Wired network problems on latest firmware

[Muffinman2k]

I have upgraded to the latest firmware on xe8596 and now everytime i try and connect to VPN the TV drops my wired Ethernet connection. I have to manually go into network, and click on ip settings, DCHP for it to pick it back up. This didnt happen before the upgrade. I have factory reset 2 times now and lost all settings and as soon as i install SurfShark VPN it drops the connection. I have tried broadcast and network time settings still the same. It also drops the connection whilst way watching broadcast TV.

Any ideas?

[Win_88]

Hi @Muffinman2k

Sadly, the TV doesn't officially support VPN services, so the software isn't particularly optimized for it.

[Muffinman2k]

Thanks, it's not limited to VPN. It drops without reason, e.g when watching free to air channels I'll get a message popup at the bottom of screen saying no ethernet connection.

WiFi is in affected, and only appeared in the new firmware. VPN service works on WiFi.

I have logged it with technical, to see if there is a bug.

[Win_88]

There's been issues earlier with the internet connection which was due to date/time issues. Did you check if those are possibly messed up when the connection is lost?

[Muffinman2k]

Yes I am aware of those.  But no difference.

Funny enough the new firmware has that issue listed as a bug fix....

[Win_88]

Maybe what you have is caused by a different reason. You said the issue happens as soon as you install sufshark VPN. Is that the only trigger for it?

[Muffinman2k]

Any VPN is a sure fire trigger for it to happen.  However i was watching BBC 1 on FTA and up popped a message Ethernet Disconnected.  Other times I have gone into "home" and there is a notification bar message at the top stating its disconnected.   I have never had any problems pre 6.714 firmware.  In fact i normally wait a couple of months before doing an upgrade via USB to make sure no real bugs are reported.

My usual upgrade procedure is to

1 - factory reset current firmware.

2 - install via usb new firmware

3 - Skip through setup as fast as possible

4 - Factory reset with new firmware

5 - Setup as normal.

6 - run without any additional apps installed - i.e out of the box, check for problems.  This where i first noted the disconnections.

7 - install the 3 apps i have in addition to factory (disney +, Surfshark VPN + Analiti Speed check)

Thats why  i think its a bug.  I havent upgraded my other set (also a XE85 series) because if this, and that is working perfectly.

[Win_88]

Putting myself in Sony's shoes, the fact that you have a VPN service in the mix just stands out as an eye sore. I recognize that it was fine before, and the issue happens even when you're not using VPN (or the internet for that matter), but I read a post by a user who finally pinned the issue down to VPN after exhausting all other options.

Luckily, there's a way to test this: perform a factory reset but exclude Surfshark this time and use the TV until enough time has passed for the issue to happen if it would've persisted. The only reason I keep coming back to this is it's probably not a hardware issue and for most of the time, the internet just works.

[Waveforms]

I have a  KD49XD7004BU  on the latest UK firmware and I have the exact same issue. 

Connecting to a VPN will definitely disconnect the ethernet connection, but it can also disconnect by itself randomly. 

I'm using windscribe VPN in my case which is android TV friendly. 

Ethernet worked perfectly with a VPN prior to this update. 

This needs to be fixed and I don't agree that Sony should view VPNs in a negative light and ignore the bug. 

[Muffinman2k]

Yes I agree.  I also have windscribe, solidvpn and a free vpn.  All of which are on the playstore on the TV.

The VPN's dont affect the wifi connection, its just wired.

As stated previously, disconnections still appear after several factory resets running stock android 9.0.

I have raised it with technical. Hopefully it will be fixed with the next patch update as there are a few other bugs in this release that have made these and other forums.

For the time being, i just go back in an manually reactivate the connection for wired, and have left the wifi on now when i don't need to be using the VPN.