If you've encountered the “Ping: Transmit Failed General Failure” error, you're not alone. The error is usually due to outdated network drivers, Hardware and software issues or Issues with the DNS. This guide offers solutions to fix the error. Keep reading!…

When you run into network problems like the “Ping: Transmit failed. General failure” error, pinging can help troubleshoot the underlying issue.

On a Windows machine, we use the ping command to measure an IP address’s response time and, among other things, analyze the statistics of the reply received.

When you execute the ping command, packets of information are sent to devices on the same network or the Internet to determine whether they are available for connection.

But, what do you do if you send a ping and it returns the error “Ping: Transmit Failed. General Failure”?

It can be quite frustrating, especially if you are working on something. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the notification doesn’t show additional information describing the error.

But don’t panic. In this post, we show you how to troubleshoot ping failure so that you can get back to your business.

There are various possible reasons that could cause this problem. Some of the potential ones are as follows:

• Outdated network drivers or firmware;
• A misconfigured firewall;
• Hardware and software issues;
• Issues with the Domain Name System (DNS)

As we noted above, the main reason why the error occurs is not known. Having said that, the following are the most effective solutions to the “Ping: General Failure” error. These solutions worked for other users and are worth trying on your PC.

Fix 1: Temporarily disable your firewall

First, you need to check if your firewall is to blame for the ping general failure error. While this is rarely the case, it’s worth checking this out since we can’t exactly pinpoint the source of the problem.

To do that, temporarily disable the firewall and try running the ping command again. If you use Windows Defender as your security solution, here are the steps to follow:

Press the Windows logo key + S combination, type Firewall and select Windows Defender Firewall. This will take you directly to the Windows Defender Firewall page in the Control Panel.

While in this window, look for the Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off option in the left pane and select it.

Click the radio buttons next to Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended) for each network type.

Alternatively, you can simply block all the incoming connections by clicking the checkbox under the option to turn on Windows Firewall.

Now check if you’ll run into the ping general failure error. If you do, Windows Defender is not the culprit. Turn it back on to keep your system protected.

Using Auslogics Anti-Malware

If you’re using robust security software like Auslogics Anti-Malware, open its settings and pause protection. Run the ping command again to check if it’s working. If it’s not, then the problem lies elsewhere.

Note: Using a powerful malware removal tool is always recommended since it provides more protection than an 
ordinary antivirus program. With Auslogics Anti-Malware, you can rest assured that no malware entity will 
penetrate its tight security wall.
It's designed to safeguard your computer against all kinds of malware, including those masquerading as genuine 
files or applications. It even scans your browsers to check for data leaks and blocks items it deems suspicious.

Remember to re-enable the anti-malware program as soon as you’re done checking if it’s blocking your computer from running the ping command.

By default, Windows 10/11 is configured to use IPv6 rather than IPv4. This is made possible by the prefix policies built into the system and programmed to prefer using IPv6 over IPv4.

For some reason, this can lead to the “General failure” error message.

To set Windows to prefer IPv4, follow this guide:

• Go to this Microsoft page and click on Download under Prefer Ipv4 over IPv6 in the prefix policies to download Microsoft Easy Fix 21066.
• After the download completes, open the directory where you saved the file and double-click on it to run it.
• Follow through the on-screen guide to allow the tool to complete the process.
• Once it’s done, restart your computer.

When the system loads, check if you can ping successfully.

Fix 3: Remove any applications that block HTTP traffic

If you’ve installed any applications on your Windows machine that could, in one way or another, be capable of blocking HTTP traffic coming to or from your PC, you must uninstall them.

These applications can block your system from pinging the IP address or website that you’re trying to reach.

Examples of such programs include Simplewall, Peer Guardian, Wireshark, Peerblock, and AnyConnect.

Here is how to uninstall the applications:

• Open the Control Panel, and go to Programs > Uninstall a program.