How to check your network connection

A fast and stable internet connection is essential for effectively using the internet. If you're having connection problems, you might notice files taking a long time to download or web pages not loading.

To see what's causing the problem, check your internet connection and try running some network utilities.

Internet connection

Run the network troubleshooter:

  1. Click  → .
  2. In the Settings window, select Network & Internet.
  3. Go to Advanced network settings and click Network troubleshooter.
  4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

To learn more, see the article Fix Wi-Fi connection issues in Windows.

Run the network troubleshooter:

  1. Click Start → Control Panel → Network & Internet → Network and Sharing Center → Troubleshooting → Internet connections.

  2. Follow the instructions on the screen.

To learn more, see the article Fix Wi-Fi connection issues in Windows.

Use the “Wireless Diagnostics” utility.

To learn more, see the article Troubleshooting Wi-Fi connection issues.

Network utilities

Get network diagnostic information using utilities such as Ping, PathPing/Traceroute, and Telnet:

Ping

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:

  1. On the taskbar, click and type command line or cmd.exe in the search bar. Press Enter.

  2. Enter the command ping <website address> -n 10 in the window and press Enter.

  3. To copy the information, select the text with the left mouse button and click Enter.

    The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.

PathPing

The PathPing utility helps determine at which intermediate network node data packets are delayed or lost.

To check intermediate network nodes:

  1. On the taskbar, click and type command line or cmd.exe in the search bar. Press Enter.

  2. Enter the command pathping <website address> -n 10 in the window and press Enter.

  3. To copy the information, select the text with the left mouse button and click Enter.

    The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.

Telnet

The Telnet utility checks whether the computer has permission to connect to the server.

Install the Telnet client:

  1. On the taskbar, click and type control panel in the search bar. Launch the app.

  2. In the window, select Programs and Features → Turn Windows features on or off.

  3. Select Telnet Client and click OK.

Check access to the server:

  1. On the taskbar, click and type command line or cmd.exe in the search bar. Press Enter.

  2. In the window that opens, enter telnet <website address> 25 and press Enter.

  3. To copy the information, select the text with the left mouse button and click Enter.

    The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.

Other utilities

Choose a utility based on your goal:

  • 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.

Run the utility:

  1. On the taskbar, click and type command line or cmd.exe in the search bar. Press Enter.

  2. In the window that opens, enter:

    • ipconfig/all for Ipconfig.
    • getmac/v for Getmac.
    • tracert <website address> for Tracert.

  3. Press Enter.

  4. To copy the information, select the text with the left mouse button and click Enter.

    The copied text can be pasted (Ctrl + V) to a text file or email.

Ping

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:

  1. Go to the Start menu and type command prompt or cmd.exe in the search bar. Launch the app.

  2. Enter the command ping <website address> -n 10 in the window and press Enter.

  3. 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.

PathPing

The PathPing utility helps determine at which intermediate network node data packets are delayed or lost.

To check intermediate network nodes:

  1. Go to the Start menu and type command prompt or cmd.exe in the search bar. Launch the app.

  2. Enter the pathping -n <website address> command in the window and press Enter.

  3. 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.

Telnet

The Telnet utility checks whether the computer has permission to connect to the server.

Enable the Telnet client:

  1. Go to the Start menu and type Turn Windows features on or off in the search bar. Launch the app.

  2. Select Telnet Client and click OK.

Check access to the server:

  1. Go to the Start menu and type command prompt or cmd.exe in the search bar. Launch the app.

  2. In the window that opens, enter telnet <website address> 25 and press Enter.

  3. 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.

Other utilities

Choose a utility based on your goal:

  • 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.

Run the utility:

  1. Go to the Start menu and type command prompt or cmd.exe in the search bar. Launch the app.

  2. In the window that opens, enter:

    • ipconfig/all for Ipconfig.

    • getmac/v for Getmac.

    • tracert <website address> for Tracert.

  3. Press Enter.

  4. 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.

Ping

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:

  1. In the Spotlight search (⌘ + Space), enter terminal and click Enter.

  2. In the window that opens, enter ping -c 10 <website address> and press Enter.

  3. 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.

Traceroute

The Traceroute utility helps determine at which intermediate network node data packets are delayed or lost.

To check intermediate network nodes:

  1. In the Spotlight search (⌘ + Space), enter terminal and click Enter.

  2. In the window that opens, enter traceroute -n <website address> and click Enter.

  3. 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.

Telnet

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:

  1. In the Spotlight search (⌘ + Space), enter terminal and click Enter.

  2. 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.

  3. Press Enter and wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Enter the brew install telnet command and click Enter.

To check access to the server:

  1. In the Spotlight search (⌘ + Space), enter terminal and click Enter.

  2. In the window that opens, enter telnet <website address> 25 and press Enter.

  3. 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.

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