There are few things more annoying than slow internet, especially when you’re trying to stream your favourite show or urgently download an important file. In this article, we will show you how to do an Internet speed test and find out how fast is your Internet.
There are several things that may affect your internet speed, such as:
- Device Connection – Whether your are using a wired internet connection or a wireless (wifi) connection
- Faulty Devices – If you have a faulty or outdated device, this can slow down the speed of your internet for all your other devices
- Time of Day/Network Congestion – The time of day can affect your speed. Think of your internet connection like travelling on a freeway. At peak hour, there are more cars trying to get through!
- Connection Type – Whether you are using broadband connection or Mobile connection (through your 3G or 4G smartphone)
Testing your internet connection’s performance is a straightforward exercise. You don’t need any extra software—all you need is a computer with a web browser.
Here’s how you can do a speed test to see how fast your Internet speed is:
Step 1 : Open an internet browser (Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox) and visit the website: https://www.speedtest.net/
Step 2 : When the site has loaded, click on the GO button
Step 3 : Your test will run for no longer than a minute. Once complete your results will be shown.
If you found your internet is going slow after running the test, it’s now time to work out how to improve it.
- Reset the router – Modem glitches and faults are the number one cause of slow internet or total breakdowns in connectivity.
- Check that you know all the devices on your network – If your internet is performing slowly, try jumping into your modem admin software to see what is actually connected to it. If there are devices that you don’t recognise, it might be that someone has figured out how to access your network.
- Clear the browser cache and cookies, or try restarting the device – If you’re only experiencing slow speeds from a single device, then try clearing it of anything that might slow it down. If it’s a PC, and the browser is slow, that might be because the cache has become bloated and you’ve got too many cookies collected on it. Clear those away and see if that fixes things.
- Virus check – If you haven’t run an antivirus scan in a long time, it’s best that you do so now. Some malicious software can hijack your network and slow down things.
- Get a new ISP – A slow connection might not have anything to do with your home setup at all, and you may well have the right plan in theory for your needs. However, not every ISP delivers similar results, and some are more prone to drastic slowdowns than others.
Also, check out my article – How to Set up and Optimise Your Home Network. You may find a solution here to improve your Internet speeds.
