How to check your network connection
A fast and stable internet connection is essential for effectively using the internet.
Occasionally, you may experience network connection problems that result in long download times or failure to load web pages. Check your network connection to find out why the problem occurred.
Run the built-in diagnostics
Check network access with the Windows troubleshooter or macOS Wireless Diagnostics software:
Run the network troubleshooter:
- Click.
- In the Settings window, select Network & Internet.
- Go to Advanced network settings and click Network troubleshooter.
- Follow the instructions on the screen.
Run the network troubleshooter:
- Click.
- Follow the instructions on the screen.
Use the “Wireless Diagnostics” utility.
To learn more, see Wireless environment analysis on the Apple support website.
Use network utilities
Get network diagnostic information using utilities such as Ping, PathPing/Traceroute, and Telnet:
- On the taskbar, click and type
command prompt
orcmd.exe
in the search bar. Press Enter. - Enter the command
ping <website address> -n 10
in the window and press Enter. - To copy the information, select the text with the left mouse button and press Enter.
The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.
- On the taskbar, click and type
command prompt
orcmd.exe
in the search bar. Press Enter. - Enter the command
pathping <website address> -n 10
in the window and press Enter. - To copy the information, select the text with the left mouse button and press Enter.
The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.
- On the taskbar, click and type
control panel
in the search bar. Launch the app. - In the window, select.
- Select Telnet Client and click OK.
- On the taskbar, click and type
command prompt
orcmd.exe
in the search bar. Press Enter. - In the window that opens, enter
telnet <website address> 25
and press Enter. - To copy the information, select the text with the left mouse button and press Enter.
The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.
- Ipconfig — Find out the IP address, subnet mask, and other network settings.
- Getmac — View network connections, network adapters, and their physical addresses.
- Tracert — Get the nodes an IP packet passes through.
- On the taskbar, click and type
command prompt
orcmd.exe
in the search bar. Press Enter. - In the window that opens, enter:
ipconfig/all
for Ipconfig.getmac/v
for Getmac.tracert <website address>
for Tracert.
- Press Enter.
- To copy the information, select the text with the left mouse button and press Enter.
The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.
The Ping utility measures the time delay between a request to the server and the response and also determines the loss of data packets. The lower the transmit/receive time and the fewer packets lost, the faster the web page will open or the movie will load.
To check your network connection:
The PathPing utility helps determine at which intermediate network node data packets are delayed or lost.
To check intermediate network nodes:
The Telnet utility checks whether the computer has permission to connect to the server.
Install the Telnet client:
Check access to the server:
Choose a utility based on your goal:
- Go to the Start menu and type
command prompt
orcmd.exe
in the search bar. Launch the app. - Enter the command
ping <website address> -n 10
in the window and press Enter. - To copy the information, right-click anywhere in the open window and click Select all. Then press Enter.
The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.
- Go to the Start menu and type
command prompt
orcmd.exe
in the search bar. Launch the app. - Enter the
pathping -n <website address>
command in the window and press Enter. - To copy the information, right-click anywhere in the open window and click Select all. Then press Enter.
The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.
- Go to the Start menu and type
Turn Windows features on or off
in the search bar. Launch the app. - Select Telnet Client and click OK.
- Go to the Start menu and type
command prompt
orcmd.exe
in the search bar. Launch the app. - In the window that opens, enter
telnet <website address> 25
and press Enter. - To copy the information, right-click anywhere in the window and click Select all. Then press Enter.
The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.
- Ipconfig — Find out the IP address, subnet mask, and other network settings.
- Getmac — View network connections, network adapters, and their physical addresses.
- Tracert — Get the nodes an IP packet passes through.
- Go to the Start menu and type
command prompt
orcmd.exe
in the search bar. Launch the app. - In the window that opens, enter:
ipconfig/all
for Ipconfig.getmac/v
for Getmac.tracert <website address>
for Tracert.
- Press Enter.
- To copy the information, right-click anywhere in the window and click Select all. Then press Enter.
The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.
The Ping utility measures the time delay between a request to the server and the response and also determines the loss of data packets. The lower the transmit/receive time and the fewer packets lost, the faster the web page will open or the movie will load.
To check your network connection:
The PathPing utility helps determine at which intermediate network node data packets are delayed or lost.
To check intermediate network nodes:
The Telnet utility checks whether the computer has permission to connect to the server.
Enable the Telnet client:
Check access to the server:
Choose a utility based on your goal:
- In the Spotlight search (⌘ + Space), enter
terminal
and press Enter. - In the window that opens, enter
ping -c 10 <website address>
and press Enter. - To copy the information, select the text (⌘ + A) and copy it (⌘ + C).
Now you can paste the text (⌘ + V) to a text file or email.
- In the Spotlight search (⌘ + Space), enter
terminal
and press Enter. - In the window that opens, enter
traceroute -n <website address>
and click Enter. - To copy the information, select the text (⌘ + A) and copy it (⌘ + C).
Now you can paste the text (⌘ + V) to a text file or email.
- In the Spotlight search (⌘ + Space), enter
terminal
and press Enter. - In the window that opens, enter the
/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
command to install the Homebrew package manager. - Press Enter and wait for the installation to complete.
- Enter the
brew install telnet
command and click Enter. - In the Spotlight search (⌘ + Space), enter
terminal
and press Enter. - In the window that opens, enter
telnet <website address> 25
and press Enter. - To copy the information, select the text (⌘ + A) and copy it (⌘ + C).
Now you can paste the text (⌘ + V) to a text file or email.
The Ping utility measures the time delay between a request to the server and the response and also determines the loss of data packets. The lower the transmit/receive time and the fewer packets lost, the faster the web page will open or the movie will load.
To check your network connection:
The Traceroute utility helps determine at which intermediate network node data packets are delayed or lost.
To check intermediate network nodes:
The Telnet utility checks whether the computer has permission to connect to the server.
In macOS High Sierra 10.13 and higher, the Terminal program does not include the Telnet utility.
To install the utility:
To check access to the server: