How to run a Ping Test

How to run a Ping Test to test your connection to a server

Oliver Wycherley avatar
Written by Oliver Wycherley
Updated over a week ago

Introduction

A ping test uses your internet connection to send out packets of data to a specific address. These packets are then sent back to your computer. The test records the amount of time it took for the packets to reach the address, and whether or not any packets were lost in the process.  The test is to show if there is two-way communication to another network location.

Ping test in Windows 10

  1.  Click the Search icon (magnifying glass) in the bottom left-hand corner and type "cmd" into the search bar.

   2.  Select the Command Prompt app - it will be at the top of the list of search                      results as the best match.

   3.  A black box with a flashing cursor will open; this is the Command Prompt.                      Type“ping” and then hit the Space bar on your keyboard.

   4.  Type in the address you’d like to ping and then hit the Enter key on your                        keyboard.  Wait for the ping results.

Ping test in Windows 8

  1.  Move the mouse to the right-hand corner of the screen to make the vertical     menu bar (charm bar) appear. Click Search.

  2.  Type “cmd” in the search bar and hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

   3.  Click cmd found in the search results for Programs.

   4.  A black box with a flashing cursor will open; this is the Command Prompt.                      Type “ping” and then hit the Space bar on your keyboard.

   5.  Type in the address you’d like to ping and then hit the Enter key on your                        keyboard.  Wait for the ping results.

Ping test in Windows 7 and Vista

   1.  Open the Start menu by clicking the orb in the bottom left-hand corner of the               screen.

   2.  Type “cmd” in the search bar at the bottom of the menu.

   3.  Click cmd found in the search results for Programs.

   4.  A black box with a flashing cursor will open; this is the Command Prompt.                      Type“ping” and then hit the Space bar on your keyboard.

   5.  Type in the address you’d like to ping and then hit the Enter key on                                 your keyboard. Wait for the ping results.

Ping test in Windows XP

   1.  Click the Start button in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.

   2. Click the Run option in the right-hand column.

   3. Type “cmd” in the text box and then hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

   4. A black box with a flashing cursor will open; this is the Command Prompt.                      Type“ping” and then hit the Space bar on your keyboard.

   5.  Type in the address you’d like to ping and then hit the Enter key on your                          keyboard. Wait for the ping results. 

Ping test in Mac OS X

   1.  On the home screen, open the Spotlight search tool and type “network utility”               in the search bar.  Double click the Network Utility app to open it.  

        You can also find this app at /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications.

   2.  Select the Ping tab and then type the address you’d like to ping in the text box.            Click Ping and wait for the ping results. 


Understanding ping test results

Ping test results look similar in both Windows and Mac OS. 


Successful ping tests

   1.  First you’ll see the replies for each packet sent in the ping test.  A Windows                   pingtest will typically send 4 packets; a Mac OS ping test may send more.

   2.  You’ll then see the statistics returns from the ping test.  These results can be                   useful in advanced troubleshooting for latency issues, but the fact that the                     ping test returned results means that your computer is able to communicate to             that address.


Failed ping tests

If a ping test fails, you see error warnings similar to one of the following instead of the ping test results shown above:

Request timed out

Destination host unreachable

Transmit failed, error code #

If a ping test fails, you may need to troubleshoot your internet connection. 


Copy-pasting results

In most cases you will need to copy-paste your results to save them as a Word document, .txt file or simply paste them in an email so you can send them to us.

  1.  Simply click and drag the cursor to select the text you'd like to copy.

   2.  Use the CTRL+C shortcut on your keyboard to copy your text.
   3.  The text is now copied.  Open any other text editor or email program and use               CTRL+V to paste the copied text.

Windows 7/XP Machines

  1.  Right-click in the black window and select Mark. A highlighter cursor will show up on the text.

  2. Use the up/down arrow keys on your keyboard, move the cursor to the beginning of the text you wish to select.

  3. Hold down the Shift key and use the down/right arrow keys on your keyboard to highlight the entire block of text you wish to copy, then simply press the Enter key. Please note that the usual CTRL+C shortcut will not successfully copy the text; you must use the Enter key while the text is highlighted.

  4. The text is now copied. Open Word, Notepad or any other text editor or email program and use CTRL+V to paste the copied text. 

Network Utility for Mac OSX

  1. Simply click and drag the cursor to select the text you'd like to copy.

  2. Either right-click on the highlighted text and select Copy, or use the COMMAND+C shortcut on your keyboard to copy your text.

  3. The text is now copied. Open TextEdit or any other text editor or email programand use COMMAND+V to paste the copied text.

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