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How to Fix Ping Destination Host Unreachable [No Packet Loss]
Changing your Default Gateway should fix this issue quickly
5 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Sometimes, not even theInternetis perfect. Realistically speaking, it fails our expectations many times. And to top it off, sometimes it even throws some confusing errors.
For instance, when you can’t reach a device, so you try pinging it. Thepingtest shows the host as unreachable and zero packet loss. Even if you’re tech-savvy, this situation might put a huge question mark above your head.
However, we’re here to demystify this issue once and for all.
What does it mean when ping says destination host unreachable?
The destination host unreachable error message denotes that the host you are trying to ping is down. This error might also mean the host is not returning to ICMP echo requests.
Why is the destination host unreachable?
There are many reasons why ahostcan be or become unreachable. Even if you’re on the samenetwork, the target device (host) might have different connection settings then you, an aggressive firewall, or even some spoofing, so you can’t exactly pinpoint the main cause.
Here’s a list of the most common reasons why thehostmight be unreachable:
The point is that if you can’t reach ahost, it’s mainly because there’s no route from the local device (yours) to the remote one (host). Either that or something blocks your attempts to connect to thehosts.
Nevertheless, your pings never reach their destination, and still, there’s no reported packet loss.
Destination host unreachable but no packet loss
Pingand packet loss are somewhat tied, but they’re entirely different. For once, ping tests the reachability of certain devices (hosts), whereas packet loss is the percentage of packets that didn’t reach the destination.
So why there’s no packet loss even though the ping destination host is unreachable? The answer is quite simple. If there’s no route from the local system (yours), then the packets you sent were never placed on the route.
Therefore, the requests will always have a 0% packet loss since nothing was sent. Trivia fact: on most Linux systems, pinging reports 100% packet loss.
Destination host unreachable routing issue
If you’ve encountered this issue before, you’ve most likely seen one of these two errors:
There’s yet another scenario when your request time out. After sending echo requests, the PC starts listening for echo replies. The default waiting time for anecho replyis one second.
If the device doesn’t receive the reply within 1 second, the request will time out, and you’ll receive a suggestive error message (i.e., Request Timed Out). This situation is mainly caused by network congestion but can also have other causes.
For instance, silent discards, poorly routed networks, or packet filtering can contribute to request timeouts.
How to fix destination host unreachable ping?
If the cause of theerroris improperDefault Gatewayconfiguration, we’ll show you how to fix it. Perform the following steps:
1. Confirm your default gateway
If the Default Gateway shown is different from your IP address, you need to proceed to the next stage to change it.
2. Change Default Gateway
After restarting your PC, try to ping the host again and check if you still get the Destination host unreachable error.
If you are still getting the error, you should disable your firewall and check if the host device is on and connected. You can also check the network cables to be sure they are fine.
You can get 0% packet loss, even when hosts are unreachable
Long story short, you shouldn’t stress over a simple semantics issue. Even if Windows’pingtool reports 0% packet loss, it’s because there’s no connection and no packets are being sent.
Just try using thepingtool in Linux, and you’ll probablyreceive a 100% packet loss. The important thing is to understand why such anerroroccurs and find ways to fix it.
With this, we can conclude this extensive guide on how to fix the destination host unreachable error.
If you are facing a similar issue inHyper-V guest cannot ping the host, check our detailed guide to fix it quickly.
Feel free to let us know how you fixed this issue in the comments below.
More about the topics:Fix network issues,packet loss
Vlad Constantinescu
Vlad might have a degree in Animal Husbandry and Livestock Management, but he’s currently rocking anything software related, ranging from testing programs to writing in-depth reviews about them.
He spent 3-4 years as a software editor at Softpedia and another year as a VPN specialist before he landed his current job as an author at Windows Report.
In his free time, Vlad enjoys playing guitar, doing jigsaw puzzles, researching cybersecurity, and even having a good read on rainy days.
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