Internet speed is one of the many factors we consider when choosing an internet speed provider. You maybe be paying for good bandwidth, according to your ISP, but how do you measure what internet speeds you’re getting?
There are different ways to measure your internet speeds at home. All of them rely on different services. The good thing is; you can use them to measure internet speed on your android, iPhone, Mac, PC, and even tablet. They’re platform-independent.
Knowing your internet speed will let you know if there’s an issue with the ISP. Common problems associated with slow internet include; buffering when streaming video, slow downloads, and in extreme cases, you might experience issues with social media apps.
Services for testing internet speed
1. Ookla Speedtest
Ookla Speedtest is one of the popular services for measuring internet speeds. Ookla Speedtest finds the nearest remote server available to use for benchmarking your internet speeds. It will provide you with a couple of data about your internet speed.
The first one is the ping response time. The other two are (you guessed it) download and upload speeds. Typically, download speeds tend to be faster than upload speeds. But not always. As you can see from the results below, the upload speeds were higher than the download internet speeds.
To get accurate results about your internet speeds, ensure that no connected device is performing bandwidth hungry tasks like downloading files or streaming Netflix in 4K at the moment.
For Ookla Speedtest, you can also download their app on Android, Apple TV, CLI, Google Chrome web store, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Go to speedtest.net to test internet speeds using Ookla.
2. Fast.com
Netflix created Fast.com. It provides similar details and is entirely browser-based – there’s no app on any platform.
3. Google Project Stream
Google also has a platform that helps measure internet speed from anywhere. You can go to https://projectstream.google.com/speedtest and perform a test. To get more accurate results, be closer to your router, and stop streams or downloads on other devices.
4. Speedof.me
Speedof.me is also a service that kets you test your internet speed.
Other Alternatives
They are also a legion of alternative services that you can use. To measure internet speeds directly from google or Bing, just search “speed test.” You’ll be presented with a button that lets Google or Bing run the test instantly.
Tips for Measuring Internet Speeds Accurately
Now that you know how to measure internet speeds, how do you ensure you get accurate results? You’ll need to do the following;
- Move near your home router.
- Stop connected devices from doing bandwidth intense tasks like streaming video or downloading media.
- Use a wired connection if possible.
- Measure at different times.
There will be a difference between the speeds you pay for and what you’re getting. This is because speeds vary depending on a host of factors. To keep things simple, ensure the disparity between what you’re getting and what you pay for isn’t so much great. If so, it might be time to hit up your Internet Service provider.
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