SNLA246D October   2015  – May 2026 DP83867CR , DP83867CS , DP83867E , DP83867IR , DP83867IS

 

  1.   1
  2.   Abstract
  3.   Trademarks
  4. 1DP83867 Application Overview
  5. 2Troubleshooting the Application
    1. 2.1 Schematic and Layout Checklist
    2. 2.2 Device Health Checks
      1. 2.2.1 Voltage Checks
      2. 2.2.2 Probe the RESET_N Signal
      3. 2.2.3 Probe RBIAS
      4. 2.2.4 Probe the XI Clock
      5. 2.2.5 Probe the Strap Pins During Initialization
      6. 2.2.6 Probe the Serial Management Interface (MDC, MDIO)
        1. 2.2.6.1 Read and Check Register Values
    3. 2.3 MDI Health Checks
      1. 2.3.1 Magnetics
      2. 2.3.2 Probe the MDI Signals
      3. 2.3.3 Check the Link Quality
        1. 2.3.3.1 Improving Short Cable Link Margin
        2. 2.3.3.2 Improving Inter-channel Link Margin
      4. 2.3.4 PMA Compliance
    4. 2.4 MII Health Checks
      1. 2.4.1 MII Check
      2. 2.4.2 GMII Check
      3. 2.4.3 RGMII Check
      4. 2.4.4 SGMII Check
    5. 2.5 Loopback and PRBS
      1. 2.5.1 Loopback Modes
      2. 2.5.2 Transmitting and Receiving Packets with the MAC
      3. 2.5.3 Transmitting and Receiving Packets with BIST
  6. 3Application Specific Debugs
    1. 3.1 Link up in 100Mbps Full Duplex Force Mode
    2. 3.2 Unstable Link Up Debug in 1Gbps communication
    3. 3.3 DP83867PHY and DP83867PHY Cannot Link Up in 1Gbps
    4. 3.4 EMC Debug
    5. 3.5 Packet Errors in Links with Low IPG
    6. 3.6 10Base-Te TP_IDL Failure
    7. 3.7 Slow RGMII Rise/Fall Times
  7. 4Tools and References
    1. 4.1 Extended Register Access
  8. 5Conclusion
  9. 6References
  10. 7Revision History

Transmitting and Receiving Packets with the MAC

If generating and checking packets with the MAC is possible, and the PHY has a working link partner with reverse loopback capability, verify the full data path as follows:

  1. Connect the PHY to the MAC and a working link partner.
  2. Enable reverse loopback on the link partner.

  3. Transmit test packets from the MAC to the PHY.
  4. Verify the MAC receives the same test packets.

If the MAC receives the same test packets transmitted without issue, the full data path through MAC → PHY → MDI is valid. If this test does not pass, perform MII loopback to isolate the issue along the data path:

  1. Power and connect the PHY to the MAC.
  2. Enable MII loopback on the PHY.
  3. Transmit test packets from the MAC to the PHY.
  4. Verify the MAC receives the same test packets.

If the MAC receives the same test packets, the data path through MAC → PHY is valid, and the issue has been isolated to the MDI data path. If this test does not pass, the issueis likely on the MAC interface. To verify the MAC interface, refer to MII Health Checks. To verify the PHY internal data path, perform the above procedure using analog loopback mode.