Is Windows 10/11 ICMP blocked? Check out our expert tips

ICMP is the Internet Control Message Protocol sent when users utilize the ping utility. The ping utility is handy for checking if network-connected devices are active. Thus, pinging can come in handy for checking network connections.

However, firewalls block ICMP pings for users by default. Consequently, users can’t ping when there’s a firewall up. So, it’s pretty obvious what users need to do to fix the ICMP pings!

How to Fix Blocked Pings in Windows 10

1. Turn Off the Windows Defender Firewall

Most users will, of course, turn off the Windows Defender Firewall before they enter a ping in the Command Prompt. Turning WDF off is perhaps the most straightforward way to fix pinging. Users can turn off the WDF as follows.

• Open Cortana by pressing the Windows key + Q hotkey.
• Enter ‘firewall’ to search for the WDF, and then select to open the Windows Defender Firewall Control Panel applet.

• Click Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off on the left to open the settings in the snapshot directly below.

• Then click the Turn off Windows Defender Firewall radio buttons.
• Select the OK option.
• Users can select the Turn on Windows Defender Firewall settings after pinging.

2. Enable Ping Through the Firewall

However, users can also ping without turning WDF off. Users can do that by setting up a WDF ping request exception. Follow the guidelines below to establish a ping request exception.

• Right-click the Start button to open the Win + X menu.
• Select Command Prompt (Admin) to open the Prompt’s window.
• First, enter ‘netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name=”ICMP Allow incoming V4 echo request” protocol=icmpv4:8,any dir=in action=allow’ and press the Return key to set up an ICMPv4 exception.

• Then input ‘netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name=”ICMP Allow incoming V6 echo request” protocol=icmpv6:8,any dir=in action=allow’ in the Command Prompt’s window as shown directly below, and press the Enter key.

• Thereafter, users can enter their pings in the Command Prompt.

3. Disable Third-Party Antivirus Software

However, if the ICMP ping still times out, there must be a third-party firewall blocking it. Some users will also need to disable third-party antivirus software, which include their own firewalls. To do that, right-click the antivirus utility’s system tray icon to open its context menu. Then select a context menu option that will disable the antivirus software, which might be a turn off, disable, stop, or shut down option. Alternatively, users can stop antivirus software starting with Windows as follows.

• Open the Win + X menu by right-clicking the Start button.
• Click Task Manager to open that utility.
• Select the Start-up tab on the Task Manager.

• Select the antivirus utility on the Start-up tab, and press the Disable button.
• Then restart Windows.

So, that’s how users can fix blocked pings. Then users can check their connections with pings.

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