How fast is your internet connection? Here’s an easy way to find out with an internet speed test. First, see if your internet provider provides the speed you’re paying for; give it a test. If not, you can do a few things about it by an internet speed test.
It is very easy to check how your internet runs fast or slow.
The next moment your home internet connection is laboring — be it a round of Warzone is lagging, Discovery Plus keeps buffering, or packing a website while you’re binging that new series — take a few minutes to troubleshoot by an internet speed test online. An excellent place to begin is by reviewing your internet connection’s speed.
Boosting any perceived connection issues from your internet service provider is that few of us are still functioning remotely, at least part of the time. Incorporate that with kids home for the summer, playing games and streaming videos, and your internet speed can begin to falter.
The fix may be as straightforward as restarting your modem and router — which should invariably be your first step — or elevating to a mesh network as a last alternative. But, first, let’s check your internet connection’s speed and get some advice for troubleshooting.
Conduct a Test of my speed Internet, Phone, or Tablet
Many apps and websites will test the speed of your connection. Whether you install an app or utilize a website, it’s good to test your internet speed to understand your connection’s performance. Every test will take under a minute to conclude, delivering the download and upload speed results.
Basic service varies from 3Mbps to 8Mbps and will be suitable for light usage (browsing, email, video calls, streaming HD video, etc.). Medium service is categorized as 12 to 25Mbps and is best for up to three users or devices simultaneously with medium to high usage depending on the move. Finally, advanced assistance is any connection speed over 25Mbps and is best for those with additional users or devices using the connection simultaneously for more than light usage.
Ideally, you’d instantly connect your computer to your ISP’s modem with an ethernet cable to drive a speed test, but that’s not always feasible. But there’s another possibility for running a speed test: use your wireless router’s app. To get a test, you can check PCUnlocker, which is an Internet testing tool (Read PCUnlocker review here).
How to Test Internet Speed
A speed test is a fast and easy way to see if something’s wrong. Depending on the wireless router you use, running a speed test through its dedicated app might be feasible. For example, Google’s Nest Wi-Fi includes the capability to run a speed test in the app or by requesting Google Assistant to see how fast your internet connection is.
Using your wireless router’s free internet speed test may be more accurate, in theory at least, because the router is connected straight to your modem.
If the speed test results are inferior to what you expect or are paying for, you don’t have to hurry up and purchase a new router. However, that may be the case depending on how old it is. Router technology, just like other technology, often changes, and it can guide performance issues. On the other hand, if your router was purchased in the last couple of years, odds are it’s okay, and the problem is due to something else.
You can even get the test done after going through another Internet speed test tool, Testmy.net (Check Testmy.net review here).
What to do if the Speed is Sluggisher than What you Pay for
The first thing recommended is turning off your modem and wireless router, ditching them off for about 30 seconds, and then twisting them back on. Most of the time, this resolves any speed issues for me. There are extra tips that you can try to bring your network back to working as it should.
It isn’t as easy as contacting your service provider and notifying them of the subpar service. It’s frustrating, but ISPs are permitted to throttle your connection speed. However, you can take steps to determine if that’s the case or if there’s another problem at fault by following this guide.
You can also review your provider’s app or website for an outage; when your connection is acting flaky open the app and scrutinizes any service issues. The app will show you an estimated restoration time when there is one. Knowing that the problem isn’t anything on your end indicates you can forgo any troubleshooting.
Finally, you can contact your provider to ensure your modem supports your plan’s speed or see if some plans or promotions will be worth an upgrade to get the speeds you require to have a stress-less day of work and play.
Best Internet Speed Test: Check the Internet Speed Test
In addition to delivering you the current upload and download speeds for whatever device you’re conducting the test on, every internet speed test will also give you a ping, a latency measurement measured in milliseconds. The ping number is the time it took for your device to dispatch a signal to whatever remote server you linked to during the speed test and then accept a response. Think of it as a round-trip flight time for your internet connection.
Then you can use the famous internet speed testing tool, Xfinity Speed Test.
Do not miss reading the Xfinity Speed Test Review here.
Test My Internet Speed: Terminology
- Ping will move up if you’re linking to a very far away server or if there’s some interference somewhere in the linkage. Your ping might also rise narrowly if you’re connecting via a mesh router or a range extender, where your data requirements to make multiple wireless jumps before contacting the modem.
- Jitter is gauged in milliseconds, but instead of measuring the time it brings your device to send data to a remote server and acquire a response, jitter represents latency differences between the flow of data to different client devices on your network. If jitter gets too high, it indicates that data isn’t flowing to your device as efficiently as it probably should, which can generate problems like buffering during streaming and video calls.
Final Thoughts
Speed tests won’t change the speed of your home’s Wi-Fi network, but they’re a tremendous diagnostic tool — a speedy way to review how your network is functioning in various zones around your home. Of course, your internet connection’s speed will deviate based on time of day, the number of devices connected and in use, and other factors. Free test internet speed comes for a day or two, tracking the outcomes to gauge your connection’s actual speed.