Internet Speed Test

How to Use This Test

1. Click the "Start Speed Test" button to begin measuring your internet connection speed.
2. Wait for the test to complete -- it will first measure latency, then download speed using multiple data samples.
3. Review your results and compare them with the Speed Guide to understand your connection quality.

What This Test Checks

This internet speed test measures two key metrics of your connection by downloading test files and timing the responses.

• Download speed in Mbps (megabits per second), indicating how fast data can be received
• Latency (ping) in milliseconds, measuring the round-trip time for data to reach a server
• Connection stability through multiple download samples for more reliable results
• Overall suitability for common activities like streaming, gaming, and video calls

Troubleshooting

If you're having issues with this speed test:

• Close other tabs and applications that may be using bandwidth during the test.
• Switch to a wired ethernet connection for the most accurate measurement.
• Run the test multiple times at different times of day, as network congestion varies.
• If the test fails to start, ensure your browser allows network requests and disable any strict ad blockers.

How Much Speed You Actually Need

ISP plans are sold in round numbers (100, 300, 1000 Mbps), but real-world needs are much lower. Here's what each activity actually uses:

Per-activity minimums

• Video calls (Zoom, Teams, Meet): 1.5-3 Mbps upload and download per participant. For a group call with video on for everyone, 10 Mbps is plenty.
• YouTube / Netflix at 1080p: 5 Mbps. For 4K: 25 Mbps. HDR/Dolby Vision 4K: 40 Mbps.
• Online gaming: 3-6 Mbps but extremely sensitive to latency and jitter (see below).
• Cloud gaming (GeForce Now, Xbox xCloud): 20 Mbps minimum for 1080p, 35 Mbps for 4K, under 40 ms latency.
• Working from home with a 4K video call + large file uploads: around 50 Mbps symmetrical.
• Downloading a 100 GB game: at 100 Mbps takes ~2.5 hours; at 1 Gbps takes ~15 minutes.

Rule of thumb: total household demand ≈ 5 Mbps per streaming device + 10 Mbps headroom. A typical 4-person household rarely needs more than 200 Mbps, regardless of marketing.

Why This Test Might Show Less Than Your Plan

Almost every user who runs a speed test sees less than the advertised number. This is expected behavior, not a broken connection. Common causes:

Wi-Fi ceiling

• Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac): real-world cap ~400 Mbps even with perfect signal. If your plan is 1 Gbps, Wi-Fi 5 is the bottleneck.
• Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax): ~800-1200 Mbps real-world with a compatible client device and clean 5 GHz signal.
• Wi-Fi 6E / 7: ~1-3 Gbps over 6 GHz, short range.
• Phones and laptops with 2x2 Wi-Fi antennas cap at half of these numbers. Check your device's Wi-Fi spec.

Distance and obstacles

• Each wall drops signal by 3-6 dB. Two walls between router and device can halve your throughput.
• 2.4 GHz penetrates walls better but is slower and more congested. 5 GHz and 6 GHz are faster but shorter range.
• If speeds are good next to the router but bad in another room, the problem is Wi-Fi coverage, not the ISP. A mesh system (Eero, Deco, Orbi) solves this.

Device limits

• Old laptops and phones may not have gigabit Ethernet. Check the port spec.
• USB ethernet adapters often cap at 100 Mbps unless specifically USB 3.0 gigabit adapters.
• Cheap Cat5 cables in the wall may not carry gigabit. Cat5e or better for 1 Gbps; Cat6 for 10 Gbps.

Browser and server limits

• This test uses a small number of CDN files; it may under-report speeds above 300-500 Mbps because the files transfer before TCP can ramp up.
• For a higher-accuracy read at gigabit speeds, try speedtest.net's desktop app or Cloudflare Speed Test (speed.cloudflare.com).

Latency and Jitter — Usually More Important Than Speed

For gaming, video calls, and remote desktop, how fast matters far less than how consistent. Targets:

• Under 20 ms: excellent. Competitive gaming territory.
• 20-50 ms: great. Most online games play perfectly.
• 50-100 ms: acceptable for casual gaming; noticeable in shooters.
• Over 100 ms: poor. Video calls start to feel awkward with overlap.
• Jitter over 10 ms: causes stutter even with low average latency. Common on overloaded Wi-Fi.

Long-term latency issues are usually not your ISP's last mile — they're Wi-Fi interference, buffer bloat on your router, or bad peering on a specific route. Tools like ping, mtr, or Cloudflare's speed test's "loaded latency" metric help isolate this.

How to Improve Your Connection

Network setup (cheapest fixes first)

1. Restart the router — clears DNS caches and reconnects to a cleaner channel. Fixes ~30% of "my internet is slow" complaints.
2. Move closer or add a mesh node — every 3 m doubled distance can halve Wi-Fi throughput.
3. Switch to the 5 GHz or 6 GHz SSID if you're on 2.4 GHz. Most routers broadcast both under the same name but some require manual selection.
4. Use Ethernet for your main device — removes Wi-Fi variables entirely. Even a single Ethernet run for your gaming PC or TV makes a big difference.

Router-side tuning

• Enable QoS (Quality of Service) to prioritize game/call traffic over downloads.
• Turn on SQM (Smart Queue Management) / Cake if your router supports it (OpenWrt, Ubiquiti, some ASUS) — kills bufferbloat, dramatically improves video call quality.
• Update firmware — old firmware often has known bugs and security issues.

ISP-side checks

• Log into the modem directly (usually 192.168.100.1 on cable) and check line stats. Excessive uncorrectable codeword errors on cable modems indicate a coax or splitter problem; high FEC errors on fiber suggest a bad ONT or splice.
• If speeds are consistently far below the plan over Ethernet, call the ISP. Most will run line tests remotely and send a technician if needed.

Run Alongside Other Diagnostics

Slow internet is often blamed when the real issue is elsewhere. Pair this test with the system test (CPU/RAM usage during speed tests reveals background downloads) to rule out your own device as the bottleneck. If video calls feel bad specifically, also verify the webcam, microphone, and audio output — laggy calls are often device problems, not network.

Frequently Asked Questions