You know the feeling, you are at home and all of a sudden, the sites load very slowly. You may be at the local coffee shop where they provide free Wi-Fi and it is unbelievably sluggish. YouTube videos either stop and start while buffering multiple times in a couple of minutes or do not load. Before you reboot…and find that nothing has changed check the internet connection speed where you are located.
This service allows you to check your speeds through either a website, application and/or your mobile phone.
The site name is “Speedtest,” is found online at speedtest.net and is owned by Ookla. Ookla began in 2006 with their home base in Seattle. The parent company is Ziff Davis so that gives you the knowledge that it has a good pedigree.
This site does only three things but does them all well. When you go to the site you will see a large circle with “Go” in the center. Click “Go.”
It will test the ping rate and your download and upload speeds in just a few seconds.
First, some definitions. Ping is the reaction time of your connection to the web servers. It shows how fast you get a response after your browser has sent out a request. A fast ping (lower number) means a quicker reply back from the site. This is especially useful in gaming. The ping rate is measured in ms (milliseconds).
Download speed is simply how fast you get files back on your browser. For instance, if you are downloading a picture or video you get them quicker, the higher the number. Upload speed is how quickly you are sending your information up to the internet. For example, when you are copying something up to Dropbox or emailing a picture. High numbers are good for uploads too. These last two are measured in Mbps (Megabits per second).
The website works fine; however, you can install the Speedtest application on PC, Mac or phones. That way if the connection is slow the apps will get your numbers more quickly. For your computer, go to, “speedtest.net/apps/desktop” to download the application. I prefer these over the site.
For your phones, you can either go to the phone’s app store or directly to Speedtest, speedtest.net/mobile.
I highly recommend you use this site or app if you are wondering why your speed is lagging. One slight difference is that with the phone apps you do not (at this time) get “GO” but a “Begin Test” button. Also, the apps give you some information the site does not.
Keep the following in mind. When you are at the coffee shop everyone there with a phone or computer is also sharing your connection. They are notoriously slow if many people are present which includes the employees’ phones.
At home, you may be paying for 50 Mbps download speed and find you are only getting 25 or so. This is normal as your Wi-Fi is sending your signal across the house through walls and may be further away from your device. Or someone at home may be watching a movie on Netflix. You will not get full speed as promised unless you are connected directly to your router by cable. So, you do not call and complain to the service provider unless it is significantly slower than it should be.
