How to Test My Broadband Speed

Testing your broadband speed

Slow Internet speeds are frustrating as well as difficult to resolve as they are caused by so many different things. Network traffic on the site you are visiting, low bandwidth on your network, network outages from your Internet service provider (ISP), connection problems at your residence or even software issues on your computer all contribute to slow Internet speeds. The first step in diagnosing a speed issue, however, is to test your connection speed to identify a potential problem.

Instructions

1. Reset all devices. If an Internet connection has been running continuously for some time, it can start to register network timeouts and other common errors that can make the connection appear to run more slowly than it actually is. To ensure that these errors do not give you inaccurate speed test results, perform a simple reset or "powercycle" of your home network. Locate the power cord of your broadband modem and unplug it for a full 30 seconds. Plug it back in and restart your computer to allow for the modem to reboot completely.

2. Bypass any home networking devices. Routers, switches, hubs and any other home networking equipment can slow down a connection drastically if they are experiencing any type of malfunction. Locate the Ethernet cable coming out of your broadband modem and trace it to determine what it is plugged into. If it is plugged into anything other than your computer's Ethernet ports, unplug it from that device and plug it directly into an Ethernet port on your computer. Reset the modem in the manner described above and you are now ready to check your connection speed.

3. Test your broadband speeds. Visit one of the free speed test sites listed and run several speed tests. To evaluate the test results, compare the average upload and download speeds on all of your tests to the speeds guaranteed by your ISP.

Tips & Warnings

• If the speed test site you visit asks you to select a server before running the tests, make sure to select the one that is physically closest to your location to ensure the most accurate test results.

References

• Speedtest
• Speakeasy
• DSLReports: Speed Tests

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish