Our speed testing tools are designed to help you see how well your Internet connection is performing day-to-day. Throughout the process, our tool measures various data points, including both upload and download speeds. To test upload speeds, our tool uploads a file using your Internet connection, and then measures how long it takes for the download to finish. The speed test sends packages of empty data back and forth to your computer in order to test the speeds on your connection.
Internet Connection
An Internet speed test does this by running several tests in succession, which analyse various aspects of your Internet connection, namely, the ping (latency), upload and download speeds. A speed test performs multiple streams of downloads and uploads on servers that it determines are likely near your location. Our speed testing tool then does the speed test backwards, downloading a collection of files from a server instead.
Latency
Before starting, the speed test tool will run a starting latency test against our servers, if a server does not respond in the specified timeframe, then they are excluded from the city listing. Once the testing server is identified, it sends a packet of information from your computer to the server and back. During the ping test, your device sends a small data packet across the network to a server.
Uploaded
We handle the capacity upload, measuring how quickly the data is uploaded by the device to the testing server. Next, we start a loading test, opening several connections to the server and trying to load a small sample of data. The download test measures how long the sample data takes to be captured, as well as the required network resources used during this capture. Recording the peak data bandwidth versus measurement time ultimately gives an estimate of the Internets available bandwidth to load data.
Broadband speed test
At the end of your broadband speed test, the graph representing average data rate shows you the results of your downloads as well as uploads. While the upload and download numbers are important, the real test of your connection quality is your ping rate. Most of the time, you will notice the value of your upload speed is higher than the download speed, this is because the Internet connection that you are getting is not symmetrical.
Download speed
Unlike Download speed and Upload speed, the higher the value is better, the lower the value is, the better. Almost every task requires some download speed, so download speed is the primary number that you will want to look at when you are deciding on the speed you want on your Internet. If getting the best download speeds is a concern, consider dedicated Internet Access such as Fiber, Ethernet, or T1.
Bandwith
Depending on how many devices are used at once, you might not have sufficient internet bandwidth to support all these activities if you stream videos, download files, download large files, or play games. If your provider imposes data caps or limits connections in order to keep the network functioning as a whole, then even your speeds could drop off. Even a single smartphone could change your results in an appreciable way, if it is downloading a big update or streaming content around the same time you are testing speeds.
Multithreading
Multithreading is supported for testing internet connection speeds on several servers simultaneously to get one single result, or you can select only a single server from a handful that are available. This might appeal if for whatever reason you are interested in testing the speed of your internet between you and a particular region in the United States vs. the closest servers available. Our internet speed tests results cover aspects of your internet speed, sure, but they also cover your internet service provider, IP address, and where the server used for the test was located.
Comparisons
For more in-depth comparisons, you can also see the average speed test results for Internet providers in New York City, Denver, Atlanta, and every other city across the nation by visiting our dedicated cities data page. See How to Test Your Internet Speed for a complete guide to testing your bandwidth, and to help you decide when using something other than one of these speed testers is the better idea. Test Your Internet Speed on Speedtest.net Some service providers who used to offer their own speed testing services now do so via other sites such as Speedtest.net.
Keeps a record
Speedtest.net also keeps a record of all of the Internet speed tests that you do, and produces a nice looking graph of your results you can share on the web. Ookla provides the engine and servers for the Speakeasy/Fusion speedtest.Speakeasy/Fusion makes this a lot like Speedtest.net, but I included it here because of how popular it is. TestMy.net Internet speed tests Our test review TestMy.netTestMy.net is simple to use, provides lots of info about how it works, and uses HTML5, meaning that it runs fine (and quickly) on both mobile and desktop devices. Speedof.me The mobile-friendly site is also perfect for running tests on a phone, allowing for a quick on-the-go speed test without downloading an app.
Screenshot by Ry Crist/CNET If you are looking for a test that offers not only speed, but also consistency, Speedof.me is your best bet. Even if you are connected through a mobile hotspot, cable, or satellite Internet such as Starlink, we want you to run the speedtest. Just know that M-Labs Internet Speed Test Measuring Lab does not allow you to choose the server that you will be using for your test, and that it is designed only for Internet speeds of up to 700Mbps.
Once you have established your baseline, running more than one test in different periods of time during the day and across multiple days, you will be in a position to easily spot a connection problem if it exists between you and your ISP.
Summary
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