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How to Check My WiFi Speed

Gone are the days dealing with the frustrations that come with buffering videos, slow downloads or dropped signals altogether. If your Wi-Fi connection is slow, there is a reason and there is something to do about it.

But how do you know when slow Wi-Fi is too slow? And what do you do about it? Maybe buffering videos only occur during a bad storm? Maybe your router is in a space that blocks the Wi-Fi network signal and that’s why your devices struggle to find a strong connection? Regardless of the situation, when internet is slow, it’s a problem.

Good news! Slow internet is a problem that can be fixed. The first step is diagnosing why it is slow. Next, you need to figure out how to measure your current Wi-Fi speed to address how to increase it.

This article highlights why Wi-Fi speed is important and also tells you how to check the speed of your Wi-Fi network.

First, what is Wi-Fi speed?

Wi-Fi speed is the same as Wi-Fi connection. It determines how quickly things load, download and stream for you online. The speed of your connection has everything to do with having a strong signal connection.

Wi-Fi speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbps) and gigabits per second (Gbps). The more Mbps or Gbps that you have, the faster the speed. (Gbps is more than Mbps).

One thing to note is that you don’t necessarily need to pay for an excessive amounts of Mbps or Gbps. Depending on what you use your internet connection for, you can generally do all online activities – video gaming, video streaming, browsing, downloading and uploading files – with 20-25 Mbps.

Why does it matter?

Wi-Fi speed matters for a few reasons. But mostly, slow internet is annoying and frustrating. No one wants to be in the middle of a family movie and the connection buffers for minutes at a time. Or, how about trying to upload an important file, but it won’t upload.

With a strong Wi-Fi signal and fast connection, these worries fall into the past. You won’t have to miss the exciting part of your favorite show or miss a deadline for uploading a file.

Checking your Wi-Fi speed:

Not sure if you have a good Wi-Fi speed? Run a speed test to see how your Wi-Fi network is performing. Here’s how to check your Wi-Fi speed by using a speed test:

To run an internet speed test, it’s easiest to use a tool that does the work for you.

The first step is identifying an internet speed testing tool. There are free Wi-Fi speed test tool options out there, but like most things, you get what you pay for. Free tools can give you an idea about your network speeds, but paid tools can give you much more reliable information.

Why use a speed test tool at all?

Speed test tools are the industry-standard tool for testing your Wi-Fi network speeds. These tools can help you figure out the actual Wi-Fi speeds that your internet service provider’s (ISP) are providing to you, instead of you having to take their word for it. Not every internet speed is true to what you see on paper, so you want to make sure to take the first step to find out the truth about your Wi-Fi speeds.

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