I’ve been extolling the value of Ethernet for a while here at Pocket-lint, whether it’s on a laptop, a game console, or in a home theater context. And I stand by that — you might be surprised at how much things can improve over Wi-Fi. It’s mostly about stability, but with gigabit connections, Ethernet also reigns supreme in the speed department.

There are circumstances when Ethernet can let you down, though, and in rare cases, it might be a specific Windows 11 setting that’s sabotaging things. I’m going to explain the details of that setting, but also why you should probably leave it alone 99% of the time. There are things you should try before tweaking Windows at that granular a level.

Negotiating for speed

The adventure of (Ethernet) link

It’s actually easiest to explain what’s going on by referring to the setting you might need to change. While it does sometimes go by other labels, Windows 11 typically lets you adjust a setting for your Ethernet link called Speed & Duplex. Speed determines bandwidth, while duplex dictates bidirectional flow. For the record, you always want full duplex.

To find the setting, follow these steps:

1. Open Device Manager using taskbar search.
2. Click on the arrow next to Network adapters.
3. Right-click on your Ethernet controller. That might be hard to identify on some PCs, in which case look for terms like “LAN” or “GbE.”
4. In the right-click menu, select Properties.
5. Click the Advanced tab.
6. Under Property, scroll down until you can select Speed & Duplex.

Notice the Value drop-down that appears on the right. Normally this is set to Auto Negotiation, and that’s a good thing. Windows attempts to run the Ethernet link as fast as possible, and you can’t force a connection to run beyond its specs. If you’ve got a 1Gbps port, selecting 2.5Gbps won’t accomplish anything.

It is possible for Auto Negotiation to get things wrong, however. If tested Ethernet speeds are running below what you know your port is capable of, it could be that it landed on a subpar figure for some reason. If so, you’ll want to return to the drop-down menu and pick the best speed your gear is capable of.

Before doing anything, check your actual link speeds at Settings > Network & internet > Ethernet. You should only bother tweaking Speed & Duplex if the reported figure is too low.

What you should probably be fixing instead

It might be time for a new cable

If you’ve got a spare Ethernet cable rated for the appropriate performance level, try swapping it in. The reason is that within a cable, data is delivered over twisted wire pairs. In a gigabit-plus product, multiple pairs can fail without killing data entirely — the cable will simply drop to 100Mbps to keep operating. When that happens, forcing a higher bitrate through Windows isn’t going to accomplish anything.

Remember to verify the speeds of everything in your network chain. Windows should still indicate the maximum speed your Ethernet port/controller is capable of, but there may be external factors affecting real-world performance, with or without any damage. You need a Cat 5e cable for 1Gbps, and Cat 6 for anything over that (at the consumer level, anyway). Routers, switches, and other devices may also offer multiple Ethernet ports rated at different levels, something done as a cost-cutting measure. A 2Gbps internet plan is probably pointless if you plug your PC into the 1Gbps port on your router instead of 2.5Gbps.

There could also be more conventional software fixes available. One of my first stops would be Windows Update, since new drivers may fix Ethernet-related bugs, and you should be keeping Windows up-to-date regardless. If nothing is resolving speed issues, you may need to reset your network configuration by going to Settings -> Network & internet -> Advanced network settings -> Network reset. Keep in mind that this will revert to factory defaults, so you may end up having to reinstall drivers and log back into Wi-Fi hotspots.

If that seems too drastic, you might try a narrower version of the same idea by uninstalling the correct network adapter. Open Device Manager, then find your Ethernet hardware under Network adapters. Right-click on it, select Uninstall device, and check Attempt to remove the driver for this device before going forward. Once you’ve uninstalled, restarting Windows will prompt it to install the best driver available.

At this point, there’s not much more I can suggest short of bringing your computer into a technician. It might be easier to revert to Wi-Fi, if that’s an option. Wi-Fi 6E and 7 are actually quite speedy — they’re just not as rock-solid as gigabit Ethernet can be. To quote Frank Herbert, “Adapt or die, that’s the first rule of survival.”