Your concern needs a fast, reliable net connection – but a game plan if something happens to that connection is important also. Nigh of the time the internet in your office works great, but what do you exercise when it'southward slow? Do you lot reboot the router? Unplug the modem?

If you're experiencing a slow cyberspace connexion, the first thing y'all should do is run a speed exam. Speed tests are a good way to first troubleshooting, and they merely accept about a infinitesimal to consummate.

Speed Tests 101

Speed tests measure your current connection's maximum speed – how fast your device can upload and download information – past accessing nearby test servers. The test mimics your online action in a controlled setting by downloading sample files and recording speeds.

These tests are a quick mode to isolate your Internet service provider's operation as a variable in the quality of your connexion, and they can put your mind at ease.

Speed tests won't tell you your accented internet speed, only they will give you a close approximation. It's a good practice to try multiple tests because the results tin vary depending on your location and the time of day. As well, different tests highlight different aspects of your connection.

Your speed test results should match what'southward stated in your Isp plan.

Helpful Vocabulary

  • Download speed – how fast you can pull data from the server to your location, measured in megabits per 2d (Mbps)
  • Upload speed – how fast you send data to others, measured in megabits per second (Mbps)
  • Megabits per second (Mbps) – a unit of measure out for your bandwidth, similar to MPH for miles per hour
  • Latency – the time (typically in milliseconds) it takes for your information to travel to its destination and return to y'all
  • Ping – a tool to measure latency betwixt your computer and a remote destination

How To Run A Speed Examination

Be sure to close any extra applications (Photoshop, Spotify – nosotros're looking at you) before running your speed test.  Sluggish applications will interfere with your measurement.

If you search Google for "internet speed tests," you'll find a number of options available. Speedtest.net by Ookla is a very good 1. This service launched in 2006 from within the tech community in Seattle, Washington.

You'll notice their habitation page is really user friendly.

When you hit "Begin," your computer will endeavour to download a file from the test server. Every bit the download completes, your download speed will be measured. Once the download procedure completes, your reckoner volition try to upload a file to the test server, thus calculating the upload speed.

You'll discover that the download speed here is expressed in Mbps (Megabits per second). It's important to annotation the unit of measurement because sometimes people volition talk virtually speed using different units. one Mbps is the equivalent of 1,000 Kbps (Kilobits per second), and 1,000 Mbps is the equivalent of 1 Gbps (Gigabits per second). Hither information technology's 23.16 Mbps.

Interpret the Results

Both your upload and download speeds should score approximately close to the numbers stated in your ISP's service plan. You can see here that they aren't ever the same.

That'southward considering nearly connections are designed to download faster than they upload. The majority of online activity—like loading web pages or streaming music—consists of downloads. Upload speed comes into play when yous're sending big files via email. Or if your concern does a lot of video conferencing, it's important to have a salubrious upload speed because yous'll be uploading a lot of video.

If y'all have a gigabit connection, then you demand to brand sure your hardware isn't acting as a bottleneck for your internet speed. In that location are a few pieces of equipment that you'll specifically want to get the most out of your connection:

  • An ethernet cable: Connecting to your modem directly is always going to be faster than a wireless connection. When you rely on Wi-Fi's radio waves, you're putting yourself at the mercy of materials like brick and stone that will block them, and materials similar ceramic and concrete that volition reflect them entirely.
  • A solid-state drive (SSD): A traditional difficult drive writes data onto a concrete platter and reads it with a movable caput, an performance which takes nearly ten-12ms to complete. Solid-state drives, on the other mitt, can access information in 0.1ms or less considering they store it in in electric circuits. This affects the speed at which your browser can store and access information from the internet.
  • A CPU: Contrary to popular belief, the speed of your CPU (processor) does have an consequence on the speed at which you browse the cyberspace. With gigabit speeds, you download data incredibly fast, but that'south only part of the equation. There's enough of rendering, painting, and running of on-page scripts that needs to be done before you lot really get to see and interact with the site you're browsing to.

Ping Measures response fourth dimension

Most services will brandish a "ping" result, measured in milliseconds, aslope your download/upload speed. Your ping refers to your latency, or the reaction time of your connection. In other words, how fast you lot go a response subsequently sending out a asking.

Whether you focus more on ping or bandwidth depends on what chore you lot're trying to reach. If you're downloading huge files, bandwidth is more important: you don't demand a consistent back-and-along to merely receive a file.

If you're in an important call or online first-person-shooter game, then ping is everything. 20ms is something of a benchmark: below that, and you won't have any issues.

Run The Test Against a Server Close to You

The further away the server is geographically, the more than the distance might interfere with your results. But if y'all're trying to pinpoint the cause of a slow connection, y'all desire to eliminate as many variables as possible. That'due south why Speedtest.internet picks the server closest to you.

Remember that slight discrepancies in your results are normal. There are several factors that can cause fluctuation, and you tin can ever practice more than tests to get more information.

Tricks to Troubleshoot a Faulty Speed Exam

Your speed test results might exist inconsistent for a number of reasons. For starters, the tests themselves aren't perfect. They often use sample files, which differ a lot from the files y'all might typically use on the web.

The other devices connected to your network can also interfere. Say your office'south network has a 100 Mbps download speed. If i of your co-workers starts downloading a massive video file at 20 Mbps, it's going to limit everyone else'due south cumulative speed to 80 Mbps. Bandwidth is limited, and it's distributed according to who requests it.

It's also important for your hardware (computer, router, modem and cables) to be in good condition. If you lot're still stuck trying to figure out the cause of your slow connection, try these handy tricks:

  • If you have cable, bank check each stop of the coaxial connection for any looseness or damage—fifty-fifty a small corporeality of damage can throw your internet connexion off completely.
  • Ability cycle your figurer, router, and modem—disconnect each from power for xxx seconds before reconnecting.
  • If yous're continued via Wi-Fi, turn it off and plug your calculator directly into your modem.

If all else fails, call your Internet Service Provider.

Contact your Isp

Your ISP might be experiencing a problem on their stop. Client back up will tell you when y'all can wait the service to be back up to peak efficiency. Or they can walk you through the process of troubleshooting faulty hardware.

Calling client support doesn't take to be as tedious equally you might call back. Your Internet service provider can aid you figure out what'south going on. Maybe there is a tempest interfering with your connection, or maybe your modem needs a reboot.

Past getting on the phone with your ISP, you're putting the ball in their courtroom. We know that's non always comforting, and that's why we've tried to make sure that our client back up team hither at Pilot is knowledgeable and friendly. If your speed tests keep coming back with bad results, requite the states a call and we'll get your high-speed internet support and running in no time.

Click hither to try Pilot'south very own speed test.

‍