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How to Check Router Speed

Lawrence Bonk Profile image

Written By:

Lawrence Bonk
Updated August 9, 2022

If you are experimenting with efficiency in your wireless network, you may wonder how to check a router’s speed. The best routers, after all, can fluctuate their speeds according to a number of external factors. Keep reading to learn about the various ways to check your Internet speed.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • You can easily check a router’s speed via a dedicated web application such as Speedcheck.org.
  • Another option is to download, install, and run a mobile device app that has been designed to check your router speed and Internet connection with connected devices.
  • A third option is to simply call up your ISP and ask them to run a full diagnostic, including download speed and various other connection speeds. This may require an Ethernet cable.

Checking a Router’s Speed

You can’t learn how to boost a router’s signal until you understand just what a good WiFi router speed is. Fortunately, there are a number of easy ways to check your Internet speed, which can help you begin to understand where the bottlenecks are in your wireless network, so you can transition to learning why a WiFi extender is slow and not a router.

For more great info guides, check out our other articles discussing how to prepare for WiFi 6, what to do with an old router, and how to use a router as a Wifi adapter.

Insider Tip

Bookmark your favorite speed test web apps so you can easily access them whenever you want.

Here are the ways to check your router’s overall speed and performance.

Method 1 – Use a Web App

  1. There are many web applications that have been purpose-built to check a router’s speed.
  2. Third-party apps, such as SpeedCheck, are extremely popular and easy to use, as are apps developed by ISPs.
  3. All you have to do is log in to one of these apps and press a “check my speed” button of some kind.
  4. The process will take a minute or two to complete.
  5. Pick your favorite and check it whenever the mood strikes you.

Method 2 – Use a Phone App

  1. If you don’t have access to an actual computer, you can download and use a dedicated smartphone app to check a router’s speed.
  2. These apps are all over the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
  3. Download and install the app, then follow the on-screen prompts to run a speed check.
  4. You can open up this app and perform a quick check whenever you want to check the efficacy of your network.

Method 3 – Contact Your ISP

  1. Your Internet service provider has many dedicated tools for checking signal strength and Internet speed.
  2. Give them a call and ask them to perform a full diagnostic battery of tests on your wireless network.
  3. They’ll be able to give you information regarding the efficacy of your modem and your router, both of which are extremely important.
  4. They can also perform hard resets if the results are not in line with what you are paying for.

F.A.Q.S

What to do if your speed lines up with advertised speeds?

If your Internet speeds line up with advertised speeds, it indicates your Internet connection is on point. Your wireless routers are reaching the fastest speeds possible.

What if your Internet is slow because of your router?

Your slow speeds via computer or mobile device could be due to your router. If that is the case, perform a number of Internet speed tests and then troubleshoot the router itself.

Are Internet speed and bandwidth the same thing?

Not necessarily. Internet speed is, well, Internet speed, while bandwidth refers to how many devices can engage in a wireless connection without clogging up the waterworks.

STAT: Innovations like the recent giant leap to Wi-Fi 6 technology make today’s Wi-Fi nearly 3x faster than previous generations. (source)

Debanjan Chowdhury Profile image
Lawrence Bonk
Lawrence Bonk is a copywriter with a decade of experience in the tech space, with columns appearing in Engadget, Huffington Post and CBS, among others. He has a cat named Cinnamon.