Debian KDE: Wired Ethernet Without Internet Causes Internet Breakage, WiFi Works

Are you experiencing issues with your Debian KDE system where a wired Ethernet connection without internet access is causing your WiFi to stop working? This can be a frustrating issue to troubleshoot, but luckily there are a few steps you can take to try and resolve the problem.

First, it is important to understand that this issue is likely caused by a misconfiguration in the network settings of your Debian KDE system. When the system detects a wired Ethernet connection, it may automatically disable the WiFi connection in order to prevent conflicts. However, if the wired Ethernet connection does not have an active internet connection, this can cause problems with the overall network connectivity of the system.

To troubleshoot this issue, you can try the following steps:

Step 1: Check the network settings

The first step is to check the network settings of your Debian KDE system. To do this, open the Network Settings window. You can do this by right-clicking on the network icon in the system tray and selecting "Network Settings".

Once the Network Settings window is open, select the "Wired" tab. Make sure that the "Connect automatically" option is checked. This will ensure that the wired Ethernet connection is enabled whenever a cable is plugged in.

Next, select the "WiFi" tab. Make sure that the "Connect automatically" option is also checked for your WiFi network. This will ensure that the WiFi connection is enabled whenever it is available.

Step 2: Check the routing table

If the network settings are configured correctly, the next step is to check the routing table. The routing table is a list of rules that determines how network traffic is routed between different networks. If the routing table is misconfigured, it can cause problems with network connectivity.

To check the routing table, open a terminal window and enter the following command:

sudo ip route

This will display the routing table for your Debian KDE system. If you see any entries that are not related to your local network or the internet, you can try deleting them using the following command:

sudo ip route del 

Replace with the IP address and netmask of the entry you want to delete. For example, if the entry is 192.168.1.0/24, you would enter the following command:

sudo ip route del 192.168.1.0/24

Step 3: Check the DNS settings

If the network settings and routing table are configured correctly, the next step is to check the DNS settings. DNS (Domain Name System) is a system that translates domain names (such as example.com) into IP addresses (such as 192.0.2.1). If the DNS settings are misconfigured, it can cause problems with network connectivity.

To check the DNS settings, open a terminal window and enter the following command:

cat /etc/resolv.conf

This will display the DNS settings for your Debian KDE system. If you see any entries that are not related to your local network or the internet, you can try deleting them and adding the correct entries using the following commands:

sudo rm /etc/resolv.conf
sudo echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" > /etc/resolv.conf
sudo echo "nameserver 8.8.4.4" >> /etc/resolv.conf

These commands will remove the existing DNS settings and add two new entries that use Google's public DNS servers. You can replace these entries with the DNS servers provided by your internet service provider or a third-party DNS service if you prefer.

Step 4: Restart the network manager

If the network settings, routing table, and DNS settings are configured correctly, the final step is to restart the network manager. The network manager is a system service that manages the network connections on your Debian KDE system.

To restart the network manager, open a terminal window and enter the following command:

sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager

This will restart the network manager and apply any changes to the network settings. Once the network manager has restarted, you should be able to connect to the internet using either the wired Ethernet or WiFi connection.

If you are experiencing issues with your Debian KDE system where a wired Ethernet connection without internet access is causing your WiFi to stop working, you can try the following steps to troubleshoot the problem:

• Check the network settings
• Check the routing table
• Check the DNS settings
• Restart the network manager

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue and get your Debian KDE system back online.

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