how to fix this issue where I can resolve LAN network should not show cable unplugged when I connect ethernet cable.

    1. Hi Vijay I have that same problem with my computer Dell Inspiron I expend so many weeks trying to fix it and seen You tube and so on but nothing work I began to work and I bought a Software named PC WIZARD Advanced program repair and made an installation of all the drivers Network Adapters and now my computer is working so good.
      My problem was No Wireless No Network Adapter.I expend a few dollars in Ebay and that it…..

  7. This setting change that was specified in the blog ended up working for me:

    Set Energy Efficient Ethernet to Disable.

    Mine was enabled. Before disabling, I would get constant disconnects while connected to online meetings (Skype, GoToMeeting, Mitel) and calls.

    After disabling, this all stopped! Crazy how a simple/obscure setting like that can cause so may problems. Thank you for posting these potential fixes!

  8. Every one of these resolutions I try works for a bit then it goes back to screwing up again. I think I am having this problem because of windows 7 updates. I am not kidding, I got this pC un Updated , Factory reset, clean as a whistle. It a pavilion i5 core 3.10Ghz x4 with 8 Gigs of memory on it. it worked flawlessly for a few days until I allowed the updates. it is literally like I updated a tracker onto my system, a Keystroke hijacker. I believe it is some kind of BULLSHIT they are pulling to collect information and they didn’t think it out right. Why? Guess what happens when I disable my OWN antivirus protection and go without Or with only defender. I get a perfect working machine for about 4 searches or so online, then I get a lag time on every single one. when I shut down – re boot, clear all my internet history on every browser, and then connect to the net again the whole thing starts over again. ( so I also rebooted without doing all that and it does not start all over again, it just keeps doing what it was doing, seems like it’s collecting information)

    I am pretty mad about this.

  9. Hello, I couldn’t connect via ethernet cable and read that I should uninstall the Realtek controller and then reinstall. Problem is that after the uninstall I couldn’t find the controller to reinstall. Can I reinstall another way or is it a hardware issue. All forums just refer to the driver as a fix and that doesn’t apply here. Your help would be appreciated. Thanks

  10. I tried it all. Crazy issue.
    In the end I pulled the power plug. Removed the BIOS battery. Held the power button in for 30 seconds. Waited for 10 mins fully electrically disconnected. Put battery back in, and started it. Optionally: I disabled the NIC in the BIOS, saved it and rebooted, then enabled the NIC and rebooted.
    It is now working normally. Crazy sultion to drain all capacitor charges. Meh. Driver never made a difference…

    ASUS b85ME
    Windows 10 Pro EDU
    Realtek PCIe Gbr Familly …

  11. Thanks.
    The issue is not solved on my computer, (P8P67 Asus based), but at least I checked it’s probably not software.
    I think it’s hardware.
    On Asus forum I read on that MoBo page that having a Sandy Brige on it (like my i5 2400) can cause long-term malfunction.
    Anyway, my 2011 mobo/cpu/ram combo can use an upgrade.
    Thanks again for the time spent for this article

  12. The settings for driver resolved months of random disconnections from my desktop via remote desktop. I am on HP T520 thin client and its Realtek driver is 7.75.827.2013 from 27/8/2013.

    Thanks for this very helpful post

  13. Thank you, thank you. I have a Dell 7537 with Realtek controller and I have had this trouble for nearly a year. I had spoken to the Internet service provider, the modem people, microsoft and Dell and no one could help me. I had tried to update the driver several times both through Windows and the Dell website but it never did anything. Windows always says it was up to date. Your tutorial blog was found after several other attempts by me to find a solution.
    My ethernet has been stable for 36 hours now for the first time in ages.
    Can’t thank you enough for your help.

  14. Hi Bas,
    I have the exact same issue, same coding everything is identical.
    I have followed all processes you suggested but nothing has worked.
    So far I have checked isp connection, replaced all cables, had the network card replaced (it is part of motherboard and my vedour replaced the entire board for me), then I found your post so updated driver from Realtek even though it said I had latest driver, changed the settings you suggested.
    It is a very frustrating issue. It has been intermittent for over a year, short periods every few months but the last 3 months I am disconnected every few minutes the entire time the PC is on. I have Just done a complete new install of windows 10 and updated all drivers again and it is still a constant issue

    Help!

  15. Thanks Bas,
    I had a numbers of errors: 1, 10016, 34, 360. After I changed these settings of yours and rebooted nothing changed, when I set them back as before and rebooted, all is good! Just needed a kick in the pants I suppose 🙂

    •Auto Disable Gigabit > Disable
    •Green Ethernet > Disable
    •Energy Efficient Ethernet > Disable

    Regards,
    Paul

  16. I have a dell inspirion 3668. I did exactly what you said and after it updated the driver and restarted, I cannot get to the login screen because the mouse and the keyboard will not work. Both keyboard and mouse work with setup and Bios, but when it boots up I can’t get to the sign in screen. Now what. BTW Windows 10 pro

  17. Hi Bas,
    Thank you for taking the time & effort to post this info. My ‘Realtek’ card could be pretty flaky and would drop the connection intermittently (usually at the most inopportune moment!! I’m going to try these tips in the hope that it will stabilise it.

    Thanks again. 🙂

  18. This did not fix my issue with regards to wifi connections. They do not show up in the list as before.

    Any other ideas?

  19. Thanks Bas, this fixed it for me.

    I have a Dell Inspiron 7537, came with Win8, the ethernet would not stay connected after upgrading to Win10. Windows update and Dell both said I had the latest drivers, which was dated from 2015.

    I didn’t think of checking Realtek’s website until I ran into your post. Realtek’s drivers are much newer. My connection is now stable!

    Again, thanks!

  20. I have a Lenovo laptop B413- which dropped the wired Ethernet connection regularly… The windows updated driver had this problem; removing it fixed (reverting to an older driver) fixed the problem.
    However, I then pulled the latest driver from the website as described here, and this latest one worked too.
    Thanks for your article.

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