How to test your WiFi speed

Testing your Wi-Fi speed isn’t as simple as testing your broadband speed, but it’s essential for understanding the performance of your home network.

Many online tools and apps (such as speedtest.net) measure your internet speed, but these often reflect the speed of your broadband connection and not your Wi-Fi connection. If you want to know those numbers, here’s our guide on how to check your internet speed.

To accurately measure the speed of your Wi-Fi, the connection between your device and your router, you need to use specific tools. Here is a guide on how to do this.

Why test my WiFi speed?

Testing your Wi-Fi speed is important because it allows you to determine the speed of your Wi-Fi on a specific device. This may vary based on the capabilities and location of the device.

This also allows you to assess the performance of your Wi-Fi in different areas of your home, helping you identify any weak spots or connection issues.

Additionally, knowing your Wi-Fi speed can help you determine whether slow or unreliable Internet performance is due to your Wi-Fi connection or another factor, such as your broadband service.

How to test WiFi speed with an app

There are many apps available that claim to test WiFi speed, but not all of them are reliable. Two apps that stand out are:

• WiFi Speed ​​Test (by Zoltan Pallagi): This app is available for Android devices and measures the speed between your device and your router and your internet speed if necessary
• Wi-Fi SweetSpots: Available for iOS devices, this app offers similar functionality and shows average speeds over time

Both work in a similar way, so download and install the one that is compatible with your phone and then follow the steps below to test your Wi-Fi speed:

1. Make sure your device is connected to the Wi-Fi network you want to test. If your router has separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, test both to compare their performance
2. Open the chosen app on your device. If you’re using the WiFi Speed ​​Test app on Android, swipe to the test screen and make sure the ‘Internet Test’ is turned off to focus solely on Wi-Fi speed
3. Tap the ‘START’ button. The test usually takes about 10 seconds. The results show your Wi-Fi speed in Mbps (megabits per second)
4. Run tests in different locations around your home to identify areas of weak Wi-Fi coverage
5. Results are stored in the app so you can compare speeds from different areas and devices over time

Your Wi-Fi speed should ideally be faster than your broadband speed. If not, it indicates that your Wi-Fi, and not your broadband, is causing slow internet performance.

How fast should my WiFi be?

When looking at router specs like ‘AX1800’, keep in mind that this figure represents the combined maximum speeds of all frequencies, not the real-world performance you’ll experience.

Actual speeds are lower due to factors such as walls, interference and distance from the router. To determine the effectiveness of your Wi-Fi, focus on the speeds for each frequency band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and possibly 6 GHz).

If your Wi-Fi speed is faster than the speed of your Internet connection, then your Wi-Fi is not the bottleneck. If it’s slower, consider upgrading to one of the best routers or the best mesh WiFi systems.

Foundry

For activities like streaming HD or 4K video, you’ll need between 2.5 Mbps and 40 Mbps. Even older Wi-Fi standards like 802.11n should exceed 40 Mbps, while newer ones like 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) are typically between 200 and 600 Mbps.

However, they can go much faster, as our guide to the fastest UK broadband shows.

Keep in mind that your speed will be limited by the slowest device you use, such as an older phone or router. To convert from megabits per second (Mbps) to megabytes per second (MB/s), divide by 8.

For more information, see our guide to what constitutes good upload and download speeds.

How can I test WiFi speed in Windows?

If you prefer to test Wi-Fi speed on a Windows laptop:

1. Type “Control Panel” in the Windows search bar and select it.
2. Go to ‘Network and Internet’ > ‘Network and Sharing Center’ > ‘Change adapter settings’.
3. Double-click on your Wi-Fi connection. The ‘Speed’ field shows the current connection speed between your laptop and the router.

For a more accurate test, you can also use the method below:

1. Connect another computer to the router via a network cable
2. Share a large file (e.g. 500 MB) between the two computers
3. Use a command prompt and the ‘xcopy’ command to time the transfer
4. Divide the file size (MB) by the time required (seconds) and then multiply by 8 to get the speed in Mbps

For example, if a 500 MB file takes 24 seconds: 500 ÷ 24 = 20.83 MB/s. Your WiFi speed is then 20.83 x 8 = 166.7 Mbps.

You may also want to know how to test your laptop battery.