Three ways to check your internet speed

Rich on Tech

Good internet is essential for work, streaming and anything we want to do that involves a screen.

One of the most basic indicators of a decent connection is a speed test. Here are the 3 tools I use to check how fast a connection is.

My go to website is fast.com. Netflix actually operates this, but what I like about it is that it is super simple. The speed test starts as soon as the page loads and there aren’t any ads that I’ve ever seen.

Also, since download speed is most important to many people, it starts with that and then does an upload test. Once your results are loaded you can hit “show more info” for more details.

On iOS and Android, I use an app called Meteor. I like this app because again, it’s uncomplicated and provides results in a fast, easy to understand manner. It shows if you’re connected to a mobile network or Wi-Fi right on the test screen, so you know which connection you’re testing.

The other thing Meteor does is give you an idea of how well your connection performs for various apps. These are listed at the bottom, and you can customize which ones show up here. For instance, if you’re most interested in Netflix and Spotify, you can move those to the front of the row.

One thing to keep in mind about Meteor is that it might try to collect information about your connections on its own to build a better public internet speed map. If you don’t like that, you can toggle off “Data contribution” in Settings (I do).

Finally, if you want a bit more of a thorough test, I recommend Cloudflare’s Speed Test.

Their test page is more detailed to reveal not only how fast your connection is, but how consistent it is with stats for Ping and Jitter.

Ping is how long it takes for a bit of data to go from your computer to the network and back. Jitter is the variation in your connection. The lower both these numbers are, the more consistent your connection will be.

So how fast does your connection need to be?

For video streaming, not very fast at all. Netflix recommends 3 megabits per second for standard definition viewing, 5 for HD and 25 for 4K.

Even for Zoom, the minimum requirement for video chat is between 1 and 4 megabits per second.

Most of the time, it’s a poor Wi-Fi connection that’s causing issues. To get the best results, test your internet connection by plugging your computer directly into your router (the box that typically sits under or near your TV and provides the internet connection) and then do another test on the device while connected via Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi is typically going to be slower than the wired connection, but at least you can see what you’re dealing with and troubleshoot from there. If you need better Wi-Fi, this Vilo system provides a good combination of price and performance.

Have a great week.

Rich