This helper service is installed with Windows 10 right from the start, so it’s nothing you really need to concern yourself with unless something particularly goes awry. That said, it’s also not massively important if you’re just using your system for general tasks like web browsing, media viewing, and gaming. Iphlpsvc is mainly useful for running remote databases or connecting over IPv6.
Seeing iphlpsvc in the Wild
You might come across iphlpsvc.dll when looking at the Processes tab in Task Manager. It doesn’t typically use up much in the way of resources, and can be safely left alone. It will typically start up with Windows 10 and continue to run in the background without getting in your way.
Can You Safely Disable iphlpsvc?
Yes. Disabling iphlpsvc won’t damage your system, break its general functionality, or have much of an effect on performance. You may want to keep it running if you want to make use of the IPv6 protocol, and since the iphlpsvc.dll typically uses such little system resources, it’s better to leave it alone if it isn’t causing any problems. That said, some users have found it can draw an unnecessary amount of system memory and CPU cycles at certain times. If you have that problem, or just want to disable it because you don’t need it, there are ways to do it.
How to Disable iphlpsvc
If you want to disable iphlpsvc there are a few ways to do it. The quickest and the easiest is by stopping the service the starts it in the first place. It might be worth restarting your Windows 10 system after completing this step to finalize it. When you’ve returned to Windows, re-open the services menu to make sure that your changes have stuck. You can also enable, or re-enable iphlpsvc in the same way, just retrace your steps to the Services menu, and select the Start button. If you want it to startup automatically with Windows, make sure that Automatic is the selected Startup Type.
How to Disable iphlpsvc Using the Registry Editor
You can also disable the iphlpsvc service using Windows’ registry editor. For more tips on using the Registry Editor to change all sorts of things in Windows, check out our handy guide. If you ever want to revert iphlpsvc to start automatically with Windows, follow the above steps again, but set its Value data to 2. Select the Start key, right-click (or tap and hold) it, and select Modify.
How to Disable iphlpsvc Using the Command Prompt
You can also disable the iphlpsvc service using Windows’ Command Prompt. For more tips on how to access Command Prompt and how to use it, check out our guide here. If you want to re-enable iphlpsvc at some point, follow these steps and type the following into CMD before pressing the Enter key:
