Pings of 100ms or below are average, while lower numbers in the 30s and below are exceptional, providing a smooth gaming experience. This is particularly important when playing video games.

Ping: Also known as latency, this is your connection’s reaction time. The lower the jitter, the better these connections will be. If your connection has a lot of jitter you may find that your video call audio quality isn’t good or your calls often drop. Jitter: Your broadband’s time delay when sending data.

Upload speeds of 3 Mbps and above are considered good, however, if you frequently video call or stream you will benefit from a higher upload speed. Upload speed: How fast your internet connection can send information (for example, sending an email or video calling). The speed you require depends on your needs, for example, a large family with multiple devices would benefit from 400 Mbps or more. Enter your postcode below to see deals in your area, or check our pick of the best broadband deals.Your internet speed test result will tell you how well your internet is performing in these four key areas:ĭownload speed: The number of Mbps it takes to download data from a server (for example, images or videos). It's always worth checking to see what broadband deals are on offer from other providers, especially if you're out of contract and could stand to make significant savings. If you're not happy with your ISP's response, follow our guide on how to complain about your broadband speed. If your speed drops below this, your provider must improve it within a month – if it can't, it must allow you to exit your contract penalty-free. If your broadband contract started after March 2019 and you're with one of the providers that has signed Ofcom’s voluntary code of practice (BT, EE, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media and Zen Internet), your provider must give you a minimum guaranteed speed when you take out a new contract. Start by providing evidence of your internet speeds – it's a good idea to keep a diary of interruptions and to regularly use the speed checker tool to build up a true picture of your service. We suggest calling your internet service provider (ISP) as a first step to see what it can do. However, if you've done everything you can to speed up your connection and you're still getting a lower speed than you were promised, your broadband provider may be in breach of contract. If your speeds are significantly less than you expected, there are steps you can take to improve things – get started by checking our advice on Speed up slow broadband. Tech tips you can trust – get our free Tech newsletter for advice, news, deals and stuff the manuals don’t tell you What you can do if your broadband speeds are slow The results also only show the speeds you're getting on the device you're using for the test – the speed your provider is delivering to your home may be higher, especially if you're performing the test wirelessly at some distance from your router. To build an accurate picture, we would suggest you run several tests during a single week, in peak use time (between 8pm and 10pm) and during off-peak times. However, if you use your broadband connection for video calls or online gaming, keep an eye on the upload rate, too, as it's essential for both. Discover the speed of your mobile connection with easy, one-tap testingaccurate anywhere thanks to our. Find out with free native apps that measure the speed of your broadband, cellular or Wi-Fi connection on each device.

The upload speed shows the rate that data is transferred from your device to the internet – how quick it is to upload a photo or document to an email, for example.ĭownload speeds are usually of more interest, as most tasks require you to download information, for example searching online for information. Quickly and easily test your internet connection with free apps from Speedtestany time, on any device.

Monitoring your data usage, using a VPN, and switching to a new ISP are the most effective ways to avoid throttling. One of the best ways to detect throttling on your network is to run an internet speed test using a VPN. The download speed shows the rate at which data is transferred from the internet to your device – how quick it is to access a newspaper article online or stream music, for example. Network congestion, exceeding a data cap, and paid prioritization are some of the main reasons for throttling.This is needed for applications where timing is everything, such as interactive video games. More responsive connections are those with a low number of ms (meaning they take less time to respond). Response time is measured in milliseconds (ms) and shows how quickly you get a response after you've sent out a request.The tool measures the response time – also known as latency – of your broadband connection, as well as your download and upload speeds. What do the broadband speed test results show?

Internet wifi speed test spectrum