How to Traceroute

This wikiHow teaches you how to run a "traceroute" command on your computer or smartphone. The "traceroute" command allows you to track the different stops an IP packet makes between your computer and its destination, which is helpful in determining if network issues are causing connection problems for you.

Things You Should Know

  • "Traceroute" allows you to check if you're having connection issues from your network.
  • Open your Command Prompt and enter "tracert [website]" with your preferred website.
  • Command Prompt will reveal up to 30 different gateways for you to review.
Method 1
Method 1 of 5:

Windows

  1. Image titled Traceroute Step 1
    1
    Open Start
    Windows Start
    .     Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.
  2. Image titled Traceroute Step 2
    2
    Type in command prompt. Doing this searches your computer for the Command Prompt program.
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  3. Image titled Traceroute Step 3
    3
    Click
    Windows cmd
    Command Prompt.     It's at the top of the menu. Command Prompt will open.
  4. 4
    Determine a website for which you want to trace the route. For example, if you want to see a list of gateways between your computer and Facebook, you would use Facebook's website.
  5. Image titled Traceroute Step 5
    5
    Enter the "traceroute" command. Type in tracert website.com—making sure to replace website.com with the name and extension for your preferred website (e.g., facebook.com)—and press ↵ Enter.
    • You don't need to provide the "https://" or "www." section of the website's address.
    • If you have the website's IP address, you can use it instead of the URL.
  6. Image titled Traceroute Step 6
    6
    Review the results. Command Prompt will deliver up to 30 different gateways (also called "hops") through which the IP package passes. Once you see "Trace complete" appear below the list of hops, your trace has successfully run its course.
    • If you see any blank trace entries, you can ignore them—they signify that the trace is being returned as a result rather than passing through a gateway.[1]
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Method 2
Method 2 of 5:

macOS

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    1
    Open Spotlight
    Mac Spotlight
    .     Click the magnifying glass-shaped icon in the top-right corner of the screen to do so.
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    2
    Type in network utility. This will search your computer for the Network Utility program.
  3. Image titled Traceroute Step 9
    3
    Open Network Utility. Double-click Network Utility near the top of the search results. Doing so will prompt the Network Utility window to open.[2]
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    4
    Click Traceroute. It's a tab at the top of the Network Utility window.[3]
  5. Image titled Traceroute Step 11
    5
    Enter a website's address. In the text box near the top of the window, type in the address (or IP address) of the website to which you want to trace a path.
    • For example, to trace a path to wikiHow's website, you would enter wikihow.com here.
    • You don't need to provide the "https://" or "www." section of the website's address.
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    6
    Click Trace. It's a blue button on the right side of the page. Doing so will prompt Network Utility to begin tracing the path to your selected website.
  7. Image titled Traceroute Step 13
    7
    Review the results. Traceroute will bring up a list of the gateways through which your trace travels on the way to its destination.
    • If you see any blank trace entries, you can ignore them—they signify that the trace is being returned as a result rather than passing through a gateway.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 5:

iPhone/iPad

  1. Image titled Traceroute Step 14
    1
    Download the iNetTools app. Skip this step if you already have iNetTools installed on your iPhone. Open the
    iPhone App Store Icon
    App Store, then do the following:
    • Tap Search
    • Tap the search bar.
    • Type in inettools
    • Tap inettools - ping,dns,port scan
    • Tap GET next to iNetTools.
    • Enter your Touch ID or Apple ID password.
  2. Image titled Traceroute Step 15
    2
    Open iNetTools. Tap OPEN in the App Store, or tap the radar display-shaped iNetTools app icon on one of your iPhone's Home Screens.
  3. Image titled Traceroute Step 16
    3
    Tap Trace Route. It's in the middle of the screen.
  4. Image titled Traceroute Step 17
    4
    Tap the "Host Name or IP Address" text box. You'll find this option near the top of the screen. Doing so brings up your iPhone's on-screen keyboard.
  5. Image titled Traceroute Step 18
    5
    Enter a website's address. Type in the address (or IP address) of the website to which you want to trace a path.
    • For example, to trace a path to Google's closest server, you would enter google.com here.
    • You don't need to provide the "https://" or "www." section of the website's address.
  6. Image titled Traceroute Step 19
    6
    Tap Start. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. iNetTools will begin tracing a route to your specified address.
  7. Image titled Traceroute Step 20
    7
    Review the results. Once the spinning wheel across from the "Result" heading disappears, you can review the address of each gateway through which your trace passed on its way to the destination.
    • If you see any blank trace entries, you can ignore them—they signify that the trace is being returned as a result rather than passing through a gateway.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 5:

Android

  1. Image titled Traceroute Step 21
    1
    Download the PingTools app. Skip this step if you already have PingTools installed on your Android. Open the
    Android Google Play
    Google Play Store, then do the following:
    • Tap the search bar.
    • Type in pingtools
    • Tap PingTools Network Utilities in the results.
    • Tap INSTALL
    • Tap ACCEPT when prompted.
  2. Image titled Traceroute Step 22
    2
    Open PingTools. Tap OPEN in the Google Play Store, or tap the PingTools app icon in your Android's App Drawer.
  3. Image titled Traceroute Step 23
    3
    Tap ACCEPT when prompted. Doing so agrees to PingTools' terms of use and opens the app.
    • If you've opened PingTools before, you might be able to skip this step.
  4. Image titled Traceroute Step 24
    4
    Tap ☰. It's in the top-left corner of the screen. A pop-out menu will appear.
  5. Image titled Traceroute Step 25
    5
    Tap Traceroute. This option is in the middle of the pop-out menu.
  6. Image titled Traceroute Step 26
    6
    Tap the text box. It's at the top of the screen. Doing so will bring up your Android's on-screen keyboard.
    • If a website's address is already in this text box, remove it before proceeding.
  7. Image titled Traceroute Step 27
    7
    Enter a website's address. Type in the address (or IP address) of the website to which you want to trace a path.
    • For example, to trace a path to Twitter's closest server, you would enter twitter.com here.
    • You don't need to provide the "https://" or "www." section of the website's address.
  8. Image titled Traceroute Step 28
    8
    Tap TRACE. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Doing so will prompt PingTools to begin tracing a route to your selected address.
  9. Image titled Traceroute Step 29
    9
    Review the results. Once the trace is complete, you can review the address of each gateway through which your trace passed on its way to the destination.
    • If you see any blank trace entries, you can ignore them—they signify that the trace is being returned as a result rather than passing through a gateway.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 5:

Linux

  1. Image titled Traceroute Step 30
    1
    Open Terminal. This step will vary depending on your version of Linux, but most distributions will require you to open the Menu and then select
    Mac Terminal
    Terminal from the list of programs.
    • You can also press Alt+Ctrl+T to open Terminal on most Linux distributions.
  2. Image titled Traceroute Step 31
    2
    Install Traceroute. To do so:
    • Type in sudo apt install traceroute and press ↵ Enter.
    • Type in your password and press ↵ Enter.
    • Type y and press ↵ Enter if prompted.
    • Wait for Traceroute to install.
  3. 3
    Determine a website for which you want to trace the route. For example, if you want to see a list of gateways between your computer and YouTube, you would use YouTube's website.
  4. Image titled Traceroute Step 33
    4
    Enter the "traceroute" command. Type in traceroute website.com—making sure to replace website.com with the name and extension for your preferred website (e.g., youtube.com)—and press ↵ Enter.
    • You don't need to provide the "https://" or "www." section of the website's address.
    • If you have the website's IP address, you can use it instead of the URL.
  5. Image titled Traceroute Step 34
    5
    Review the results. Once the trace is complete, you can review the address of each gateway through which your trace passed on its way to the destination.
    • If you see any blank trace entries, you can ignore them—they signify that the trace is being returned as a result rather than passing through a gateway.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    I don't see a GO tab on my Mac. Does it go by another name?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Maybe you have a Mac with a GO tab in another language. GO can be said in many different languages and ways.
  • Question
    When I write a command tracer to Google in Windows, I get this message: "tracer is not recognized as an internal or external command". What should I do?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    it looks like you typed in "tracer google.com", when actually the command is "tracert google.com".
  • Question
    What do I do if the request timed out on every hop?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Call your internet provider, or check the DNS of the address that you're running the traceroute to.
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Warnings

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.lifewire.com/traceroute-linux-command-4092586
  2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202790
  3. ↑ https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/203118044-How-do-I-run-a-traceroute-#h_b8cebafd-9243-40e9-9c44-d4b94ccd3a87

About This Article

Jack Lloyd
Written by:
Jack Lloyd
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 587,094 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 28
Updated: January 31, 2023
Views: 587,094
Categories: Mac
Article SummaryX

1. Open the search bar.
2. Type "command prompt".
3. Click Command Prompt.
4. Type "tracert wikihow.com.
5. Press Enter.

Did this summary help you?
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