Have you checked your internet speed lately? Here's how to test your internet speed to make sure you're getting what you're paying for.
What you use the internet for, Optimal bandwidth, Optimal latency, Type of internet to look for ; Browsing the web, writing, and sending emails, 5 Mbps or better, 100 ms or better, DSL, Cable, Satellite ; Streaming videos, movies, and music, 10 Mbps or better, 60 ms or better, Cable, Fiber ; Gaming, 10 Mbps or better, 20 ms or better, Cable, Fiber ; Videoconferencing, 15 Mbps or better, 40 ms or better, Cable, Fiber ; Uploading videos to YouTube, Vimeo, 100 Mbps or better, 50 ms or better, Fiber ; Livestreaming, 200 Mbps or better, 30 ms or better, Fiber ; Enterprise, 500 Mbps or better, 30 ms or better, Fiber
Is your internet speed fast enough for your day-to-day needs? Before choosing a service provider it's important to factor in what you will be using it for.
A step-by-step guide to your internet speed ; Double check that the device you're testing is using the internet connection you want to test. ; Click the big orange Start Speed Test button at the top of this page. ; Allow roughly 30 seconds for the speed test to run.
Don't overpay for Internet speed you don't need. Here's how to tell what internet speed you should be paying for.
But one that you’re likely most interested in is the download number. ; It should actually just be called the speed number, because it tells you how fast data moves to you when you’re getting information from the internet. ; More importantly, that download number is the one that corresponds to the speed number that internet providers advertise and offer to you at home for a “blazing fast” connection.
Some of the most frequent questions we get are about computer speed and internet speed. Seems lots of folks don’t care much for waiting and waiting – and waiting some more – for the video to load, the movie to download or the upload to send. We don’t blame them. Even now, sometimes the internet can seem horribly slow. But before you commit to paying your internet provider for a faster connection, let’s see if we can help you speed up the connection you have right now. Browsing the web ...
Slow Internet is something that annoys everyone, from slow loading of webpages to images taking years to load, these things annoy everyone. Most people think that the reason why their internet is slow is because of their ISP or their Internet Plan but what about people that don’t have these issues and still have poor internet speeds? Well, it turns out that there are other factors too that contribute to poor internet speeds. To get started with how to increase your internet speed, we need to first eliminate the potential throttling from ISP. ...
Before you run any of these tests, be sure to: ; Turn off any downloads or uploads you have going on your system. That includes streaming media or live video meetings or torrents. Rebooting the system is a good start. ; Log out of your VPN software for the duration of the test; it adds a lot of overhead to the connection. ; For real accuracy, plug your PC directly into the router via Ethernet. You'll have a lot less network overhead than you would with a Wi-Fi connection.
1. Assess your bandwidth ; If you have constant speed problems, your bandwidth is the first thing you should consider. ; Ensure you are on a plan that can cope with today's array of devices and their demand for bandwidth. ZDNET's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols notes that a minimum speed of 30Mbps is recommended. ; Also: Stop paying for antivirus software. Here's why you don't need it