How to test your internet speed and what to do with the results

Do you get the speed of the Internet you pay for? Should you blame your slow connection? Wi-Fi Router or Internet provider? Can your Internet deal with things like online games or live broadcast?

Answers can be found on all these questions by conducting a simple internet speed test. There are many web sites that you can use to check your speed for free, and it will all give you the same main standards about home internet connection.

I usually say that the best internet connection is what you never notice. If you never test Temporary storageFrozen video meetings or Laggy online Games, you may get a lot of speed. But how much you decrease before these problems begin to appear? According to CNET survey63 % of the United States adults witnessed that their internet bill increased an average of $ 195 last year, reducing their plans to low speeds.

The speed test can help you determine if you pay for More speed than you need Or hardly scrapping your current plan. But how does it work?

Lookla, the OKLA industry analyst, says CNET for CNET for CNET for The best speed test total. (Disclosure: OKla owned by the mother company itself as CNET, Zif Davis.)

But the speed is not quite clear in the context of the Internet. Many other factors can affect your total online experience – all of which will tell you a good speed test.

Show the main standards: download, download, cumin and tremor

Regardless of the speed test used cumin. Jitter has also been listed in many speed test results, although you may have to do some drilling to find it.

Download for download speed

The main numbers will be downloaded and downloaded in any speed test. They both measure the frequency range width, which tells you about the data that your connection can transmit at once.

“The download speed is what the speed tests are synonymous with it,” tells me Kehoe.

When you see the Internet service provider announces how quickly it is, this is the number he talks about. The download speed indicates the amount of data that your connection can take from a server in one second.

The download speed is the number that matters most of the things we do on the Internet. TV programs flowSocial media browsing and loading podcast depends on this estuary number.

The download speed is the opposite. This measures the amount of data you can send in a second. Things such as video meetings, online games and publishing are used on social media aspect of downloading from the equation. Think about it as the speed by which you can send your video and sound to others in a call.

Historically, internet service providers set a lot of your frequency range for the estuary traffic from the source. ((I internet fiber An exception is usually the download speeds and downloading them equal.) According to The latest report From OpenVault, the average download speed in the United States is 568 Mbps, while the download speed is only 35 MB.

Cumin and trembling

While it measures the frequency range amount From data it can transmit internet or cumin connection – or Ping – time It takes the data to do the trip.

Cumin is measured by milliliters again, and anything less than 20 milliliters is generally excellent. When you are Online gamesFor example, you want the movements in your control unit to correspond to as immediately as possible with the results on your screen. Anything more than 20 milliliters, and you may start noticing some delay.

Some free speed tests, including OKla and Cloudflare, give you the degree of download and download for disorder. These are indicated by the results of the “loaded cumin”, and they are taken while the speed test immerses your connection during download and download speed tests.

“Some networks can experience problems as cumin increases when it is dusted with data,” explains Kehoe. “Usually, high -loaded cumin is something you might see during a concert or in a crowded area. It is a good indication that the network is under pressure.”

It is closely related to cumin is trembling, which measures the differences in cumin.

Kehoe says: “You can get a really good medium transition time, but inside it, there can be one -time mutation at a time of transition that is not captured by this average,” says Kehoe. “The trembling will pick up those special nails.”

Kehoe says that the degree of trembling is less than 5 milliliters is excellent and between 5 milliliters and 20 milliliters is good. Once you exceed 20 milliliters, you will start seeing some deterioration in Games Or video flow.

Most of the speed tests do not automatically show your tremors – you will have to click “Results” in OKLA to find them – but they are valuable information.

Preparing for a precise speed test

Speed ​​testing is simple as pressing a button on the website, but there are some factors that can affect your results. For the most accurate image, you must take into account these factors before starting your (virtual) engine:

1. Wi-Fi or Ethernet: It is quite right to test your connection more Wi-Fi and Ethernet You will only need to know anyone you use to properly explain the results. The ETHERNET Wireless connection will give you the most accurate image of what your ISP already offers. You will explain the results comparison with a Wi-Fi test, how much wireless connection costs you. If the speed, cumin, or trembling is largely worse on Wi-Fi, it may be time Upgrade your router.
2. Other devices on the network: The speed test aims to test the full capacity of your connection. If you are downloading a large file on another device, for example, download speed results may look less than it is already. Before you start the test, turn off any devices you can actively use the Internet.
3. Test on different distances from your router: A speed test on a device near the router will give you good information, but it is also important to know how much Wi-Fi quality is far away. I recommend that speed tests be operated everywhere you plan for the Internet. If your speeds decrease dramatically in some rooms or floors, you may want to think about upgrade to a complete degree Network Or add a Wi-Fi expanded To the mixture.
4. Test at different times of today: Network congestion can affect your internet speeds. Try to run speed tests during the “peak clock on the Internet”, which occurs in the evening of the week when many people flow at the same time. These networks are likely to be emphasized more than others, and you should see the slower speeds.

Step Step Directory to test your internet speed

The Internet speed test in your home is very simple. Regardless of the speed test you choose, the process is simple like pressing the “Run” button or “Test”. You can even google “speed test” and use Google’s speed test (run) without leaving search results.

My favorite speed test Owoklabut Cloudfareand M-alb and Speedsmart All good options give you important standards that you need to look at.

Kehoe says: “We are satisfied with the connection and already measured the extent of the data quickly to the user,” explaining how OKla reaches its results.

Speed ​​tests usually take less than 30 seconds to complete them. Once you are completed, you should immediately see all the main information on the results page.

Interpretation of the results of the speed test and its improvement

You have your speed test results. Now what do you do with them?

If you do the speed test through the ETHERNET cable and get a much lower speed of the plan you pay, it is worth calling your internet provider with this information. The speeds differ according to the time of the day and most of the plans are marketed as “even” a specific threshold, but it should not be less than that sign. If you reach a dead end with your provider, it may be time to look at Switching Internet service providers completely.

The results through Wi-Fi are just more complicated. In these tests, the cause of the slow speeds can be an old Wi-Fi router, Place the weak router Or overlap from other devices. In general, I recommend replacing your router every five years or so to keep up with the latest Wi-Fi standards.

During the past few years, Wi-Fi 6e and Wi-Fi 7 The routers are increasingly affordable. Both gives you access to the 6 GHz-most important Wi-Fi’s speed improvements in modern memory.

“The Wi-Fi standard makes a big difference,” says Kehoe. “The manufacturer is less than the basic Wi-Fi standard.”

according to Also Los Angeles dataOnly about one in 10 American homes currently use the Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 router. But those who have seen an enormous increase in speed. The average download speed of Wi-Fi 764 MB routers, compared to 713 megabytes per second for Wi-Fi 6e, 375 Mbps for Wi-Fi 6 and 227 MB per second for Wi-Fi 5.

If you rent your router from your ISP, you may be able to obtain an upgrade to the equipment simply by one request. In other cases, you may need to buy your router for the latest generation of Wi-Fi.

It is a small problem, but it takes its fruits in the long run. The average equipment fee is about $ 10 per month, and you can get a new Wi-Fi 7 router for a little more than $ 100. Buy your router Almost always paid the price for himself Within a few years, you will usually get much better performance.

What is a good internet speed?

The Internet speed is very personal. What suits one person with a few devices will not cut them to a family of five individuals with a fully automatic smart domestic system.

But a good reference point is Standard of the Federal Communications Committee for the InternetWhich was raised last year to 100 Mbps and the speed of up to 20 Mbps. The Federal Communications Committee (FCC) does not include the maximum cumin number, but service providers who receive federal funds must build the broad -ravine infrastructure for broadcasting, providing cumin under 100 mm.

These numbers should be considered nude (or maximum, for disorder). You will not face a problem in the flow of video or passing on social media at these speeds, but any activity with a direct component will face these cumin degrees – think about online games or video conferences.

The bottom line

Now that you know the speed you get, you have a better idea than you need to do after that. At least, we hope you see some of the numbers that have achieved the speeds of your lower plan. If not, you will have a better idea about how to fix the problem now after you know exactly where the problem is.