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Test for packet loss on a Mac with ping

Packet loss makes calls break up and pages stall. Use ping to measure loss to the router and to the internet, and compare them.

Applies to: All current macOS versions.Checked: 29 October 2026

Symptoms

  • Audio in calls breaks up or sounds robotic.
  • Games show lag or rubber-banding.
  • Pages stop and then continue.

Likely causes

  • A weak or noisy Wi-Fi link. Radio interference and distance make packets fail on the link.
  • A busy router or network. Full queues drop packets.
  • Problems past the router. The provider's network or the route can drop packets.
  • Rate limits on ping replies. Some routers and servers answer only some ping requests. That looks like loss, but it is not.

How to check

  1. Find the address of your router. It is the gateway line.

    route -n get default

  2. Send 100 pings to the router. Replace the address with your gateway address.

    ping -c 100 192.168.1.1

    Output A summary line with packets transmitted, packets received and the percentage of packet loss.

  3. Send 100 pings to a server on the internet.

    ping -c 100 1.1.1.1

  4. Compare the two loss values. Loss to the router points to Wi-Fi or the router.

  5. Loss only to the internet server points past the router.

  6. Repeat the test over Ethernet, if you can. Loss that stops on Ethernet comes from Wi-Fi.

  7. To see where loss starts on the path, read Find where a connection slows down with traceroute.

How to fix it

  1. If the loss is on Wi-Fi, move closer to the router or use a less crowded channel. See Weak Wi-Fi signal on a Mac.

  2. If the loss appears only while the network is busy, read Bufferbloat: calls lag when the network is busy.

  3. Restart the router and the modem.

  4. If the loss is past the router, contact your provider. Give them the ping results with dates and times.

With Kilobat

  1. kilobat diagnose measures router and internet latency, jitter and loss in one run.

    kilobat diagnose

  2. The stutter test pings the router every 50 ms for 20 seconds. It marks routers that answer only some fast pings, so you do not count that as loss.

    kilobat stutter

  3. In the app, the Health tab shows the stutter test. It is free.

Questions

How much packet loss is too much?

Any steady loss is worth a check. Kilobat's call check warns at more than 2% loss to the internet.

Why do I see loss only in a fast ping test?

Many routers limit how many ping requests they answer each second. Use the default interval of one second for a fair result.

Sources

  • ping(8), man page installed with macOS 27.2
  • route(8), man page installed with macOS 27.2
  • traceroute(8), man page installed with macOS 27.2

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with man <name> in Terminal.