TCP Ping attempts to establish a TCP connection to a specific port rather than sending ICMP Echo Requests. This allows you to verify that a service (e.g., web server on port 443) is actually reachable, not just that the host responds to ICMP.

Use TCP Ping when ICMP is blocked by firewalls or when you need to verify that a specific service/port is accessible. It is also useful for testing cloud servers and CDN endpoints that often filter ICMP traffic.

A timeout indicates that the TCP handshake could not be completed within the allowed time. This may be caused by a firewall dropping packets, the target port being closed, or network connectivity issues along the path.

TCP Ping measures the full round-trip time for the TCP three-way handshake (SYN → SYN-ACK → ACK), which involves more processing on the server side than a simple ICMP Echo Reply. The difference is typically small but can be noticeable under load.