diff --git a/network/gateway/hostPool.go b/network/gateway/hostPool.go
index c8b81f169e3e01d5fa249a65feb787805dee9c2d..09bb8a8405f262f181c8da66a3b0848fc261f73b 100644
--- a/network/gateway/hostPool.go
+++ b/network/gateway/hostPool.go
@@ -205,6 +205,9 @@ func (h *HostPool) initialize(startIdx uint32) error {
 	}
 	numGatewaysToTry := h.poolParams.MaxPings
 	numGateways := uint32(len(randomGateways))
+	if numGatewaysToTry>numGateways{
+		numGatewaysToTry = numGateways
+	}
 	resultList := make([]gatewayDuration, 0, numGatewaysToTry)
 
 	// Begin trying gateways