How to Run an Internet Speed Test and What Your Results Mean
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If you’ve ever felt that your high-speed internet is running slowly, you’ve likely been told to try running a speed test. Speed tests are one way to make sure you’re getting the internet speed your internet service provider has promised.
But do they work? The short answer is yes. But it’s important to know how they work to get the best results. It’s also important to understand what the results mean and how to troubleshoot based on your results.
Should I Run an Internet Speed Test?
If you’re noticing a slow internet connection, you may be experiencing packet loss. Packet loss is when data fails to reach an intended destination. If you think you’re experiencing packet loss, it’s a good idea to run an internet reliability test.
Before running your speed test, be sure you understand what Mbps you’re paying for. If you aren’t sure what internet speed you’re paying for, check your latest bill from your internet service provider.
Keep in mind that ISPs guarantee speeds up to the speed on your plan. It doesn’t mean that you’ll experience those speeds 100% of the time.
If your results and the advertised speed are close, great! Your internet should be at 95% (or higher) of the speed you signed up for. For example, if you are paying for 2 gigs, you should expect results of at least 1.9 gigs. If it’s frequently slower than that, and you’ve already tried troubleshooting on your own, it might be time to call your ISP.
If you’re noticing a slower connection on just one computer or tablet, it is probably a device-specific problem. Restarting it or installing a software update (if needed) could help.
Do you connect to a VPN? That might be causing you to experience slower speeds. Try disconnecting or using another device to determine if the VPN is causing the slow speeds.
If you’re noticing consistently slow speeds on everything, now’s the time to run an internet speed test.
How Does a Speed Test Work?
Understanding how a speed test works will help you make sense of what to do with your results. First, the test finds a server close to you. The closer you are to the servers, the faster your connection will be because the data doesn’t have to travel as far.
Once a server is located, the test sends a signal, and the server responds. The roundtrip speed is measured and called a ping test. Some people call this a jitter test.
Next, the speed test opens a few connections to that server to download a piece of data. It also measures how long it took to get the data, and how many resources were required. Because download speed is important in receiving information this also acts as a streaming speed test.
After the download test, data is then uploaded from your computer to the server. These results indicate your upload speeds, or how quickly you can send data.
It might seem like a lot, but this all happens in less than a minute. Each test functions in the same basic way, but different speed tests use different servers — which is why you may see varying results depending on the platform.
How Can I Get the Most Accurate Internet Speed Test Results?
There are a few ways you can run your internet speed test. Each way gives you a different picture of your internet connection’s performance.
Connect with an Ethernet Cord
If you want to see your speeds under ideal conditions, use a speed test offered by your internet service provider. Their tests are optimized for ideal conditions and use servers that are close to you and on their system.
You can even connect your device to your router via an ethernet cable rather than using your WiFi connection. The connection stability you test will perform better with an ethernet cable than with a wireless connection. These results will show the best your service can do. But this won’t be a good indicator of your actual speeds unless all your devices are always connected with an ethernet cord.
Restart Your Router
Restarting your router before running a test will also help your internet to run faster. This is also a good tip if slow speeds are a one-time problem. Your router may have a built-in speed test, which will streamline the testing process. Again, your results from this type of test will likely demonstrate faster speeds than using a web-based test.
Use a Browser Test
While you can use an ethernet cord or a test through your router, these methods can become overly complicated. They also may not provide useful results to the everyday internet user. Browser tests are the most commonly used and we’ve created one that’s easy to use.
Some providers suggest closing apps that could be using bandwidth to see your optimal speed. However, we recommend you do the speed test with a normal amount of internet usage.
Using your internet as you typically would when running the test gives you a better indication of your day-to-day speed. If you’re running a test, optimal speed is less important to know anyway. You want to know how your speed is performing while you actually use it.
Move Around Your Home
Feel like your internet speed fluctuates based on what room you’re in or the time of day? Run the test again. Moving to a different room can help identify a potential dead zone, where WiFi cannot effectively reach. If this is the case, you may need an extender to get the connection to those dead zones.
Need WiFi in all corners of your home? There are a few solutions you can self-install. If you’re noticing large changes in speed depending on the time of day, run your speed test at several points during the day and compare the results.
If you’re a cable internet user, speed fluctuations throughout the day could be due to your shared connection. This means that you and your neighbors all share one access point. Your internet speed will slow down as more people connect throughout the day.
Fiber internet, on the other hand, has a dedicated connection. That means it’s just your household using that access point. Your speeds aren’t affected by anything other than your own usage.
What Do My Internet Speed Test Results Mean?
So, you’ve run the test — now you need to make sense of the results. While tests vary slightly in the information they detail, this is generally what you’ll see.
The test server shows the location that the speed test was run through. As we mentioned, the closer the server, the faster your internet. This goes for your everyday internet use, too. If you’re browsing sites that are hosted in other countries (like Vespa shops in Italy) you may notice pages take a few extra seconds to load compared to browsing shops in your area.
Your download speed is how much data can be downloaded from the server per second. Activities like streaming videos, online video conferencing, and gaming all require large amounts of data to be received and function better with higher download speeds.
Upload speed is how fast data can be sent to the server. Fast upload speeds are important for things like large file transfers, playing online video games, or uploading videos.
Most internet plans have asymmetrical speeds, where download speeds are significantly faster than upload speeds. In the past, this didn’t matter — most people downloaded far more data than they uploaded. Now, thanks to activities like video meetings and gaming, upload speeds are increasingly important.
Frequently using the real-time aspects of your internet? We recommend getting fiber internet. Fiber not only has the fastest available download speeds, but the upload speeds will match — giving you symmetrical speeds.
Your speed test results probably also include latency or ping. This number describes how long it takes your device to send signals to a server and receive the response.
This is basically a time delay or lag, so if your latency test number is lower, that’s a good thing. This is an important number if you want a video speed test because high latency will interrupt your streaming.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good speed for internet speed test?
Typically, 95% of your contracted speed is a good result for an internet speed test. If you’re paying for 1 Gigabit for example, a good speed would be 950 Mbps or higher.
Can an internet speed test be wrong?
The short answer is no. So long as your internet speed test is legitimate, the speeds you see will be accurate. However, your speeds can depend on how you connect to the internet to do the test. Your speeds with a WiFi connection will likely be slower than an ethernet connection.
Conclusion
We hope this gives you a clearer picture of how an internet speed test works, why you want to do one, and what your results mean. You can choose what to do from here. If you’re looking for an internet service provider with high speeds, dedicated connections, and no internet data caps, EarthLink sounds like the fit for you. Call 866-618-0264 to get started today!