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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11To diagnose a Windows network outage, start with ping to check basic reachability, use tracert to see which route hops respond, and run pathping when you need repeated loss measurements. No single command proves that every part of a connection is working: choose the test that matches the symptom, and treat timeouts and missing hops cautiously.
Start by identifying what is failing
Before running a command, note whether the problem affects one device or several, whether all internet access is down or only one service, and which destination fails. A known gateway IP can help check the local network; a destination name can help distinguish a reachability problem from a name-resolution problem.
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The commands below are Windows tools documented for Windows versions including Windows 10 and 11. Their syntax should not be assumed to apply to macOS or Linux.
Choose the command that answers your question
| Tool | What it helps establish | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
ping |
Whether an IP-level target responds and what round-trip results are observed; comparing a name with its IP can help identify a possible name-resolution issue. | Whether a specific application or service is available. |
tracert |
Which route hops respond as Windows probes toward a destination. | That a nonresponding hop is where traffic stopped. |
pathping |
Route discovery plus repeated measurements and packet-loss statistics by hop or link. | A quick result: its statistics phase can take time, and an example in Microsoft’s documentation takes 125 seconds. |
Run the first checks
1. Check basic reachability with ping
Open Command Prompt or Windows Terminal and run ping <IP-address>, replacing the example text with a known IP address, such as your gateway’s address. Microsoft calls ping the primary TCP/IP command for troubleshooting connectivity, reachability, and name resolution. See Microsoft’s ping reference.
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If the IP responds but a destination name does not, investigate name resolution. If ping times out, that alone does not prove the network is down: ICMP traffic can be filtered or blocked. Microsoft’s DNS troubleshooting guidance specifically warns that a DNS server may not respond to ping even when the result is not conclusive about its availability: Troubleshooting DNS clients.
2. See which route hops respond with tracert
Run tracert <destination>, using a hostname or IP address. Windows sends probes with increasing TTL values and displays the hops that return responses. Asterisks mean a probe did not receive a response; routers may be configured not to return the messages tracert needs, so an unresponsive intermediate hop is not proof that traffic stopped there. Consult Microsoft’s tracert reference for command details.
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3. Measure repeated loss with pathping
Run pathping <destination> when you need more than a route snapshot. It combines route discovery with repeated probes and reports packet-loss statistics by hop or link. The statistics portion takes longer than a single ping: Microsoft’s sample output shows a 125-second calculation, an example rather than a guaranteed runtime. See Microsoft’s pathping reference.
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A successful ping only shows that an ICMP-level response was received; it does not demonstrate that the application you care about can connect. For example, a web service can be unavailable while its host still answers ping. Test the actual service port with a tool that can use the relevant TCP or UDP protocol, rather than treating ping as an all-purpose connectivity test. Microsoft’s TCP/IP communication troubleshooting guidance covers testing connectivity at the appropriate level.
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When the commands do not pinpoint the fault
Command output is evidence about the tests that received responses, not automatic proof of a root cause. Preserve the failing destination, the time of the failure, the exact command and its output, and the network path you observed. If the issue persists, Microsoft recommends deeper investigation with network diagrams, traces, or packet captures; its guidance explains how to diagnose packet loss and how to troubleshoot wireless connectivity issues.
The useful result may be narrowing the failure to a local reachability check, name resolution, a route that stops responding, packet loss, or the application’s own port—not naming a cause before the evidence supports it.
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