Facebook
Language  
World IPv6 Launch

Why can't I access Facebook?

Facebook and many other sites including Google and Yahoo! are participating in World IPv6 Launch, a global effort to help modernize the routing layer of the Internet. If you can't access Facebook or the other participating sites, it most likely means you're not ready for IPv6.

If you'd like to confirm the issue, you can test your IPv6 readiness with this utility.

Follow the steps in this guide to configure your computer to regain access to Facebook.

How Do I Get Back On Facebook?

The most likely reason you can't access Facebook today is that your computer is configured to use IPv6 while your Internet connection doesn't support it. To fix this, you'll have to disable IPv6 for your computer which will ensure you connect to Facebook through IPv4, the current standard of the internet.

Please select your operating system:

Disabling IPv6 on Windows 7

  1. Click the Windows logo at the bottom of the screen
  2. Click "Control Panel"
  3. Click "Network and Sharing Center" in the Control Panel
  4. Click "Change adapter settings"
  5. Right click on the default network adapter, mostly likely called "Local Area Connection"
  6. Select "Properties" from the right-click menu
  7. Uncheck "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)"
  8. Click "OK"
  9. You may be required to restart your computer

Disabling IPv6 on Windows Vista

  1. Click on the Windows logo at the bottom of the screen
  2. Click "Control Panel"
  3. Click "Network Sharing Center"
  4. Click "Change adapter settings" in the side menu
  5. Right-click on the default network adapter, most likely called "Local Area Connection"
  6. Select "Properties" in the right-click menu
  7. Uncheck "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)"
  8. Click "OK"
  9. You may be required to restart your computer

Uninstalling IPv6 on Windows XP

  1. Click "Start" at the bottom of the screen
  2. Click "Settings"
  3. Click "Control Panel"
  4. Click "Network Connections"
  5. Right-click the network adapter that is labeled as "Connected"
  6. Select "Properties" in the right-click menu
  7. Select "Microsoft TCP/IP version 6" in the list of installed components
  8. Uninstall
  9. Click "Yes" in the confirmation dialog
  10. Click "Close" to save the setting
  11. You may be required to restart your computer

Disabling IPv6 on Mac OS X

  1. Click the Apple icon in the top left corner of the screen
  2. Click "System Preferences"
  3. Click "Network"
  4. Select the network connection listed a "Connected"
  5. Click the "Advanced..." button at the bottom of the pane
  6. Click on the "TCP/IP" tab
  7. Click on the "Configure IPv6" list and select the "Off" option.
  8. Click "OK"

What is IPv6?

The Internet is possible due to a large system of addresses not unlike street addresses for the houses in a town. This system is called Internet Protocol or IP for short. Currently, the Internet operates on IP version 4, which supports about 4 billion addresses. As the Internet expands these addresses will be used up making it impossible to add new computers, servers, or mobile devices.

To remedy this, IP version 6 (IPv6) has been carefully designed to allow for 4 billion times 4 billion or 340 undecillion addresses which will ensure that the Internet can't run out of addresses in any imaginable amount of time.

For more information on IPv6, visit the IPv6 Wikipedia page.

Facebook © 2011