There are several reasons why you may want to take the wifi speed test and we can briefly indicate at least six of them: - To understand if you are receiving the speed you are paying to the network provider.
- To see if it is convenient to change the network provider (for provider we mean Telecom, Fastweb and so on).
- To set up a new router and check the wifi coverage in the house.
- To verify that the wifi speed is adequate for the service you are using, for example to watch streaming movies or to play online.
- To check that different devices like Apple TV, Fire Stick or game console are using wifi at full speed.
- To understand at what time of day the internet is slower.
In the case of a slow wifi connection, before going to investigate the causes of a possible problem, it is necessary to see if it is true that there is a drop in network performance.
We must therefore test the speed of Wi-Fi, an easy operation to do, which however requires some requirements to be respected in order to have a true and precise result.
Most speed tests for Wi-Fi connections measure three elements:
- Ping frequency
- Donwload speed
- Upload speed
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The download speed indicates the speed with which the data is downloaded to your computer, measured in megabits per second (Mbps).
This is certainly the most important value, the one to be taken as a reference to measure the speed of the wifi.
The test downloads multiple data blocks to your computer, adjusting the number of connections and the download size at maximum speed.
The upload speed shows the speed with which the computer can upload data online, for example when adding files to a cloud service.
The upload speed is always slower than the download speed.
The upload test works in a similar way, but contrary to the download test: the browser loads blocks of data, adjusting the size and number of connections to make sure that the entire bandwidth of the connection is used.
In the end, the measured values can be compared to verify that the speed required for a certain service is available.
For example, Netflix 4K requires a download speed of at least 25 Mbps, while HD streaming requires at least a 5 Mbps speed.
The measured values can also be compared with those that were promised during the subscription or contract with the provider to check if you are getting what you are getting or if there is a problem.
As everyone now knows, you can do the wifi speed test by going to the popular Speedtest site, which is among the most reliable.
There are also other speed tests for wifi, as seen in the article on how to check the real internet connection speed.
Among these we mention Fast.com, Netflix service that allows you to see if there is enough connection speed to watch streaming videos at maximum quality.
Note that by searching on Google for "speed test" it becomes possible to do a connection speed test directly from Google, by pressing the Run speed test button.
To test the wifi in the right way it is important to take into account some requirements that must necessarily be respected before performing the speed test.
1) The wifi signal on the computer used for the test must be at the maximum and not have disturbances and interferences.
The test can therefore also be useful to detect differences in wifi speed at various points of the house and find the best position in which to put the router or if you need to buy a wifi repeater.
2) The test must be performed several times, at least three, to be sure of the measured values.
This is because there is a lot of volatility in these tests and it can be that three times more or less different results are always obtained, from which it will be necessary to make an average.
3) The test can give different results depending on the time of day .
One of the biggest factors affecting Internet speed is the number of users who are connected at the same time.
During "peak times", for example on Sunday evening when everyone is watching Netflix, probably the measured internet speed will be lower than at other times.
The tests could then be repeated at various times of the day to calculate when there is a drop in network performance.
As seen in the past, it is possible to control internet speed throughout the day through an automatic program
4) During the test, make sure that no other device, computer or smartphone, is discharging.
If there is another device that downloads data or if you are watching Netflix in streaming on the TV, then the test will certainly give values much lower than the real one, because part of the band is busy.
This requirement may seem obvious, but since today wifi devices may be different in a home, you need to make sure they are not using network bandwidth.
For best results, you should turn off or disconnect as many devices connected to the wifi as possible, including the TV and smartphone, or at least be certain that they are not downloading.
5) Before the test it is better to restart the computer .
To have a reliable wifi speed test it is important that the PC is not busy doing anything else and that all programs except the Speedtest are closed.
Also, keep an eye on automatic program start to disable any processes that can synchronize data online or download updates and take up network bandwidth)
6) The test must be performed without proxy and VPN .
Obviously, to get a correct measurement of your wifi connection, it is important that you do not use filters such as VPN and Proxy and that the browser does not have active extensions and data compression options that can limit the download speed.
READ ALSO: What slows down the network speed (wifi or wired) and the internet connection
