Why and when should you check download and upload speed???

Speed testing internet connection is a good practice that you should perform periodically. It’s a great and easy way to find out how fast or how slow your current connection is. For details on “Why and when should you check download and upload speed?”, check out today’s article right now, then you will know more about the test’s benefits as well as when to perform it.

Good internet speed

Some first words

More and more aspects of modern life involve the use of the internet. Today, from working, studying, to entertaining, and more, they rely on the internet so increasingly. 

That’s the reason why having a good and stable internet connection is absolutely important. Sometimes, fast internet is considered a type of competitive advantage in the digital era.

So, what should you do to make sure your internet connection is enough for specific online activities? Well, performing speed tests is a good idea, right? They’ll help determine how strong your network is. 

If you want to know more about why and when we should speed test your internet connection, just keep reading on.

Check download and upload speed

Why should you speed test your internet?

When running speed tests, you’ll be given results after a few seconds of waiting. Normally, the results feature 3 basic specs, including ping rate (also called latency), download speed, and upload speed. 

As long as you’re sure that you run the test the right way and get accurate results, the numbers of download, upload speed, ping rate shown on the screen will help you answer important questions related to your internet performance. 

Following are common reasons to check upload speed, download speed, and ping rate.

To know if the current connection is good enough for doing something

That’s true. Because when you find out how slow or how fast your internet speed is, you will know if it’s enough for you to do your online things. For example, when you want to stream a TV show in 4K solution, well, it’s necessary to find out if the current speed is sufficient for you to watch the show without buffering. Normally, you will need a speed of at least 25 Mbps to ensure smooth 4K video streaming experiences.

Online gaming

To determine if your internet speed matches up with what you’re paying

Knowing your internet speed by using a speed testing tool is also a simple and easy way to determine if the internet provider is providing you with the speeds that you are paying for. 

To do this, you need to perform the test the right way to ensure the accuracy of the test since speed test results are affected by different factors. We will discuss more about why it’s necessary to run the test the right way later on in this writing.

To identify potential causes of slow and unstable networks

Speed check internet connection is a useful way to identify potential problems causing slow and unstable networks. There are different reasons for a slowdown on your internet speed such as the issues with your ISP, the router, your computer, the number of devices connected to the network, the wired vs the wireless connection, peak vs non-peak hours, and more. Testing your speed can help in this case.

Sometimes, speed tests help us save time

Yep, that’s true! Think of activities like uploading or downloading large files, for example. You just want to do that as quickly as possible, right? Running some speed tests throughout the day to identify what times of the day your internet is fastest, in that way, you will know when is the best time to download or upload your files. That’s the way speed tests help save time.

Slow internet

When should you speed test your internet?

Of course, you should test upload and download speed whenever you find it necessary. Right here are a few examples of when it’s necessary to run internet speed tests:

When your internet is slower than usual

When you observe slower-than-normal internet speeds, or if web pages take a lot of time to load and open on your devices, well, it’s also the time to check your internet speed.

When you want to compare your current speed with what your ISP advertises

The tests help you determine if your ISP is providing the same speeds as what you are paying for. Though speed test results are not 100% accurate due to a wide range of factors, they are still a good source of information to use for measuring your connection speed and the service quality of your ISP as well.

Once again, you need to run the tests the right way so that you will have a complete picture of how your connection is doing. Note that Wi-Fi speeds generally tend to be slower than wired connection speeds. And the advertised speeds usually refer to the wired connection only, so should run the test over an Ethernet connection to measure it more accurately.

Sending emails

When you want to determine if your speed is enough for you to do something online

It’s good to run speed tests to see if the current internet speed is sufficient for making video calls, downloading or uploading large-sized files, streaming videos in high resolution, playing online games, and more. That will help ensure a smoother and better internet experience when you engage in online activities, especially the activities requiring fast speed and stable connection.

When you want to know which ones among your devices get the best Wi-Fi signal

Different devices such as phones, PCs, tablets, etc have different WiFi and cellular radio capabilities. So, despite using the same connection, some devices are able to get the full speed of your internet speed, while some others may not be able to do so.

Running some speed checks can help you know which ones among your devices have the better capabilities. That might be so useful when you want to do online activities requiring fast connection.  

Access internet on mobile devices

When you want to see how much your wired connection speed is faster than the WiFi speed

Generally speaking, wired broadband connection speed tends to be higher than Wi-Fi connection. Because Wi-Fi signals are transmitted through the air, there are many factors affecting its strength and stability. That’s the reason why the wired connection seems stable and faster than Wi-Fi connection.

In case you want to compare the difference in speed between your wired connection and Wi-Fi connection, it’s good to perform a few speed tests.

Others

Testing your internet connection using internet speed test sites is so quick, simple, and easy, hence, you should run the test whenever you find it necessary. Speed test results are useful in many ways, not just the things we mentioned recently.

Download and upload speed is measured in Mbps (Megabits per second)

Why is it necessary to run speed tests the right way?

It’s good to run speed tests, we all know that. But it’s even more important and necessary to test your internet speeds the right way. Why???

This is because there are various factors affecting the speed results, including the device you use to run the test, the time you perform the test (peak or non-peak hours), the number of devices connected to the network at the same time, the testing server, the testing tool you use, etc.

If you just run the test for only one time, or run it while extra programs are running in the background of the testing device, … well, it’s so hard to get the accurate speed results. 

See also: How to check upload speed?

Conclusion

Here are why and when it’s necessary to speed test your internet connection. Just a simple and easy test, but it might be helpful in different ways. Well, that’s everything that we want to introduce to you in today’s article. Hope you found it helpful.

Cre:

mymove.com/broadband/guides/wifi-speed-test/

mymove.com/broadband/speeds/internet-speed-test/