A simple way I check for internet access in VBA

Jan 01, 2026 by Farhan Munim

Every now and then, I need to know whether a machine actually has internet access before doing anything else. Usually that’s before calling an API, syncing data, or pulling something external that would otherwise just… hang. There are a few ways to approach this, but I tend to keep it very simple.

The idea

Instead of trying to detect network adapters or DNS settings, I just make a real HTTP request and see if it works.

If a request succeeds, the internet is probably there.
If it doesn’t, it probably isn’t – or at least not in a usable way.

That’s usually good enough.

The function

This is what I use. It’s basic on purpose.

Function HasInternetConnection() As Boolean
    Dim http As Object

    On Error Resume Next
    Set http = CreateObject("WinHttp.WinHttpRequest.5.1")

    http.Open "GET", "https://www.microsoft.com", False
    http.SetTimeouts 5000, 5000, 5000, 5000
    http.Send

    HasInternetConnection = (Err.Number = 0 And http.Status = 200)

    On Error GoTo 0
End Function

And then wherever I need it:

If HasInternetConnection Then
    ' carry on
Else
    ' fail early, show a message, skip sync, etc.
End If

Why this works

It makes a real outbound request, not a guess
WinHttpRequest is available on most Windows machines
A 200 status tells you the request actually completed successfully
Timeouts stop Excel from freezing if the connection is dead

It’s not trying to be clever. It just asks a simple question and moves on.

When I use this

Before API calls
Before background syncs
In startup checks where I want to fail early
Anywhere a silent failure would be worse than a clean stop

If the internet drops five seconds later, that’s a different problem. This just answers “can I reach the outside world right now?”

A couple of notes

You can swap the URL for anything reliable you trust
If you’re behind a proxy-heavy corporate network, results may vary
This checks connectivity, not quality or speed

That’s fine for most Excel-based workflows.

Back to blog