Broadband speed

[koster]

How can I check the actual current speed of my Broadband connection?

The icon in the system tray show 8.1 Mbps on mouseover, but I want to know the real speed.

[Ethel]

http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

[fo3nix]

Give this test a go too. I find it to be one of the most accurate about.

http://www.ookla.com/speedtest/

[vehelpfulguy]

This is an excellent Broadband speed test tool

http://www.broadbandspeedtest.net/

Dan Elwell's Broadband Speed Test

[koster]

So, I used the Ookla.com speed test. Like I said before, the system tray icon says 8.1 Mbps. My ISP is Lixxus.

I ran the Speed Test twice, and the results were:
Download speed 784kbps/724kbps
Upload speed 362kbps/363kbps

These figures seem very low, what does it mean?

I installed Dan Elwell's Broadband Speed Test too, but my initial impression of it wasn't very good. The setup asks you to select your ISP (Lixxus isn't listed, but you can select "Other"), but then there is a second dialogue asking you to select your ISP if it wasn't listed. This time the ISPs aren't in alphabetical order so you you have to read through the list, and there is no "other" option. Again, Lixxus isn't listed. You also have to enter your ISP's advertised speeds. As I couldn't remember, and couldn't see how this was relevant to the test, I entered 0 for both. When I ran the full test I got "Error 11 - division by zero".

[koster]

In Dan Elwell�s Broadband Speed Test, after entering the correct data for advertised download (8192) and upload (400) speeds, I no longer got the "division by zero" error. When you see the results, it's clear why they need this data, because they compare the test results to your ISP's advertised speeds.

According to the test, I am experiencing very low download speeds:
From UK servers: 1873 kb/s
From European Servers: 635 kb/s
From USA Servers: 596 kb/s

I've emailed Lixxus and asked for their advice.

[fo3nix]

koster: if your ISP meant to supply you with an "up to 8mbps" download line?

your upload speed sounds about right, as the upload speed for home users on adsl is not the same as the download speed (this is what the 'a' in adsl means).

however, your download speed is way off, if it's meant to be about 8mbps. right now yours looks like a slightly underperforming 1mbps line.

note that when you run the test, make sure nothing else on your computer is using the internet, and also make sure that no other computers are using your internet (if you have more than one computer in the house, maybe). finally, try running the test at a few different times in the day if you can. adsl lines often slow a bit in the evenings because others are using it too.