Internet Service Providers love making claims about their speed to appeal to a potential customer. But do you know often, the speed you receive falls short of the speed you signed up for? My friend was in total disbelief until I made him run a speed test.
I bet some Internet users don’t even know about this. The speed you receive always varies. However, it should be near to the actual Mbps of your plan. If you signed up for 50 Mbps and you are getting 10 Mbps speed, that’s unfair. I am glad Cox Internet Essential hasn’t disappointed me when it comes to its speed. My plan includes 10 Mbps and the speed I receive is always between 8 and 10 Mbps, which is super cool!
Do you want to run an Internet speed test to check what speed your ISP is offering? If yes, it’s very important to use an accurate tool. Thankfully, we have some great tools for speed tests that work best for desktop and smartphones. Let’s have a look:
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1: Ookla Speedtest
Ookla is a world-renowned name for testing internet speed. Over 10 million users log in to this site for taking advantage of its accurate results. It takes a few seconds to show the download and upload speed in Mbps. Ookla also displays additional information like the name of the ISP and type of server. It’s a free tool. It works on the web, Android, iOS, Apple TV, Windows, macOS, and Google Chrome.
2: SpeedSmart Speed Test
If you have HTML know-how, SpeedSmart is for you. It’s an app that lets you test speed with an HTML5 option. It doesn’t use flash. As soon as you visit the site, it instantly determines the ISP. The results it shows include latency, download speed, and upload speed.
3: Speed Check & WiFi Finder
This tool works best on a smartphone. Developed by SpeedSpot, it’s a great app that tells you all the basic information about Internet speed. The results include upload speed and download speed. It also displays nearby wireless hotspots.
Download this free app on your smartphone and keep it for personal or business use. It displays results in milliseconds. It also has an automatic bandwidth calculator that lets you estimate the amount of time required to download a file.
4: Internet Health Test
Internet Health Test works best for finding your Internet speed. It’s extremely simple to use. The site as you to follow a 5-step process to figure out what speed you are getting. It takes a little longer time than other tools but it’s worth it.
This service also checks your connection for signs of degradation. It determines the health of your Internet connection, hence the name. Also, it’s ad-free.
5: Bandwidth Place
If you would like something simple to run a speed test, Bandwidth Place is for you. It has an uncluttered interface. It’s also an HTML5-based site.
Apart from telling the speed of your connection, it also compares plans of top ISPs to let you search for a plan that works best for your needs. So, if you aren’t happy with the results of the speed test, use Bandwidth Place to find a better Internet deal.
6: SpeedOf.Me
This is yet again a reliable tool for testing Internet speed. It also HTML5 based. It tells you everything about your download speed and the browsing condition of your Internet in no time. SpeedOf.me works on all devices including game console, smartphone, tablet, desktop, smart TV, etc.
How Do Internet Speed Test Apps Work?
These apps test the latency rate, upload speed, and download speed of your connection. From a user’s point of view, download speed matters the most. It tells how fast a site works and how long it takes to load. Let’s have a look into these factors a little deeper:
Latency
Latency is the time taken by data packets when they travel from the point of origin to the destination. Depending on your ISP, it can take between several milliseconds to seconds for a download to begin.
Upload Speed
Upload speed measures how fast you send a file, an IM to a friend, an email to your boss, etc. To measure the upload speed, the speed test tool establishes connections with carious remote locations and calculates chunks of data. It also determines the time taken before the data was received.
Download Speed
Download speed measures how fast you download a file, a movie, or an image. The speed test tool measures the speed by downloading chunks of data from multiple remote locations. This tells how long it took to download something.
Conclusion
All the mentioned tools are accurate in displaying Internet speed. Remember that you won’t get consistent speed at all times of the day. This is totally normal. If I was getting 5 Mbps under the Cox plan mentioned, I would definitely contact Cox Internet customer care. But when the speed is close to what you signed up for, you’re good.
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