Google TV Streamer loses ethernet connection when waking from sleep

[Fredlicious]

We recently upgraded from a Chromecast with Google TV (4k) to the Google TV Streamer in order to benefit from a wired internet connection, but unfortunately that has been causing issues. Roughly 75% of the time when the device wakes from sleep, it will lose connection via ethernet. Unplugging the cable and plugging it back in fixes it every time, but this is obviously not a good solution. We have tried:

- Updating software and firmware on the Google TV Streamer, the network switch, and the router.

- Factory resetting all of the above.

- Using a different ethernet cable.

- Using a different port on the network switch.

I'm starting to assume that we may have a lemon, but any additional suggestions of what to try would be appreciated. Thank you!

[Fredlicious · Accepted solution]

Well, I hope it helps some people, but I was able to get my device working properly by plugging it directly into the router, bypassing the unmanaged switch that we use to wire the large number of devices in our house. Obviously, Google still needs to fix the issue on their end since not everyone has this as a viable option (I had to do some rewiring of the house to even get a cable from the room where we use the Streamer to the router), but if even one person is saved the multi-month headache this has been thanks to this information, I'll be happy.

Best of luck, folks!

[Derickf]

Hi @Fredlicious,

Thanks for posting in the community. I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues with your Chromecast with Google TV (4K) getting disconnected from the network after it goes off, I'll be more than glad to assist you.

• Could you please confirm if you have checked if your Chromecast with Google TV (4K) has the ambient mode enabled? If yes, could you check for how much time that mode will work?

I’ll be waiting for your reply. 

Regards,

Derick.

[Fredlicious]

Just to clarify, we have the Google TV Streamer (the Chromecast is what we upgraded from). I assume that, by ambient mode, you mean letting it sit on the screensaver? I will test to see if it ever disconnects during that, though we almost never leave it in that state; whenever we're not using it to watch something, we typically just hit the power button on the remote to put the device to sleep (and simultaneously turn off the TV).

[Derickf]

Hi there!

Thank you for replying. Thank you for providing more specific information about the issue you have. I want to confirm: do you have the same issue when using the Wi-Fi connection instead of the Ethernet wire? 

I’ll be waiting for your reply.

Best regards,

Derick.

[Anonymous]

I have the same issue when connected with Ethernet. Wi-Fi doesn't have the issues.

[Fredlicious]

Yup, Wi-Fi works totally fine and maintains connection (or reconnects—it's hard to tell) when waking the device up. For reference, this same behavior was reported by another user here: Google tv streamer does not reconnect Ethernet aft... - Google Nest Community.

[Derickf]

Hi folks,

Thank you for reaching out to the community. To solve this issue, it is important that you please fill out the following feedback form reporting the issue you all are having. Your feedback is invaluable to us and helps us identify areas for improvement.

Please keep me posted if you have any questions.

Regards,

Derick.

[Fredlicious]

I submitted feedback through the linked form; thank you for that. Is there any way to actually track that developers are aware of the problem and see progress towards a fix? If not, is there any recourse for replacement or refund of the device? This is a daily interruption that I'd rather not deal with if this issue has a chance of just disappearing into /dev/null 😛

[Derickf]

Hi there!

Thanks for your reply. I can understand how important it is for you to be able to track the results after filling out the form, but at the moment the recommendation is to wait for the next update and confirm if the issue is resolved. About the replacement, it will need further assistance. Please fill out this form with all the necessary information, like the thread title or link and your username in the community. Once you've completed the form, let me know. Someone from my team will contact you shortly to help.

I’ll be waiting for your reply.

Best regards,

Derick.

[Risheo]

Same issue here with the streamer.  Ethernet randomly disconnects after a few days of being idle.   Only way to resolve is to restart the thing!  Nuisance and suprised google haven’t fixed this yet.

[Fredlicious]

I filled out the form. I know that, with the holidays, things will likely be processed slower than usual, but I'd love to know if and when the issue gets escalated up!

[raul5]

Same issue. Lossing Ethernet 80% of the time on wake up. Reboot and its fine till the next wake up. Tried static IP no diferrence.

[Fredlicious]

Just wanted to provide some more information after continuing to try to troubleshoot the issue on my own. Unfortunately, I still have not found a fix, but there are some more data points.

I decided to try using a static IP allocation instead of DHCP, but this didn't fix the issue. The behavior was slightly different, in that I didn't even get the "connection lost" message when waking the device up, but otherwise the behavior was the same: nothing requiring network connectivity would work until the ethernet cable was unplugged and then plugged back in.

The only other interesting discovery I made during this process is that the status page on the Google TV Streamer shows total junk. The IP address displayed is wrong (and different from the IP address shown on the networking page) and the device MAC address displays as "unavailable". I don't know if this is related to the actual issue, but it seems worthy of note.

[viallww]

Thank you for posting this. I am having a similar issue as you, save that my ethernet connection never works. Doing the static IP did reveal the same bogus IP address.

Are you able to view the Devices connected to your network via your ISP? For example, I can see that the IP address displayed on my Streamer is nowhere to be found on 

https://fiber.google.com/account/network/devices

[Risheo]

Same issue cannot find streamer on network.  Works fine with no drop outs wirelessly, but defeats the purpose of having an ethernet port!

Google sent me a replacement but same issue

[viallww]

I contacted customer support, and they were a great help and very responsive. They sent me a replacement device, but I no longer need it. I was able to diagnose the original device problem as my home network was misconfigured.

If anyone cares or has a similar problem, you cannot have a network switch between your google fiber jack and the router. This messed up my wifi as well. So, the correct setup is fiber jack directly into a router, and then you can use as many switches as you like after that. I do not know if this is a universal statement but for google fiber wifi and a  tp-link 9 port switch, this was in fact the case.

[Fredlicious]

I hope this does help some folks, but it is definitely not my issue. My AT&T fiber goes directly to the router, and the router then goes into a switch, which in turn connects to all of the ethernet ports throughout the house. This is about as vanilla a setup as one can possibly have, and the Google TV Streamer is the only device in the entire house that has any problems on Ethernet, so, unfortunately, I don't think my issue is a network topology problem 😞

[Bachti]

I have the same issue that the Google TV Streamer 4K always loses ethernet connection and the cable needs to be plugged anew to re-establish internet connection. 

[Fredlicious]

Just to keep the discussion alive, I was finally able to get a replacement device from Google, but I am still experiencing the same issue, which makes me believe that it's unlikely to be a problem with faulty hardware. I do have one more thing to try, however...

I typically use NordVPN with the device (using the native app) to ensure secure connection, and I typically just leave the VPN connected when I put the device to sleep. Over the next several days, I'm going to try the practice of disconnecting the VPN anytime the device isn't in use to see if that fixes the issue.

[Fredlicious]

Disconnecting the VPN before putting the device to sleep did not prevent the issue from occurring. Alas, the problem remains an open mystery with no real solution 😞

[Billymdrr]

It's February 26, 2025, and the problem is still not solved...

[Dsleeper]

It's March 7, 2025 for me and the same issue has just started here too. Does anybody know if there is a fix coming?

[Fredlicious · Accepted solution]

Well, I hope it helps some people, but I was able to get my device working properly by plugging it directly into the router, bypassing the unmanaged switch that we use to wire the large number of devices in our house. Obviously, Google still needs to fix the issue on their end since not everyone has this as a viable option (I had to do some rewiring of the house to even get a cable from the room where we use the Streamer to the router), but if even one person is saved the multi-month headache this has been thanks to this information, I'll be happy.

Best of luck, folks!

[Kuschel_Swein · Accepted solution]

Since I solved the problem in exactly the same way as you, I took the opportunity to take a closer look (again) and found out the following.

The problem is (probably) due to Google's faulty implementation of the IEEE802.3az standard (Energy Efficient Ethernet). This standard is used to optimize power consumption when there is low network activity (which is always the case when the streamer is in standby).

This is activated by default on most network switches and cannot usually be deactivated (at least on unmanaged switches). However, if you connect the device directly to the router, it will work as many routers do not have EEE activated.

The whole thing can be tested relatively easily with e.g. a FritzBox router. As soon as you connect the streamer to this and activate EEE on the router, problems also occur here.

 Let's hope that Google realises this themselves at some point and fixes the problem.

[Fredlicious]

Really excellent find! I forwarded this to the Google support team via the email thread I have going with them, so here's hoping that makes its way to the people who can actually make the necessary change! 🤞

[jchapz30]

This helped, big time. I was using some better, managed PoE switches (a few 8 port units), and swapped them out for a 24-port dumb switch, to clean up the rats nest, then my issues with the Google 4K streamer began.

I put one of the 8 port smart switches back in, and the problem went away. Thank you for posting this! I can't believe a company the size of Google, selling devices for the home, have this so messed up.

Yes, we all want to save money on energy, but not at the expense of pointless stress for no reason. To save a few pennies a month? No thanks. 

[Billymdrr]

S'il vous plaît, ce problème me rends fou!!! Pouvez-vous faire quelque chose au plus vite?

[Bachti]

Vous avez vu, qu'il y a une solution?

Voyez ce que @Kuschel_Sweina expliqué.

[Billymdrr]

13.04.2025 problème toujours pas résolu "les pseudos techniciens réseau du chat" arrête de dire oui mais la solution c'est qu'il faut faire si ou ça, j'ai déjà essayé beaucoup trop de solutions, j'ai une vitesse symétrique de 8743Mbps!!! Ça ne fonctionne pas ils doivent résoudre ou rembourser, j'arrive même pas à 100Mbps, toujours bridé au tour de 97.59Mbps, pour que ça foncionne je dois débrancher et remettre le câble ethernet pour retourner à 974Mbps, je ne peux pas m'amuser à faire ça!!! S'ils vous plaît il faut une mise à jour!!!