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IPv6 test

Find out whether your connection reaches the internet over IPv6, IPv4 or both, and which one your browser picks when a site offers both.

Nothing to type. The test starts by itself when the page loads and takes a few seconds.
The test runs as soon as the page has loaded.

Your browser makes one request to a server that only has an IPv4 address, one to a server that only has an IPv6 address, and one to a server that has both. The requests that arrive show what your connection can do. If nothing appears here, check that JavaScript is allowed, then press Run the test.

What this test checks

IPv6 is the newer of the internet's two addressing systems. This test shows whether your connection can use it, and what happens when a site offers both.

Your browser makes three small requests: one to a server that only has an IPv4 address, one to a server that only has an IPv6 address, and one to a server that has both. A request can only arrive over a protocol your connection supports, so each reply is proof that the path works. The reply also carries the address the server saw, which is how this page knows both of your public addresses.

Two more checks add detail. The AAAA check looks up an IPv6 record over DNS-over-HTTPS. It does not test your provider's own resolver. The address type check reads the range your IPv6 address comes from and flags tunnels.

Reading the results

ResultWhat it means
ReachableThe request arrived over that protocol. It works.
Not availableYour connection has no path over that protocol. For IPv6 this is common and nothing is broken.
Prefers IPv4Both protocols work, but your browser chose IPv4 for a site that offers both.
TunnelledYour IPv6 address starts with 2002: (6to4) or 2001:0: (Teredo), so IPv6 is carried inside IPv4 packets. That is slower and less dependable than native IPv6.
Timed outThe IPv6 request hung instead of failing quickly. IPv6 may be switched on but not working.

What dual-stack means

A dual-stack connection has an IPv4 address and an IPv6 address at the same time. Your device uses IPv6 for sites that support it and IPv4 for the rest, and you never have to choose. Providers that offer IPv6 nearly always deliver it this way, because many sites and services still answer over IPv4 only. The guide to IPv4 and IPv6 covers the differences.

Why browsers prefer IPv6

When a site has both kinds of address, browsers use a method called Happy Eyeballs: they start the IPv6 connection first, and if it has not connected within a fraction of a second they start IPv4 alongside it and keep whichever connects first.

So a result of "prefers IPv4" on a working dual-stack line usually means IPv6 was slower to connect at that moment. Run the test again. If it keeps choosing IPv4, your IPv6 path is probably slow or tunnelled. Operating systems rank 6to4 and Teredo tunnels below IPv4 on purpose.

How to get IPv6

  • Check the router. Look for an IPv6 section in its internet or WAN settings and set it to automatic, native or DHCPv6, whichever your provider names. Older routers may need a firmware update first.
  • Ask your provider. IPv6 has to be offered on their side first. Some switch it on by request.
  • Turn off the VPN and test again. Many VPN apps disable IPv6 so that traffic cannot leak around the tunnel. The result then describes the VPN, not your own line.

You do not have to act on a missing IPv6 address. Mainstream sites still answer over IPv4.

If IPv6 is broken rather than absent

Absent IPv6 is harmless. Broken IPv6 is not: your device has an IPv6 address, tries to use it, and the packets go nowhere. The signs are pages that pause for a few seconds before they load, or a timeout on the IPv6 row of this test.

  • Restart the router, then the device. Routers sometimes keep announcing an old IPv6 prefix after the provider has issued a new one.
  • Let ICMPv6 through. IPv6 relies on ICMPv6 messages to agree on packet size. A firewall rule that blocks all of them makes large pages stall.
  • Remove old tunnels. If the address type says tunnelled, turn off 6to4 or Teredo on the router or the device.
  • Report it. If the fault remains, tell your provider. Turning IPv6 off on the router is a fair stopgap.

Common questions

Do I need IPv6?

Not for everyday browsing. It helps most when your provider shares one IPv4 address among many customers, because IPv6 gives your connection addresses of its own. That makes hosting a game, a camera or a home server simpler. Some mobile networks already run on IPv6 first and translate to IPv4 only when needed.

Is IPv6 faster than IPv4?

Not by design. It can be slightly quicker when it avoids a provider's address-sharing equipment, and slightly slower when its route is longer. On a healthy connection the difference is too small to notice.

My provider supports IPv6, but the test says it is not available. Why?

The usual causes are an IPv6 setting that is switched off in the router, a router too old to support it, a VPN that disables IPv6, or an office network that has not enabled it. Test once on another device on the same network. If that device has IPv6, the setting to look for is on the first device, not the router.

Does IPv6 make me easier to track?

With IPv6 each device can have its own public address. The first half identifies your connection, much as your IPv4 address does. Current systems generate the second half at random instead of from the hardware, and many change it every day or so, which stops it following a device from one network to another. Home routers normally refuse unrequested inbound IPv6 connections, as they do for IPv4. The My IP page shows the addresses sites see right now.