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.

  1. Run the built-in diagnostics
  2. Use network utilities

Run the built-in diagnostics

Check network access with the Windows troubleshooter or macOS Wireless Diagnostics software:

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.

Use 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 prompt 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 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. On the taskbar, click and type command prompt 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 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.

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 prompt 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 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. On the taskbar, click and type command prompt 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 press Enter.

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