Knowing the speed of the Internet that reaches you can be very useful to rule out problems and solve errors that may exist. However, it is something that must be analyzed correctly. The results they give us do not necessarily conform to reality. you can make a internet speed test and that very little reaches you, but that does not mean that you really have problems. We explain what you can do.
Why a speed test doesn’t always help
When you do an Internet speed test you use a specific device. For example, you can do the test with your mobile or computer. Perhaps you have contracted 500 symmetrical Mbps of fiber and when you do the test you see that you get 50, for example. Do you think that you Internet connection it goes wrong and sometimes you will blame the operator. But this is not necessarily so.
Consider factors such as whether you are connected by cable or Wi-Fi. Especially if you test wirelessly you are going to get worse results. You may be too far from the router or in an area with interference. That will prevent the signal from reaching you correctly and have a low speed.
But there are also possible hardware limitations. Maybe you have a bad Wi-Fi network card, it’s not dual band or it can’t receive much speed. Even if you test wired, you could still be using Fast Ethernet and that’s going to limit the speed to 100 Mbps.
Therefore, if, for example, you have recently contracted the Internet and want to see the speed that you are getting, it is not a good idea to rely only on a speed test. In many cases we even do a test with the mobile, simply to see if what we have contracted reaches us, and we find that it reaches much less. But that doesn’t really mean your connection is bad. It can happen that the Internet speed is bad on one computer but good on the rest.
Check your Internet speed well
If you want to do a speed test and check correctly how much you get, it is best that prepare your devices. A good idea is to do the test connected by cable to the router. Make sure you have a Gigabit Ethernet cable and compatible devices. That will give you results that really fit the connection you have. Avoid doing it over Wi-Fi.
Also, it’s a good idea disconnect all others devices when you go for the test. In this way you guarantee that there are no devices that may be consuming resources and that distort the real results. For example, you could be downloading files from a computer or have a mobile updating.
But if you are looking for something even more exact, it is best to go directly to the router configuration. There you can see the speed that reaches the device. It is the real speed, the one that you will be able to take advantage of in optimal conditions. This will depend on the model, since it is not always possible or easy. Sometimes you will even be able to see it through your application.
In short, as you can see, doing an Internet speed test is interesting, but you should take the results with some caution. You could receive less than what your connection actually has. It is convenient that you do the test correctly and ensure more real results.