Pinging a machine on my local network gets an 'unreachable' response from my own IP address?

Question

Edit for future readers who get here from google:

This question is now the top google result when searching for 'destination host unreachable from my own ip address'. If that's how you got here, then you should know that my problem was a silly one probably caused by temperamental hardware, so don't bother reading through the walls of text below. The sole piece of information that's probably useful to you comes from Harry Johnston's comment below:

Getting a "destination unreachable" message from your own machine is normal behaviour in recent Windows versions. It just means that the arp failed, i.e., the IP address couldn't be located on the LAN

To confirm this, try running arp -a on your machine, and you'll see a list of all the IP addresses that could be found on your LAN. If you don't see the IP address that you're trying to ping, then that explains why your pings are returning 'unreachable' from your own machine. As for how to fix that problem, it could be caused by anything. Try resetting your router, resetting your network adapters, fiddling with static/dynamic IP addresses etc etc.

^^ If you came from google, you probably just want to read the above ^^

---

I've been trying to play Terraria on my home network, but I'm having troubles. After checking that the Terraria game and server were being allowed through Windows firewall on both machines, I decided to see if the two machines could ping each other, and they can't.

At home I have router 1 downstairs, connected to the internet (this is 192.168.1.1). Router 2 is upstairs, connected to router 1 by Cat5, providing wifi to the two machines in question (this is 192.168.1.254). Both machines can successfully ping both routers, and can use the internet just fine.

However, when I try to ping one machine from the other, I get 'Destination host unreachable' from the machine that is sending the ping.

For example when I'm sitting at 192.168.1.2:

C:\Users\Cam>ping 192.168.1.9

Pinging 192.168.1.9 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.2: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.2: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.2: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.2: Destination host unreachable.

And the other way:

C:\Users\Bianca>ping 192.168.1.2

Pinging 192.168.1.2 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.9: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.9: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.9: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.9: Destination host unreachable.

Here is the ipconfig from my machine:

C:\Users\Cam>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : home
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::e193:4df5:1f0f:d454%17
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:4137:9e76:1cac:3b08:8cbf:4c0e
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::1cac:3b08:8cbf:4c0e%12
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::

Tunnel adapter Reusable ISATAP Interface {DFC85B2E-7BFA-4F6D-8290-297D34E6DB51}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : home

Tunnel adapter isatap.{14B82FE3-FC4C-49FF-AF35-5808CA779909}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :

Why can't I ping between these machines, and why is the error reply coming from the originating machine?

Edit as requested:

C:\Users\Cam>route print
===========================================================================
Interface List
 17...f4 ec 38 98 2a bf ......TP-LINK 150Mbps Wireless Lite N Adapter
 11...50 e5 49 42 88 f7 ......Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
  1...........................Software Loopback Interface 1
 12...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0 Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
 19...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0 Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #3
 20...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0 Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #4
===========================================================================

IPv4 Route Table
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
Network Destination        Netmask          Gateway       Interface  Metric
          0.0.0.0          0.0.0.0      192.168.1.1      192.168.1.2     25
        127.0.0.0        255.0.0.0         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
        127.0.0.1  255.255.255.255         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
  127.255.255.255  255.255.255.255         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
      192.168.1.0    255.255.255.0         On-link       192.168.1.2    281
      192.168.1.2  255.255.255.255         On-link       192.168.1.2    281
    192.168.1.255  255.255.255.255         On-link       192.168.1.2    281
        224.0.0.0        240.0.0.0         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
        224.0.0.0        240.0.0.0         On-link       192.168.1.2    281
  255.255.255.255  255.255.255.255         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
  255.255.255.255  255.255.255.255         On-link       192.168.1.2    281
===========================================================================
Persistent Routes:
  None

IPv6 Route Table
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
 If Metric Network Destination      Gateway
 12     58 ::/0                     On-link
  1    306 ::1/128                  On-link
 12     58 2001::/32                On-link
 12    306 2001:0:4137:9e76:1cac:3b08:8cbf:4c0e/128
                                    On-link
 17    281 fe80::/64                On-link
 12    306 fe80::/64                On-link
 12    306 fe80::1cac:3b08:8cbf:4c0e/128
                                    On-link
 17    281 fe80::e193:4df5:1f0f:d454/128
                                    On-link
  1    306 ff00::/8                 On-link
 12    306 ff00::/8                 On-link
 17    281 ff00::/8                 On-link
===========================================================================
Persistent Routes:
  None

Edit: route table for second machine:

C:\Users\Bianca>route print
===========================================================================
Interface List
 29 ...f8 d1 11 0c a5 e4 ...... TP-LINK 150Mbps Wireless Lite N Adapter
 11 ...00 22 19 e9 98 13 ...... Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet
  1 ........................... Software Loopback Interface 1
 23 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  isatap.{B2C8981A-B289-467B-AE63-54B849BE78CD}
 10 ...02 00 54 55 4e 01 ...... Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
 22 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #7
 16 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  6TO4 Adapter
 17 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #2
 18 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #3
 19 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #4
 20 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #5
 21 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #6
 27 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  isatap.{BA694930-3E1A-44DB-9BEB-5B4B22E4C956}
 30 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  isatap.{4DA30C6C-EFD0-4CEE-A93D-375FC1878C51}
 25 ...00 00 00 00 00 00 00 e0  Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #9
===========================================================================

IPv4 Route Table
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
Network Destination        Netmask          Gateway       Interface  Metric
          0.0.0.0          0.0.0.0      192.168.1.1      192.168.1.9    281
        127.0.0.0        255.0.0.0         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
        127.0.0.1  255.255.255.255         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
  127.255.255.255  255.255.255.255         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
      192.168.1.0    255.255.255.0         On-link       192.168.1.9    281
      192.168.1.9  255.255.255.255         On-link       192.168.1.9    281
    192.168.1.255  255.255.255.255         On-link       192.168.1.9    281
        224.0.0.0        240.0.0.0         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
        224.0.0.0        240.0.0.0         On-link       192.168.1.9    281
  255.255.255.255  255.255.255.255         On-link         127.0.0.1    306
  255.255.255.255  255.255.255.255         On-link       192.168.1.9    281
===========================================================================
Persistent Routes:
  Network Address          Netmask  Gateway Address  Metric
          0.0.0.0          0.0.0.0      192.168.1.1  Default
===========================================================================

IPv6 Route Table
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
 If Metric Network Destination      Gateway
 10     18 ::/0                     On-link
  1    306 ::1/128                  On-link
 10     18 2001::/32                On-link
 10    266 2001:0:4137:9e76:47:11ff:3f57:fef6/128
                                    On-link
 29    281 fe80::/64                On-link
 10    266 fe80::/64                On-link
 10    266 fe80::47:11ff:3f57:fef6/128
                                    On-link
 29    281 fe80::95c:9958:d93d:f2e4/128
                                    On-link
  1    306 ff00::/8                 On-link
 10    266 ff00::/8                 On-link
 29    281 ff00::/8                 On-link
===========================================================================
Persistent Routes:
  None

Answer 1

Check the setup of your WiFi router. Some routers have an option to disallow communication between hosts on the WiFi interface. This option is useful for hotspots but not for home networks.

There's also a setting called AP isolation, which prevents communication between wired and wireless clients. On a Linksys router you can find it under Advanced Wireless Settings.

Answer 2

I have no idea why, but for some reason, resetting the wireless adapter on the Vista machine fixed all the problems. I hadn't thought to do that yet because the internet (and pinging the 2 routers) was working flawlessly on that machine. I'm confused as to how a USB wifi dongle could cause local network traffic to fail, while having internet work fine, but there you go.

Sorry to everyone who wasted time reading my in-depth descriptions and trying to figure this out, your help is appreciated.

Answer 3

Ok. So, just to cover some basics...

The second router upstairs is NOT using DHCP to pass out IP addresses, correct? If it is, you should turn off that service on the second router. I'm not saying to turn it off on both... the second router should essentially be set up in bridge mode... where it simply allows other computers to connect to the network it is part of. For example, with a Belkin router, you would simply enable "Bridge Mode" and multiple features (like DHCP) would be turned off and made inaccessible.

Now... have you turned off the Windows Firewalls for each of these computers for testing purposes yet? That should be done, to ensure that the Firewall included with Windows isn't causing the ping request to be blocked. You didn't say which version of Windows you are using, and with Windows 7 ICMP are indeed blocked by default with the built-in firewall. So, if you wanted to continue to use the firewall, you would have to create an exception on each computer to allow ICMP (ping) requests through. This doesn't mean the computers can't communicate with each other. You could have multiple network sharing services actively working with Windows 7, and still be blocked from pinging the machines. But *at the very least, disabling the firewall temporarily for testing** would be the way to go to see if indeed it is the firewall at issue here.

As a side note... can you view shared directories from each computer in question? Swap files, etc?

At any rate...

I've been trying to play Terraria on my home network, but I'm having troubles. After checking that the Terraria game and server were being allowed through Windows firewall on both machines, I decided to see if the two machines could ping each other, and they can't.

You left out something. You set up the server, gave it an exception in the firewall, you set up a client, gave it an exception in the firewall, and then decided to ping each computer. You didn't say what happened in between. Was it that you started the game on the client machine, and it couldn't see the server? Or did you think "Hmm... I wonder if these computer can even see each other, I'd better ping them." before you tried to connect the client to the server? Did you stick with the default port of 7777?

Answer 4

Solution that works for me is to unplug the router, and restart it.

This has happened to me a number of times, out of the blue. I lose connectivity to the Internet, then I try to ping the router at 192.168.0.1, and it tells me that the destination host 192.168.0.9 is unreachable. That's my laptop which I'm issuing the ping from.

Tonight it seemed like the Roku, my laptop and my son's laptop all lost internet connectivity. Pinging, gave me the results I just mentioned. Pulling power on the router and restarting it resolved the problem.

It's a DIR-655 with pretty up-to-date firmware. The Roku is actually connected via wire.

Would love to know why this happens, but it's a spurious problem, and I don't believe it has anything to do with settings in the router being incorrect.

Answer 5

Try pinging the opposite way, i.e. from your destination back to you. For me, doing that action put in the entry of the destination in the source's arp -a table.

My over explaination: I had this issue with a Windows 11 PC could not ping a raspberry pi zero. Both connected to the internet, and my Windows 11 PC said it was windows fault (cause my own IP was the host that said the destination was unreachable. arp -a did not show it in the list.

I logged onto the terminal of raspberry pi, pinged back to my Windows PC, then presto.. the problem resolved itself. arp -a now showed the destination.

Yes the original poster could not ping in either direction, but this is still the first google page, and it may help someone.

Answer 6

I found this (simple) fix for this kind of problem (I have a very similar network setup, including two routers, one for internet access, the other for WiFi): in my case my notebook was suddenly no longer able to access another computer in the same local network.

After disabling the ethernet network port, my notebook was suddenly happy with my WiFi network again. Obviously my activated LAN card (without a LAN cable connected to it!) somehow interfered with the routing procedure of my Windows 7/64bit system.