Monitor Your Internet Speed: Why and How to Check

You probably don't think about your internet speed until something goes wrong. One moment you're streaming a video smoothly, the next it's buffering endlessly. But by then, the damage is done to your productivity or patience.

Checking your internet speed regularly means you can spot problems early, prove to your provider when something's wrong, and make sure you're getting what you're paying for. It's easier than you think.

Why You Should Check Your Internet Speed

Your broadband provider promises you a certain speed when you sign up. But real world performance often falls short. Video calls drop out, downloads crawl, and websites take forever to load. Without checking your speed, you might spend months suffering poor performance when the problem could be fixed.

Knowing your actual speed helps you pinpoint whether the issue is your broadband connection, your WiFi, or something on your computer. If you're getting half the speed you're paying for, that's worth raising with your provider. If you're getting what you paid for, the problem lies elsewhere and we can help you track it down. Regular checks also give you a baseline to compare against. If your speed suddenly drops, that's a red flag something's changed.

For small businesses working from home offices in places like Morningside or Stockbridge, slow internet directly impacts your bottom line. Video conferencing becomes painful, file uploads take forever, and you lose time. Knowing your speed means you can make informed decisions about your setup.

What Speed Do You Actually Need

Different activities need different speeds. If you're just browsing and checking email, even 10 Mbps is fine. Video calls need around 2.5 Mbps upload and download. Streaming HD video wants 5 Mbps. If you're uploading large files regularly or running a business with multiple people online, you'll want at least 30 Mbps.

The trick is knowing what you do most often. Work from home with video calls? Aim for 20 Mbps minimum. Heavy file transfers? 50 Mbps or more. Multiple devices streaming at once? You'll want 100 Mbps+. Write down what you actually use your internet for, then you know what target to aim for when you check your speed.

How to Check Your Internet Speed

The easiest way is using a free online speed test. Visit speedtest.net, click the big button, and wait 30 seconds for results. You'll get three numbers: download speed, upload speed, and ping. Download is how fast data comes to you. Upload is how fast it goes out (crucial for video calls and file transfers). Ping is how responsive your connection is, measured in milliseconds. Lower is better.

For the most accurate result, test on a wired connection if possible. Plug your computer directly into your router with an ethernet cable. Then run the test. This tells you what your broadband is actually delivering. Next, test over WiFi from the same room as your router. That shows you how much WiFi is losing compared to wired. If the difference is huge, you've got a WiFi problem, not a broadband problem.

Test at different times of day too. Many people in Corstorphine or Leith find their speed drops in the evening when everyone's online. That's normal, but if it's dropping below what you need for your tasks, something's wrong. Keep a note of your results so you can spot trends over weeks and months.

Reading Your Speed Test Results

Download speed is what most people care about, but upload is equally important if you're working from home or in business. A 100 Mbps download is useless if your upload is only 5 Mbps and you need to send large files. Ping under 50ms is good for most things. Under 20ms is excellent. Over 100ms and you'll notice lag in video calls.

Compare your results against what you're paying for. Your broadband package should state a speed. If you're consistently getting 20 percent or more below that, contact your provider. They might troubleshoot with you or offer to upgrade. Sometimes they'll even reduce your bill if they can't deliver what they promised.

When WiFi Is the Problem, Not Your Broadband

Here's the common scenario: your speed test on WiFi shows half what you're paying for, but wired testing shows you're getting the right speed. That means your WiFi is the bottleneck, not your broadband. The solution isn't a faster internet package, it's fixing your WiFi setup.

Your router might be in a poor location, like a cupboard under the stairs in your New Town flat. It might be too far from where you work. There could be interference from neighbours' networks or obstacles like concrete walls blocking the signal. Running a speed test from different rooms helps you map where WiFi is strong and weak. Then you can reposition your router, switch WiFi channels, or consider a mesh system if you need coverage across a large house.

Pro tip: test from the room where you spend the most time. That's your priority area. If your speed there is good, you're fine. If it's poor, that's where to focus your troubleshooting efforts.

Track Your Speed Over Time

One speed test tells you what's happening right now. But your internet changes over time. Your broadband can degrade gradually until you suddenly notice things are slow. By testing monthly and keeping records, you catch these trends early.

Create a simple spreadsheet or notes document. Record the date, download speed, upload speed, ping, and any notes about what you were doing (heavy network use, time of day, weather, etc). After a few months, patterns emerge. You might see your speed dropping on rainy days, which suggests a line quality issue. Or you might see it dropping every evening, which suggests network congestion in your area.

This data becomes valuable if you need to complain to your provider. You can show them months of poor performance with evidence. It also helps if you're troubleshooting WiFi problems, because you can see whether the issue is broadband or WiFi.

Common Speed Test Mistakes

Don't test while streaming videos, downloading files, or doing other network activity. Close everything else first, then run the test. Don't test on 2.4GHz WiFi if you can test on 5GHz, it's usually faster. Don't trust a single test result. Run it two or three times and average the results. One glitch can skew a single test.

Use the same speed test website each time so results are comparable. Different sites can give different results depending on the server location and network path they use. Speedtest.net is reliable and widely used, so stick with it. Test at consistent times too, ideally outside peak hours unless you want to know how bad it gets at dinner time.

If you've checked your speed and found the problem, or you're not sure how to interpret your results, Rob at Curly IT can help you troubleshoot. Whether it's your broadband connection, WiFi setup, or something on your computer slowing things down, he'll get to the root cause. Ring Rob on 07352 385477 or email rob@curly-it.co.uk. He covers Edinburgh and provides remote support across the whole UK, so distance isn't an issue.