Ethernet seems to have stopped working after 3 months of successfully using Prusa Connect
Hey all, was working from home this morning, jockeying prints when i suddenly couldn't send a file through prusa slicer due to a timeout error. I checked the prusa connect front end and that also timed out.
The printer showed the ethernet connection icon, but when i went to network settings it just showed the ip address of 0.0.0.0.
Troubleshooting steps so far:
- restarted the prusa mini
- turned networking on and off on the printer
- toggled between static and dhcp
- (was interested in trying to set up a static ip but the ui wouldn't let me select/change the ip address, so unsure how to do that)
- restarted the network switch
- restarted the home network
- tried a different cable and port
- (network switch shows no lights)
- flashed from 4.4.0 to 4.4.1
at this point, when i go to settings the network settings screen flashes black, alternating between "N/A" and 0.0.0.0 until timing out back to the main menu where the network icon continues to flicker/flash.
I guess my only known troubleshooting step left is to do a factory reset, which i'd rather not do just because i don't want to lose my sweet sweet stats 😅 - but i'm at a total loss. I was really enjoying the flexibility of this finally delivered long-promised feature and i'm not sure what to try next or how to know if this is some sort of latent hardware issue / cosmic ray that is now permanently broken on my board :/
anyway, wanted to post here before reaching out to live chat. I did a bunch of searches and nothing really came up that seemed relevant, but i may have missed something that's already posted here, in which case i'm sorry!
RE: Ethernet seems to have stopped working after 3 months of successfully using Prusa Connect
If your network switch shows no light, (Link/activity) then there is no physical activity on that port. So it is either the port on that switch is bad, or the cable.. (but you changed that.. note.. I have once changed one bad cable for another bad cable) or the physical port on the Prusa is bad.. Your Prusa is not communicating with the switch and so gets no IP address. Setting a manual address will not help because you have no physical connection. Try another port on your switch. (You powered off and on your switch?) Now you say you restarted your mini.. was that a Power off/0n reset.. often a reset of Power fixes these things if they are going to fix.. But you might have gotten hit with a surge (any lightning recently) which took out the port on your Prusa..
RE: Ethernet seems to have stopped working after 3 months of successfully using Prusa Connect
thanks for the reply - I’ve mix and matched confirmed cables and switch ports and power cycled it all multiple times.
no lightning or surges and the printer is on the same UPS as my homes network gear. It manifested between prints. I started a print from the slicer and then lost connection sometime before it ended and tried to send it another one.
i think the only thing left for me to try is a full factory reset, but im not sure what that could fix that reflashing didn’t 😞
RE:
just to be clear, because i don't think i was with my OP - every port on my switch is working (blinking, etc) but when i plug the printer in (using confirmed cables) there are no lights - the switch is totally unaware that the prusa is on the other end of the cable.
I just did a factory reset and the problem persists - sporadically flashing network icon, no response from the network switch's connection, etc. i guess i'll escalate to tech support. somehow the ethernet controller must have died?
RE:
Use link here... IP Settings - Mini. I'd try to set a fixed IP address ( somewhere well above what your router is giving out for IP addresses.. like x.x.x.150. And see if your switch shows an active link LED.. There might be some firmware bugs in their TCPIP stack. That link shows how to create a text INI file to set your Address mask and gateway (just use NotePad (win11) or TextEdit (MacOS) .. for instance if you network is:
192.168.2.x (most networks use the first 2 numbers, then a number for your network.. the last 'x' is for each machine..
mask is: 255.255.255.0
gateway is address of your router.. likely 192.168.2.1 from my example above.
Assign your machine an address like 192.168.2.150.. high enough not to conflict with addresses given out by your router..
You can load these settings using the LOAD SETTINGS command on the screen and maybe, just maybe your machine will activate the EThernet port.. look at the switch and see if there is a link light.. Check your ethernet port pins by unplugging your cable and ensure nothing is bent..
Hard to believe Prusa has made this a solid interface after this long.. Now another option might be OctoPrint which is 10x better than the built-in ethernet .. You only need an Orange Pi Zero 2 (not just zero.. but Zero 2) and 1GB of ram.. About $60US from AliExpress.. will give you all you need.. I think Mini will work with OctoPrint by connecting to USB port, but check with others.. I use it everyday on my MK3+. The plugins of Octoprint expand the abilities of monitoring your machine.. like bed leveling.. exclusion regions.. etc.. Wonderful s/w..
RE: Ethernet seems to have stopped working after 3 months of successfully using Prusa Connect
If the ethernet port on the Mini died, you'll need a new board.. not sure if that is on the main PCB controlling the steppers or if it is a small "daughter" board. Think it is on a small 2nd board. Still under warranty?