When working with internet protocols, especially when diagnosing network-related problems, there are times you might want to ping an IPv4 address instead of an IPv6 address. However, it’s not always straightforward as you may encounter situations where the ping command returns an IPv6 address instead of an IPv4. This article will guide you through the process and address some of the common queries related to pinging IPv4 and IPv6 addresses in command prompt on Windows 11 or 10.
Also see: How to Ping IPv6 Address in Windows 11
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Why ping an IPv4 address from an IPv6 network?
In an ideal scenario, IPv6 should seamlessly supersede IPv4 without causing any hitches in network operations. However, the reality of this transition isn’t as smooth as we would like. With the continuing existence of IPv4 in many parts of the internet, the need to ping an IPv4 address from an IPv6 network arises.
Pinging an IPv4 address from an IPv6 network could be crucial for several reasons:
- Interoperability testing: If you’re managing a network transitioning from IPv4 to IPv6, you may need to ensure that your new IPv6 devices can communicate with older IPv4 devices.
- Troubleshooting: Connectivity issues can occur in mixed environments. Pinging an IPv4 address from an IPv6 network could help identify where the problem lies.
- Performance comparison: Pinging both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses of the same host may help compare latency or packet loss, aiding in network optimization.
Related resource: How to Check IP Address in Windows 11
How to ping IPv4 address instead of IPv6 in CMD
Windows operating systems, including Windows 10 and 11, typically prefer IPv6 when both protocols are available. This is in line with the global movement towards IPv6. As a result, when you try to ping a hostname, the returned address might be IPv6 even if an IPv4 address is also available.
To ensure that your system pings using IPv4, you can use the “-4” switch. This switch forces the system to use IPv4 for that specific ping command. Here’s how:
ping -4 www.example.com
In this example, replace “www.example.com” with the hostname or IP address you want to ping.
Useful tip: How to Find The IP Address of a Website in Windows 11
Pinging using IPv6 Instead of IPv4
Conversely, there may be situations where you specifically want to ping IPv6 address instead of IPv4, such as testing IPv6 connectivity or functionality. The ping command in Windows offers a “-6” switch for this purpose:
ping -6 www.example.com
Replace “www.example.com” with the hostname or IP address you want to ping. This command will force the ping to use IPv6.
How to prefer IPv4 over IPv6 in Windows 11/10
While using the “-4” switch with the ping command is a handy tool for one-off commands, you might find yourself in a situation where you need to prefer IPv4 over IPv6 for all connections. This can be achieved in Windows by altering the prefix policies.
The prefix policy table in Windows dictates the preference of IP addresses when initiating a connection. By default, Windows prefers IPv6 over IPv4. However, you can alter these policies to prefer IPv4.
Follow the steps below to prefer IPv4 over IPv6:
- Open the Command Prompt with administrative privileges. You can do this by searching for “cmd” in the Start menu, right-clicking on Command Prompt, and selecting “Run as administrator”.
- Type the following command to see the current prefix policies:
netsh interface ipv6 show prefixpolicies
The output will show a list of prefix policies with different precedence levels. Higher precedence values mean higher priority. - To prefer IPv4 over IPv6, we need to increase the precedence of IPv4. This can be done using the following command:
netsh interface ipv6 set prefixpolicy ::ffff:0:0/96 60 4
This command sets the precedence of IPv4 (::ffff:0:0/96) to a higher value than the default IPv6 precedence. - If you run the “show prefixpolicies” command again, you should now see that the IPv4 has a higher precedence.
Please note that altering prefix policies can have wide-ranging effects on your network connections and should be done with care.
Learn more: How to Use Netsh Interface IP Set Address or DNS in CMD
If at any point you wish to revert to the default settings and prioritize IPv6 over IPv4, you can do so with the following command:
netsh interface ipv6 set prefixpolicy ::ffff:0:0/96 35 4
This command sets the precedence for IPv4 back to its default value, thus prioritizing IPv6 over IPv4 again.
Wrapping up
Managing network communications in a world that straddles IPv4 and IPv6 can be challenging. However, tools like the ping command in Windows, with its “-4” and “-6” switches, provide the necessary flexibility to diagnose and troubleshoot issues effectively. As we inch closer to widespread IPv6 adoption, being comfortable with these commands will prove invaluable.
