Ping IPv6
Send ICMPv6 echo requests to any IPv6 address or hostname and confirm whether the host answers over the IPv6 internet, with round-trip latency and packet loss.
About Ping IPv6
Ping IPv6 sends four ICMPv6 Echo Request packets from our EU servers to the IPv6 target you enter and waits for the matching Echo Reply packets. The share of replies received versus packets sent gives you the packet loss percentage, while the timing of each reply gives you latency. Because the test runs server-side, you can check IPv6 reachability even from a network that has no native IPv6 connectivity of its own.
IPv6 uses ICMPv6 rather than the classic ICMP of IPv4, so this tool exercises the IPv6 stack specifically. The results panel reports minimum, average and maximum round-trip time in milliseconds, and the per-packet table lists each sequence number, the hop limit (shown as TTL) remaining in the reply, and the time that packet took. Low, consistent times with zero loss indicate a healthy path; missing replies or rising times point to congestion or a partial outage.
You can enter either a literal IPv6 address such as 2620:fe::fe or a hostname, in which case the host is resolved over its AAAA record before the ping is sent. Only public addresses are accepted: private and reserved ranges are refused, which keeps the tool from being used to probe internal networks.
Testing IPv6 in isolation matters on dual-stack systems, where a host can answer perfectly over IPv4 while its IPv6 path is broken or its AAAA record points at a dead address. Pinging the IPv6 address directly separates an IPv6 problem from the IPv4 one and tells you whether visitors on IPv6 can actually reach the host.
How to use it
- 1Enter an IPv6 address (for example 2620:fe::fe) or a hostname that has a AAAA record.
- 2Press Ping to send four ICMPv6 packets from our EU servers to the target.
- 3Read the packet loss percentage and the minimum, average and maximum latency at the top.
- 4Check the per-packet table for the sequence number, hop limit (TTL) and reply time of each packet.
Common use cases
- -Verify that a newly published AAAA record actually responds over IPv6
- -Diagnose IPv6 reachability when your own ISP or network is IPv4-only
- -Compare IPv6 latency against IPv4 to spot asymmetric or suboptimal routing
- -Confirm a dual-stack server answers on both protocols, not just IPv4
- -Detect packet loss on the IPv6 path to a CDN, API or mail server
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between ping and ping over IPv6 (ICMPv6)?
- IPv6 uses ICMPv6, with Echo Request and Echo Reply message types 128 and 129, instead of the ICMP used by IPv4. This tool sends ICMPv6 packets, so it tests the IPv6 stack specifically rather than the IPv4 one.
- Why does an IPv6 host not respond to ping?
- Common reasons are a missing or stale AAAA record, a firewall dropping ICMPv6, the host being down, or a broken IPv6 route. If IPv4 ping succeeds while IPv6 fails, the problem is specific to the IPv6 path.
- Can I ping an IPv6 address without IPv6 on my own connection?
- Yes. The ping runs from our EU servers over their native IPv6 connectivity, so you get a real result even if your local network only has IPv4.
- What does the TTL or hop limit in the results mean?
- The value shown is the hop limit remaining in the reply packet. A lower-than-expected number suggests a longer path, while steady replies with low loss indicate a healthy route to the target.
- Does ICMPv6 ping latency reflect real application speed?
- Ping measures only network round-trip time. Actual application latency also includes TCP, TLS and server processing, but a ping is a fast first check of whether the network path itself is healthy.