What Is the 6T04 Adapter in My Computer?

By Emilio Alvarez

The 6to4 adapter, read "Six-to-Four," is a transition mechanism used by companies to migrate from Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) to Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). This adapter is needed to keep up with the growth of Internet users, since the IPv4 is limited to a number of IP addresses.

Functions

6to4 allows IPv6 packets of addresses to be contained within IPv4 packets for these to transmit successfully over IPv4 networks. This adapter allows companies to save money during migration processes, since it avoids the need for converting to a new IPv6 infrastructure. It's function is not designed to be used permanently, but mainly through the initial deployment phases.

Considerations

Problems with the 6to4 adapters usually are discovered by users when seeing the system status on the Windows Device Manager. Microsoft has recognized there are alerts that incorrectly display the status of the 6to4 adapter, since an error message for this device can be simply ignored and the adapter's functionality will not be affected.

Prevention/Solution

Launch Device Manager by clicking "Start," "Run" and type "devmgmt.msc" in the command prompt. Locate the "6to4 Adapter" within the list, right-click it and click "Uninstall." Click the "Action" menu, choose "Add Hardware" and click "Next." Choose "Manually select from a list" > "Network Adapter/Card" > "Microsoft" > "Microsoft 6to4 Adapter" > "Finish Installing New Hardware." Reboot your system.

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