How to Ping on a Mac

How to Ping on a Mac

How to Ping on a Mac

How to Ping on a Mac

Ping is used to test your internet speed and quality. In this feature were going to look at network ping testing, and how to do a ping test from your Apple Mac. Ping is a technique used by computers to test whether another computer on the network is responding to it. One computer sends a message (the ping) to another, and the second computer responds.

Once the connection between the two computers is established, a is repeatedly performed to test the latency (delay) between the two computers. If you're working on a network, you can use a ping test to check the connection between multiple computers.

How to Ping on a Mac

This is a good for troubleshooting problems with file sharing and other communication problems. Because the ping test measures latency (delay) which is the speed between two computers, you can use an online ping test to measure the latency (delay) between your computer and another server on the internet. For this reason, a Ping test is often used by gamers to measure delay (also known as lag).

This can also be used to measure the quality of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for any features that require a good internet connection. Its worth noting that ping is distinct from raw speed. Your ISP could offer a very fast service, but its ping quality can be low. Which is why sometimes youll have a great internet speed, but still find the quality of online streaming services (such as BBC iPlayer) are choppy and that online gaming stuttering.

How to Ping on a Mac

Often the problems lie in the ping quality of your network. Here are three ways to test ping on your Mac: It is possible to test Ping on your Mac using the Network Utility app. Before 2014 this was located in Applications > Utilities, but since Apple launched Mac OS X Yosemite it has been relocated. You will find it in System > Library > Core Service.

Alternatively you will find it by clicking on the Apple Menu > About this Mac > System Report > Window > Network Utility. Or, just type Network Utility into Spotlight and open it that way. Here's how to use Network Utility to Ping: Now that Network Utility is running, it returns get ping results for the BBC website. 

Each test reports the packet size (such as 64 bytes) and lists the ISP and at the end is the ping time measured in ms. Unlike an online service youll have to work out the jitter and grade for yourself, but a lower measurement in ms is better. You can also test ping on the Mac directly in the Terminal app. Here is how to test ping in Terminal: Another way to test ping is to use an app such as Speedtest by Ookla.

How to Ping on a Mac