If you use My Speedmeter through a router and/or Wi-Fi connection, the maximum Internet access speed will be the network specification of your router or fixed broadband service, whichever is the lower). If you’re still not seeing an improvement, try power-cycling your DSL, cable, or fiber modem.The highest connection speed of your router (i.e. You should always be running the latest firmware on your router, so this is a good time to update it if you haven’t lately. Troubleshoot your router: Turn it off or unplug it for a minute or two and then turn it back on. Try swapping out the cable that connects your router to your internet gateway (your DSL, fiber, or cable modem). If the second computer also has a slow internet connection, run another bandwidth test after each of these suggestions: Try using a different ethernet cable to connect your PC to your router. If you get acceptable performance on the second machine, you can’t blame the ISP. If your ISP isn’t reporting a problem, you can start your own troubleshooting by eliminating your equipment as a factor. This link will take you to the location of AT&T’s DSL troubleshooter. Most ISPs maintain a tech-support page where you can go to see if they’re aware of any problems with their service. There might be a problem with your equipment, or it could be an issue on your ISP’s end. But if your connection is significantly slower than what was promised, many different factors could be coming into play. Many router manufacturers include broadband speed-test utilities in the router’s firmware and/or in the mobile apps that ship alongside them.ĭon’t be surprised if you’re not getting the top speed your ISP says it can deliver-almost no one does. Since the tests take a second or two to run, you can do the same. That variability is the reason that we run benchmark software multiple times when we test a laptop or CPU, to compute an average. Time of day will as well it’s no surprise that you’ll probably note higher speeds at midnight, say, when fewer people will be streaming. The amount of data each test uses, the latency to and from each server, and the always changing network conditions on the Internet will introduce some unavoidable variability.
And router manufacturers are increasingly including speed tests in their products’ firmware and/or the mobile apps they distribute with their products (although in that latter case, you’ll be using a wireless connection).ĭon’t be surprised if testing on more than one service yields slightly different results. Your ISP might also offer a speed test tool, though you may need to do a little poking around for it. Those aren’t your only options for testing your broadband connection MegaPath also offers a speed test, as well as what it calls Speed Test Plus, which evaluates the quality of your connection in addition to its raw speed. This may take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on your network speed.
is an HTML 5-based bandwidth graph that doesn’t rely on Adobe Flash.Īll you have to do at this point is click the green “Begin Test” button, and will check both your download and upload speed. There’s an HTML 5 version of Ookla’s , or you can use, which also uses HTML 5. There are a couple of alternatives if you don’t have Flash installed (and don’t want it installed). Ookla’s is the most common site to test your internet connection all you need is a web browser with JavaScript turned on (it usually is unless you switched it off) and Adobe Flash installed. You’re perfectly welcome to go elsewhere, too. If you use Microsoft’s Bing search engine, you can get your results back from your speed test back in a flash.Īnd here’s Google’s speed test, alongside its results: Mark Hachman / IDG Here’s what Bing shows you: Mark Hachman / IDG Make sure your Wi-Fi router is away from other electronic devices like cordless phones, and temporarily disconnect any other devices from your Wi-Fi network-after all, you don’t want another computer on your network to download a gigabyte worth of software updates while you run your tests.
If you’re stuck using Wi-Fi-say, you have a MacBook Air or a tablet or some other device that doesn’t have an ethernet port-do what you can to minimize interference. MicrosoftĬlick the Network column in Windows Task Manager to see which apps, if any, are sending/receiving data on your network. Again, we’re trying to learn how much bandwidth is coming directly into your home, before it begins getting divvied up among connected devices. If you have any other wired devices on your home network, plug your test computer directly into the modem so those don’t interfere. Let’s turn to the PC. For best results, you’ll want to use a wired connection if at all possible that way, you don’t have to worry about interference and performance fluctuations that can occur while you’re on Wi-Fi.