On Linux Mint 22.3 with Cinnamon, detecting whether an Ethernet cable is physically plugged in—even if it is not delivering any electricity or data—is typically handled at the hardware level by the network interface controller (NIC). The operating system and drivers rely on electrical signals (such as link pulse signals) to detect the presence of a cable and its connection state. If the cable is plugged in but not delivering any power or data, the NIC may not register a link, and the OS will usually report the cable as "unplugged" or not connected.

However, some NICs and drivers can detect the physical presence of a cable (e.g., via mechanical switches or other hardware mechanisms), but this is not universal. In most cases, if there is no electrical signal, the OS will not recognize the cable as connected, and commands like ethtool or ip link will show the interface as down or without a link.

In summary:

• If the cable is plugged in but not delivering power/data, Linux Mint (and most OSes) will usually not detect it as connected.
• The detection depends on the NIC hardware and driver support; some may report the physical presence, but most require an electrical link.

If you want to check, you can use:

bash
Copy
ethtool <interface> | grep "Link detected"

or

bash
Copy
ip link show <interface>

If the link is not detected, it will likely report as "NO" or "down," even if the cable is physically plugged in.

Would you like help troubleshooting a specific NIC or scenario?