Frequently Asked Questions

An internet speed test measures the performance of your broadband connection in real time. It checks how fast data travels between your device and the internet, reporting download speed, upload speed, ping (latency), and jitter. Our free speed test takes under 60 seconds and requires no sign-up or app download.

Visit our homepage and click the "Start Test" button. Our online speed test will automatically connect to the nearest test server and measure your download speed, upload speed, ping, and jitter. Results appear in real time on the animated speed gauge. You can run as many tests as you like — completely free.

Our speed test works in four phases: (1) Ping test — measures round-trip latency to our nearest server. (2) Download test — opens multiple parallel connections to saturate your bandwidth and find your true maximum download speed. (3) Upload test — pushes data from your device to our servers to measure upload throughput. (4) Jitter analysis — calculates variation in your ping over multiple samples. The whole process takes 30–60 seconds.

Yes — 100% free, forever. No sign-up, no account, no credit card, no software download. Simply open the page and click Start. Our speed test is funded by non-intrusive advertising and will always remain free to use.

Yes. You can run as many speed tests as you like at any time. We recommend running 2–3 tests at different times of day to get a more accurate picture of your average connection performance, as speeds can vary depending on network congestion.

The speed test temporarily uses your full available bandwidth for approximately 30–60 seconds during the test. Once the test completes, your connection returns to completely normal. We recommend pausing any active downloads, streams, or video calls before testing for the most accurate results.

Download speed measures how fast data travels from the internet to your device, measured in Megabits per second (Mbps). It affects how quickly web pages load, how fast videos stream, how smooth online gaming is, and how fast files and apps download. Most household internet activities primarily rely on download speed.

Upload speed measures how fast data travels from your device to the internet, measured in Mbps. It affects video calls (Zoom, Teams, FaceTime), uploading files to Google Drive or Dropbox, live streaming on Twitch or YouTube, online gaming (sending your inputs to game servers), and sending large email attachments.

Ping (also called latency) is the round-trip time for a data packet to travel from your device to a server and back, measured in milliseconds (ms). Lower ping is better. Ping under 20ms is excellent for gaming and video calls. 20–80ms is good for most uses. 80–200ms is acceptable for streaming but may cause lag in games. Above 200ms will cause noticeable delays.

Jitter measures how much your ping varies over time. A consistent ping of 40ms is far better than one that fluctuates between 10ms and 200ms. High jitter causes choppy audio on voice calls, freezing video in conference calls, rubber-banding in online games, and audio artefacts in VoIP calls. A jitter under 10ms is considered excellent; under 30ms is acceptable.

For a single user: 25 Mbps download is the minimum for comfortable HD streaming and browsing. For 2–4 users: 100 Mbps is recommended. For households with heavy usage (4K streaming, gaming, working from home): 200–500 Mbps is ideal. For large families or home offices with many devices: 500 Mbps–1 Gbps is future-proof. Upload speed of at least 10 Mbps is recommended for video calls.

Several factors can reduce your real-world speed below your plan's advertised maximum: WiFi signal loss and interference, your router's age and processing power, multiple devices sharing your connection, peak-time network congestion at your ISP, the distance between your home and the local exchange (for DSL connections), and the speed of the website or service you are using. Testing via wired Ethernet with other devices disconnected gives the closest result to your plan speed.

Internet speeds naturally vary based on time of day, network congestion, server load, and your device's current activity. Evening hours (typically 7–11pm) tend to show lower speeds due to peak usage in residential areas. For the most accurate picture, run 3–5 tests at different times of day and calculate the average.

The most effective steps to improve internet speed are: (1) Restart your router — clears memory and refreshes your connection. (2) Use a wired Ethernet connection instead of WiFi. (3) Move your router to a central location. (4) Reduce the number of connected devices. (5) Update your router firmware. (6) Change your WiFi channel to a less congested one. (7) Upgrade your router if it is more than 3–4 years old. (8) Contact your ISP if speeds are consistently below your plan speed.

Yes — restarting your router is one of the simplest and most effective speed fixes. It clears the router's memory (RAM), refreshes your IP address lease from your ISP, resolves firmware glitches, and re-optimises channel selection. Many ISPs recommend restarting your router at least once a month. Simply unplug it for 30 seconds and plug it back in.

It depends. If your broadband line speed (tested via Ethernet directly from your modem) matches your plan, but WiFi speeds are lower, then yes — a newer router supporting WiFi 6 or WiFi 6E will likely improve your wireless speeds significantly. If your wired speed is already below your plan speed, the issue is with your ISP or line, and a new router will not help.

WiFi is a wireless technology and inherently slower than a wired connection due to: signal interference from other networks and devices, physical obstacles (walls, floors, appliances), distance from the router, the WiFi standard supported by your router and device, and the number of devices competing for bandwidth on the same network. For speed-sensitive tasks, always prefer Ethernet.

Signs of ISP throttling include speeds that are consistently lower than your plan, speeds that drop at specific times of day (peak hours), or certain services (like streaming or gaming) being noticeably slower than others. To check: run a speed test via Ethernet at off-peak hours. If results are still well below your plan speed, contact your ISP with evidence of your test results.

Visit our WiFi Speed Test page and tap "Test My WiFi". The test runs directly in your browser — no app needed. For the most accurate WiFi speed reading: stay in the same room as your router, close other apps on your device, and disconnect devices you are not using. Run the test 2–3 times and note the average.

For single users: 25 Mbps WiFi is adequate for HD streaming. For households with 2–4 users: 100 Mbps is recommended. For 4K streaming, gaming, and video calls on multiple devices: 200–300 Mbps is ideal. If your WiFi speed is significantly lower than your broadband plan speed, the limitation is your router or wireless environment — not your ISP.

2.4 GHz WiFi: longer range, better wall penetration, but slower speeds (typically up to 300 Mbps) and more prone to interference from other networks, microwaves, and Bluetooth devices. 5 GHz WiFi: faster speeds (up to 1,300 Mbps on WiFi 5, 9.6 Gbps on WiFi 6), less congested, but shorter effective range. For speed-sensitive devices that are close to the router, always connect to the 5 GHz band.

Open this website in your phone's browser (Chrome, Safari, or any modern browser). Make sure your phone is connected to WiFi (not mobile data) in Settings. Then tap Start Test on the homepage or Test My WiFi on the WiFi Speed Test page. Results appear in real time. No app download is required.