{"id":1491,"date":"2020-06-11T15:52:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T10:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/?p=1491"},"modified":"2020-06-11T15:52:13","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T10:22:13","slug":"how-do-internet-speed-tests-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/how-do-internet-speed-tests-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How do Internet speed tests work? and how accurate are they?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_58 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-655de17c7ec17\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-655de17c7ec17\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/how-do-internet-speed-tests-work\/#How_do_Internet_speed_tests_work\" title=\"How do Internet speed tests work?\">How do Internet speed tests work?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/how-do-internet-speed-tests-work\/#What_is_the_speed_test\" title=\"What is the speed test?\">What is the speed test?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/how-do-internet-speed-tests-work\/#How_a_speed_test_works\" title=\"How a speed test works\">How a speed test works<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/how-do-internet-speed-tests-work\/#Are_speed_tests_accurate\" title=\"Are speed tests accurate?\">Are speed tests accurate?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/how-do-internet-speed-tests-work\/#How_to_get_the_most_accurate_results\" title=\"How to get the most accurate results\">How to get the most accurate results<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_Internet_speed_tests_work\"><\/span>How do Internet speed tests work?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Internet speed tests are a quick way to see how fast your Internet is. ISPs promise &#8220;up to&#8221; a certain speed under optimal conditions, but a speed test will confirm how fast or slow your connection is.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_speed_test\"><\/span>What is the speed test?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>An Internet speed test is the best way to get an idea of \u200b\u200bhow fast your connection is right now. The service you connect to often limits download and upload speeds based on the plan you choose, local congestion, download limitation rules you have, etc.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that the promises that your <strong>Internet Service Provider<\/strong> (ISP) makes almost always include the phrase &#8220;until&#8221;. This gives an ISP some leeway: if it promises you &#8220;up to 30 Mbps,&#8221; and you consistently get only 28 Mbps, then the company can say it has delivered on its promise. But if you see 10 Mbps, then you are not getting what you pay for, and it is time to call your ISP.<\/p>\n<p>A <strong>speed test<\/strong> measures your ping, and download and upload speeds, or data upload and download. Measurement of the latter two is essential because most ISPs make separate promises for download and upload speeds. In general, the download speed is prominent, but if you dig into the details, the ISP usually specifies a slower download speed for each level. For example, our local ISP offers a plan with a download speed of 500 Mbps, but an upload speed of 125 Mbps.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_a_speed_test_works\"><\/span>How a speed test works<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After choosing a server, a ping, download, and upload test is performed.<\/p>\n<p>When starting a speed test, multiple things happen. First, the client determines its location and the closest test server to it; this part is important. Some versions, like <strong>Ookla&#8217;s Speedtest.net<\/strong>, have the option to change the server. With the test server in place, the speed test sends a simple signal (a ping) to the server, and the server responds. The test measures that round trip in milliseconds.<\/p>\n<p>Once the ping is complete, the download test begins. The client opens several connections to the server and tries to download a small piece of data. At this point, two things are measured: the time it took to capture the data chunk and the number of network resources you used.<\/p>\n<p>If the client detects that you have space to spare, open more connections to the server, and download more data. The general idea is to tax your Internet connection and see how much you can do simultaneously.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine your Internet connection as a highway with a speed limit. Opening additional connections are like adding more lanes to the road. The speed limit has not changed, but more cars can go through the same space at a faster rate; therefore, car 50 will arrive sooner on a four-lane highway than a two-lane highway.<\/p>\n<p>Once the customer determines that they have the correct connections to test their Internet service, they download additional chunks of data, measure the amount downloaded in the allotted time, and present a download speed.<\/p>\n<p>The following is the load test. It is essentially the same process as the download test but in reverse. Instead of extracting data from the server to your PC, the client uploads the data from your PC to the server.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_speed_tests_accurate\"><\/span>Are speed tests accurate?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Speed \u200b\u200btests sound simple, but it is much more difficult than it seems to measure the speed of your connection accurately.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the first step in the process: choosing a test server. Often the closest server can be incredibly close, perhaps even in the same city. That proximity is an optimal situation, so the data doesn&#8217;t have to travel that far. Companies know that proximity makes a difference, and that&#8217;s why some, like Netflix, use a content delivery network to bring data closer to users.<\/p>\n<p>But the internet is not near you. Much of it is found on distant computers, sometimes across the country or in another country. Therefore, although the speed test can show incredibly fast flows, downloading a program may be very slow if the server hosting the data is far away. In that scenario, your results may reflect faster performance than real-world use.<\/p>\n<p>The difference in server locations is the reason different speed results are likely to be seen when trying different tests, like those from <strong>Ookla, Netflix, <\/strong>or<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Google<\/strong><\/a>. Your ISP may also offer a speed test, such as Comcast, Spectrum, or AT&amp;T. However, you probably shouldn&#8217;t rely on an ISP-generated speed test. Your tests are optimized for ideal conditions, using servers close to you that are often kept on the same ISP network that you are testing from. This means that you will get a faster result than with a speed test from Netflix or Google. It&#8217;s okay if you just want to brag about how great your ISP is (that&#8217;s the idea), but it&#8217;s bad to get a feel for your speeds in reality.<\/p>\n<p>In the second step of the testing process, the client attempts to open additional connections and maximize network use. For example, if you are downloading or playing online while testing, then the speed test cannot make the most of your resources. If you test while streaming Netflix or download a large update, for example, your results are likely to be lower than tests without running.<\/p>\n<p>The way you are connected and the devices you are testing also affect the results. An Ethernet-connected PC should have a faster speed result than a Wi-Fi-connected tablet because Wi-Fi is generally slower than ethernet. Results may vary on different devices, even if they use the same connection.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">[<strong>Also Read:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/where-are-all-the-data-on-the-internet-stored\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Where are all the data on the Internet stored?<\/a>]<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_get_the_most_accurate_results\"><\/span>How to get the most accurate results<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Obtaining accurate results depends on what is to be measured. Want to see if your ISP is delivering the speeds it promised? So, look for optimal conditions. Use a device connected to Ethernet, choose the test server closest to you, and stop anything that may be using the Internet connection, such as a streaming service.<\/p>\n<p>You may even need to restart the router before performing a speed test. If your router has a built-in speed test, use it instead of a browser test. Doing so removes some of the obstacles the process has to go through.<\/p>\n<p>However, if you want results that are more similar to real-world performance, use a browser or an application test. Bypassing the router test should allow you to choose a farther server. If you regularly have one or two video or audio streams running, start these before starting the Internet speed test.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, no matter what steps you take or how you measure, you won&#8217;t get a perfectly accurate result. However, you can get a good enough result to satisfy your curiosity or check the speeds promised by your ISP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do Internet speed tests work? Internet speed tests are a quick way to see<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[16],"tags":[969,970],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Internet-speed.jpg?fit=1192%2C617&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1673,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/google-loon-balloon-start-working-bringing-the-internet\/","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":0},"title":"Google Loon balloon start working bringing the Internet","author":"Admin","date":"9 July 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Project Loon will offer Internet access in some 50,000 square kilometers of Kenya. The latest tests have achieved a speed of 4.74 Mbps upload, and 19.9 Mbps download. Project Loon is the initiative that Google announced in 2013 to bring mobile Internet coverage to remote areas where the installation of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Latest Updates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Latest Updates","link":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/category\/latest-updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Google Loon balloons","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Google-Loon-balloons.jpg?fit=1200%2C572&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Google-Loon-balloons.jpg?fit=1200%2C572&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Google-Loon-balloons.jpg?fit=1200%2C572&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Google-Loon-balloons.jpg?fit=1200%2C572&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Google-Loon-balloons.jpg?fit=1200%2C572&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1508,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/all-you-need-to-know-about-5g\/","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":1},"title":"What does 5G stand for and how fast is it? All you need to know","author":"Admin","date":"14 June 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"As billions of more devices connect to the web, the entire infrastructure needs to accommodate traffic not only to support faster connections but also to handle simultaneous connections better and provide broader coverage for these devices. This is what 5G is all about. What is 5G? Lately, we hear it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Uncategorised&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Uncategorised","link":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/category\/uncategorised\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"all about 5G","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/all-about-5G.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/all-about-5G.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/all-about-5G.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/all-about-5G.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/all-about-5G.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1094,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/what-is-proxy-server-types-and-uses\/","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":2},"title":"What is Proxy Server? Types and uses | Free Prox List in 2020 [100% working]","author":"Admin","date":"1 June 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"When browsing the Internet, it is important to take into account several factors, among them, the most important is privacy and security. Every time a user surfs the net, he ends up leaving a trail in some way, which can be taken by other people and thus see each of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"free Proxies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/free-Proxies.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/free-Proxies.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/free-Proxies.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/free-Proxies.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/free-Proxies.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":822,"url":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/what-is-a-vpn-and-why-would-i-need-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":3},"title":"What Is a VPN, and Why Would I Need One?","author":"Admin","date":"25 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Virtual private networks (VPN) help users protect their privacy when browsing and accessing services and web pages when we use unreliable connections such as public Wi-Fi networks since it protects the information we exchange through encryption. 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The site provides a clean interface, high-quality, verified torrents on movies, TV shows, games, software, ebooks, etc. Therefore, you can download any movie, TV show, game, or ebook for free at the fastest speed. I also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entertainment&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Entertainment","link":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/category\/entertainment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Demonoid","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Demonoid.jpg?fit=1041%2C621&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Demonoid.jpg?fit=1041%2C621&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Demonoid.jpg?fit=1041%2C621&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Demonoid.jpg?fit=1041%2C621&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1491"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1494,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1491\/revisions\/1494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wikitechupdates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}