How to Test the Speed of Your High Speed Internet Service
The amount you pay for Internet service every month depends on what high-speed package you selected from your Internet service provider (ISP). The higher the speed, the more the service costs. The actual upload and download speeds may not be exactly what the service advertises, but they should be close. You can test your actual upload and download speeds by visiting a test website and running the speed test, or you can time a download yourself and then calculate the speed.
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Instructions
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Manual Download Speed Testing
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1
Browse the Internet for a file you have not downloaded before. The file should be of a decent size--at least five megabytes.
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2
Start timing the download at the same moment you launch it. Note how long it takes in seconds to download the entire file.
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3
Browse your hard drive for the downloaded file. Note the size of the file in megabytes.
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4
Multiply the size of the file by eight to get the number of megabits.
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5
Divide the number from step 4 by the number of seconds it took to download the file.
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6
Multiply the result from step 5 by 1.1.
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7
Multiply the result from step 6 by 1024 to get the kilobits-per-second for your download.
Website Testing
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8
Open your browser. Go to http://www.timewarnercable.com/Carolinas/learn/hso/speedtest.html.
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Click "Begin Test."
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10
Wait while the test runs. It may take as long as two minutes. Do not interrupt the test for accurate results. Note the results of the upload and the download test.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have doubts about your upload and download speeds being near what your ISP advertises, perform a thorough maintenance on your computer first before running a speed test. Programs running in the background, including ad-ware and malware, are a common culprit in slowing down your computer's performance, which won't have anything to do with your ISP.
