Network interface is not automatically connected when powering on a VM

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms

• After powering on the virtual machine, the network interface was not connected, causing network connectivity issues.
  
  
• You can see the vmx file contains the following entries.
  
  ethernet0.startConnected = "FALSE"

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs because the startConnected parameter is set to FALSE.

Resolution

Please check the box for Connect At Power On.

1. Login to vSphere Client
2. Browse to the target VM in the vSphere Client
3. Right-click and select Edit Settings
4. Edit Network adapter
5. Check the box for Connect At Power On
6. Select OK to save the configuration