Do you have an expensive internet subscription? Then of course you want the maximum speed. The speed of your internet subscription is usually higher than the speed you actually get. In this article you can read why this is and what you can do about it.
Step 1: Wireless vs Wired
There can be a big speed difference between a wired and wireless connection. You usually achieve the highest speed when you connect your equipment wired. Even with a wireless 802.11n network with a theoretical speed of 300 Mbit, the speed can be disappointing. During a test, we achieved 60 Mbit wirelessly and almost 180 Mbit wired. There are many reasons to name. Known are jammers (neighbours), other network traffic on your wireless networks, physical obstacles or the quality of your wireless access point. If you only use your equipment wirelessly and connecting wired is not an option for you, you can opt for a cheaper internet subscription, for example. Also read: 5 indispensable tools for your WiFi network.
Step 2: Test
The easiest way to test the speed of the internet connection is with www.speedtest.net. The Windows 10 Network Speed Test app (found in Store) does much the same. Nice detail of Network Speed Test is that the app also remembers previous tests. This is useful, for example if your internet provider has informed you that your speed has been increased.
The test is performed between your computer, tablet or smartphone and a server on the internet. All intermediate stations can cause delays. If possible, run the test both wired and wirelessly. This gives you a good indication of the speed in practice. A distinction is made between download speed (retrieving data), upload speed (sending data) and 'ping' (response time).
Step 3: Stability
If you notice that your internet connection is intermittent or have the feeling that the connection drops every now and then, you can test this with PingPlotter. The program performs a continuous ping test to a server of your choice. Choose a stable server, for example google.com. The results appear in a graph. This way you can see afterwards whether the ping test sometimes falters if the server is less accessible. A red mark indicates that the test server is not reachable and your internet connection has probably been completely lost.
