How to Run Traceroute on Windows: tracert vs pathping for Diagnosing Network Routes

Use tracert first when you need a quick route check, then use pathping when the route looks suspicious and you need packet loss data. On Windows, both tools are built in, so you can run them from Command Prompt or PowerShell without installing anything. Microsoft documents tracert as a command that traces the path to a destination by sending packets with increasing TTL values [source: Microsoft].

TLDR: Run tracert google.com for a fast view of each hop between your PC and a remote host. If hop 7 shows 180 ms latency or repeated timeouts, run pathping google.com next to check whether that hop is actually dropping packets. In a common support case, a user might see a website load in 12 seconds instead of 2 seconds, then find 35% packet loss between the office router and the ISP gateway. tracert shows where the route goes; pathping shows where the route hurts.

What tracert does on Windows

tracert, short for trace route, maps the routers between your Windows machine and a target. The target can be a domain name, such as example.com, or an IP address, such as 8.8.8.8.

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell, then run:

tracert example.com

Windows then sends test packets with gradually increasing TTL values. TTL means Time To Live. Each router reduces that value by one. When it reaches zero, the router sends back a message. That response lets Windows identify the hop.

A basic result looks like this:

Tracing route to example.com [93.184.216.34]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1     2 ms     1 ms     1 ms  192.168.1.1
  2    11 ms    13 ms    12 ms  10.20.0.1
  3    22 ms    25 ms    23 ms  isp-router.example
  4    37 ms    35 ms    36 ms  93.184.216.34

Each row is a hop. The three time columns are three probe results. Lower numbers usually mean a faster reply. Asterisks mean the hop did not answer in time. That does not always mean failure. Some routers ignore these probes but still pass traffic normally.

How to run tracert the useful way

The basic command is fine, but a few switches make it much less annoying. Honestly, it feels like DNS lookups add noise when you are already chasing a slow connection.

• Skip name lookups: tracert -d example.com
  This is often faster because Windows will not try to resolve every hop name.
• Limit hop count: tracert -h 15 example.com
  Useful when you know the destination should be nearby.
• Force IPv4: tracert -4 example.com
  Good when IPv6 creates confusing results.
• Force IPv6: tracert -6 example.com
  Helpful when testing modern cloud services or dual-stack networks.
• Change timeout: tracert -w 1000 example.com
  Waits 1,000 milliseconds for each reply instead of the default timeout.

Start with this practical version:

tracert -d example.com

It is quicker and cleaner. If you need names later, run it again without -d.

What pathping does differently

pathping is like tracert plus a packet loss test. It first finds the route. Then it sends traffic to each hop for a longer period and calculates latency and packet loss.

Run it like this:

pathping example.com

Expect to waste time on this one if you are in a hurry. pathping can take several minutes, especially across many hops. That delay is the price of better data.

A result may show columns like:

• Hop: the router number in the route
• RTT: average round-trip time
• Lost/Sent: packet loss count
• Pct: packet loss percentage
• Address: router name or IP address

The key number is packet loss. If one hop shows 40% loss but every hop after it shows 0%, that router may simply be delaying or ignoring test replies. If that hop and all later hops show similar loss, you may have found a real problem.

tracert vs pathping: when to use each

Here is the simple split:

• Use tracert for speed. It answers, “Where does my traffic go?”
• Use pathping for proof. It answers, “Where is latency or packet loss happening?”
• Use both for support tickets. A route map plus loss data gives your ISP or IT team something solid.

tracert is usually done in seconds. pathping may take 2 to 5 minutes. The upside is that pathping can show patterns that tracert misses. A single slow probe in tracert may be random. Repeated loss in pathping is harder to ignore.

Microsoft also lists pathping as a diagnostic tool that combines features of ping and tracert [source: Microsoft].

Common results and what they mean

All hops are fast, but the site is slow.
The route may be fine. The web server, CDN, browser, VPN, or DNS service could be the issue.

The first hop is slow.
Check your local network. Restart the router. Test on Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi. If the first hop to your router is 80 ms, something close to you is wrong.

A middle hop times out.
Do not panic. Many routers block diagnostic replies. If later hops respond normally, the traffic is probably passing through.

Latency jumps and stays high after one hop.
This often points to congestion or a bad route between networks. For example, if hop 5 is 20 ms and hop 6 jumps to 160 ms, then every later hop stays near 160 ms, that area deserves attention.

Packet loss starts at one hop and continues.
This is the strongest clue. If pathping shows 25% loss from hop 4 onward, save the output and send it to your ISP or network admin.

A quick real-world workflow

Say your video calls keep freezing. First, test a known reliable destination:

tracert -d 8.8.8.8

If the route looks odd or slow, run:

pathping -n 8.8.8.8

The -n switch skips name resolution, which keeps the output focused on IP addresses. If you see loss inside your home network, fix Wi-Fi, cables, router load, or driver issues first. If loss begins after your modem or at the ISP gateway, collect the results.

Tips for cleaner diagnostics

• Run tests more than once. One bad result may be a blip.
• Test by cable if possible. Wi-Fi adds interference and makes results messier.
• Close heavy apps. Cloud backups and game downloads can skew latency.
• Compare two targets. Test your problem site and a stable public IP.
• Save the output. Right-click in Command Prompt, select text, press Enter, then paste it into a ticket.

Which command should you choose?

If you only have 30 seconds, choose tracert. It quickly shows whether traffic takes a strange route or dies before reaching the destination. If you need evidence of packet loss, choose pathping. It is slower, but it gives better support data.

The best habit is simple: run tracert -d first, then run pathping -n if the route looks broken. That gives you speed first and detail second. It also saves you from guessing, which is usually where network troubleshooting starts to go sideways.