My Ethernet cable latch broke on my HP Pavillon

[kgelenius24]

My Ethernet cable latch broke on my HP Pavillon and I was wondering if I could just buy a new latch/clip somewhere? There are no screws that hold this in place, the plastic just has these two grooves, one of the grooves has broken and my ethernet cable does not have the support to stay plugged in. Thanks for any help you can give me. 

[DavidSMP]

@kgelenius24,

Good Day.  A warm welcome to the HP community. Superb description and terrific observations made regarding the issue. It is amply appreciated.

Let me gather some information for better clarity to assist you correctly:

• Was the computer accidentally dropped?

I will be providing a roadmap with some troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue. Let us try these steps:

• It is a hardware issue with the computer and the network card port needs to be replaced. You could do that or alternately a great workaround would be is to order a USB wireless adapter and plug it to one of the USB ports of the computer and connect to a wireless router to go online if the computer is no longer under warranty.
• This could be ordered from an online portal like Amazon or eBay for a song and is extremely cost effective.  You could order it from a local store like Staples or Best Buy also.
• I am being honest about it by keeping your best interest in mind.

I will send you a private message to assist you with the next course of action. Please check your forum private message box in the upper right corner next to the bell icon.

Good luck and keep me posted about the developments. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue and give the post a Kudos for my efforts to help. Thank you and have a great week ahead. 🙂

[kgelenius24]

Hi @DavidSMP ,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. This is actually my work computer and one of the people in my job's IT department needed to take it to upload a program to my desktop and when he went to take it he yanked the ethernet plug instead of pushing the bottom of it to allow for an easy release..so he broke the latch that keeps the cable in connected and in place. The computer itself is operating fine..and for right now tape is helping keep the cable in place.  I would prefer just to order a spare piece being that this is my work computer and I need to use it every day for work.

This is the piece that broke. My computer is functioning fine aside from not being able to plug in my Ethernet cable. 

[DavidSMP]

@kgelenius24,

I read the quick response. It is great to have you back and your patience and persistence are greatly appreciated. If the computer has a wireless card please use that card to connect it to the internet on a wireless network. Otherwise, you could try using a USB wireless adapter to connect to the internet as mentioned in my earlier post.

The entire motherboard needs to be replaced as the Ethernet port is integrated to the motherboard if you choose to go that route. I am being candid about it here. Follow instructions from my private message to get the computer repaired if you decide to go that route.

Good luck and keep me posted about the developments. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue and give the post a Kudos for my efforts to help. Thank you and have a great week ahead. 🙂

[David_J_W · Accepted solution]

The Maintenance and Service Guide for your system lists 'RJ-45 door' as a part. It looks like it may well be the broken remains of this part that is in your picture. I'm unclear whether it just that part that has failed or whether the part into which that part is mounted (which might be the bottom cover or, rather more awkwardly, the top cover and keyboard assembly) is also damaged. I'm not sure anything on the system board is broken - this looks like it might just be failure of the plastic parts. To be honest, it doesn't look like the greatest design as it seems any strain on the Ethernet cable might be pulling on a small plastic component.

Some close up pictures of the Ethernet slot in the computer with the cable removed might help to understand what has happened.

One work round would be to buy a USB 3.0 to Ethernet adapter. It is not as elegant as having a built in Ethernet port, but it would allow you to work without your network connection constantly falling out.

[DavidSMP]

@David_J_W,

I appreciate your super quick response. Your awesome research and immaculate attitude are greatly appreciated too. Rest assured that the ethernet port is integrated to the motherboard and I am being truthful here. The best workaround is either to get a USB to ethernet adapter as suggested by you or a USB wireless adapter as suggested by me.

Take care and have a blessed year ahead and stay healthy.

Cheers!

[David_J_W]

You have access to a far greater depth of product information than I do, @DavidSMP, and I can only defer to what you say. Even so, I note that the broken pieces pictured do not look like the guts of any RJ-45 Ethernet socket I have come across. If the socket is damaged, then clearly either a system board swap or component level repair is required.

The original poster's second picture shows something that looks like outer casing plastic on one side. This YouTube video of the laptop model in question appears to show a hinged plastic piece in the bottom casing under the Ethernet port, which is why I was wondering if the fix here is as simple as replacing that part (the "RJ-45 door", perhaps?) and, if necessary, the bottom casing.

[kgelenius24]

@David_J_W you are correct that it is only the door that was effected. I will look into getting that “RJ 45 door” you mentioned. The computer itself is perfectly fine it is only the plastic piece that was affected. I feel like the other posts were just trying to get me to spend small fortunes on other products that would be so much more extensive than the quick fix you gave me. Thank you for your help!