Why Is My Traceroute Timing Out? Reading the Star Hops

Q: Why does my traceroute show stars or asterisks?

Asterisks mean traceroute got no reply from that hop before its timeout, which usually means the router chose not to answer rather than the packet failing. Many routers ignore or rate-limit traceroute probes as a matter of policy. Your traffic often passes through that hop perfectly fine despite the asterisks.

Q: Is it a problem if middle hops time out in traceroute?

Usually not. If hops after the silent ones respond and the destination is reached, those middle routers simply declined to reply while still forwarding your traffic. Middle-hop timeouts are common and benign, so judge the result by whether the final destination responds.

Q: What does it mean when the last hop times out?

A timeout at the final destination is the meaningful case and points to a real reachability problem. The target host may be down, blocking probe packets, or unreachable along the path. Confirm with a direct ping or an is-it-down check before concluding it is broken.

Q: Why does a router show high latency but the next hops are fast?

That router is deprioritizing the replies it has to generate for traceroute, treating them as low-priority work, while still forwarding real traffic quickly. The high number reflects how slowly it answers probes, not how slowly it moves data. Because later hops and the destination are fast, the path is healthy.

Q: Can a firewall cause traceroute to time out?

Yes. A firewall can silently drop the probe protocol traceroute uses while still allowing normal traffic through. Because Windows and Linux default to different probe protocols, switching the probe method sometimes lets a blocked hop respond.

~/sheets/why-is-my-traceroute-timing-out.md

You run a traceroute and see rows of * * * instead of times. Before assuming the network is broken, it helps to know that timeouts in a traceroute are often completely normal. This page explains why hops time out, how to tell harmless silence from a real failure, and where to look for the actual problem. You can run a fresh trace anytime with our traceroute tool.
What the Stars Actually Mean
Three asterisks mean traceroute sent its three probes to that hop and got no reply before the timeout. Critically, no reply does not mean the packet did not get through, it usually means the router chose not to answer. Many routers are configured by policy to ignore or rate-limit the probe packets and the TTL-exceeded messages traceroute relies on. For how to read the rest of the output, see how to read traceroute.
Common Reasons a Hop Times Out
ICMP rate-limiting means routers cap how many TTL-exceeded or echo replies they generate, so some probes go unanswered even though traffic flows fine.
Policy of not replying means many routers are simply configured not to respond to traceroute probes at all.
Firewalls dropping probes means a firewall may silently discard the probe protocol while still forwarding normal traffic.
Protocol mismatch matters because Windows and Linux use different default protocols, so switching the method sometimes makes a silent hop respond. See traceroute vs ping vs mtr.
Middle Hops Timing Out vs the Last Hop
Where the timeout appears is what matters most. Middle hops with asterisks are usually benign: if hops after them respond and the destination is reached, those routers simply chose not to reply, and your traffic passed through fine. The final destination timing out is the meaningful case: if the last hop never responds, that points to a real reachability problem, where the host may be down, blocking probes, or unreachable on the path. To double-check whether a destination is genuinely down rather than just quiet, try the is it down tool.
High RTT at One Hop but Fine Afterward
A related illusion is a hop that shows a very high time while the hops after it, and the destination, are fast. This is not a problem. That router is deprioritizing the replies it generates for traceroute, which is administrative work it treats as low priority, while still forwarding your real traffic quickly. Judge the path by the destination and by whether latency stays elevated through every later hop. Asymmetric routing, where the reply travels back a different path than the request, can also distort the round-trip time for a single hop. The role of routers in choosing paths is covered in what is a router.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my traceroute show stars or asterisks?
Asterisks mean traceroute got no reply from that hop before its timeout, which usually means the router chose not to answer rather than the packet failing. Many routers ignore or rate-limit traceroute probes as a matter of policy. Your traffic often passes through that hop perfectly fine despite the asterisks.
Is it a problem if middle hops time out in traceroute?
Usually not. If hops after the silent ones respond and the destination is reached, those middle routers simply declined to reply while still forwarding your traffic. Middle-hop timeouts are common and benign, so judge the result by whether the final destination responds.
What does it mean when the last hop times out?
A timeout at the final destination is the meaningful case and points to a real reachability problem. The target host may be down, blocking probe packets, or unreachable along the path. Confirm with a direct ping or an is-it-down check before concluding it is broken.
Why does a router show high latency but the next hops are fast?
That router is deprioritizing the replies it has to generate for traceroute, treating them as low-priority work, while still forwarding real traffic quickly. The high number reflects how slowly it answers probes, not how slowly it moves data. Because later hops and the destination are fast, the path is healthy.
Can a firewall cause traceroute to time out?
Yes. A firewall can silently drop the probe protocol traceroute uses while still allowing normal traffic through. Because Windows and Linux default to different probe protocols, switching the probe method sometimes lets a blocked hop respond.
Last updated: April 2026