Wondering if your PC is reaching the internet speed you pay for from your provider? Here’s our simple guide on how to check your internet connection speed.
You might be an avid online gamer, an enthusiastic consumer of streaming services in a busy household or a parent who had kids complaining about a laggy connection, there are plenty of reasons to wonder what your connection speed is and if it’s enough for your home’s needs.
Whatever the reason, we’ve got a straightforward guide to checking your speeds on Windows 11. While this guide is for Windows 11 PCs, you can visit the same speed test we recommend on any browser, whether that’s on a Mac, tablet or phone.
What you’ll need
- A Windows 11 PC
The Short Version
- Open a web browser
- Head to Google
- Search for Check internet speed
- Click RUN SPEED TEST
- Wait for the speed test to complete
- View the test results
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Step
1Open a web browser
First, you want to open a web browser. You can use whichever you like, so feel free to use your typical browser of choice, whether that’s Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox or something else. Do this by opening the Start menu and searching for your browser, if it isn’t already on your taskbar.
Step
2Head to Google
Now that you’ve got your web browser open, enter “Google” into the search bar and press the “Enter” key.
Step
3Search for Check internet speed
With Google open, search for “Check internet speed” to take you to Google’s own internet speed test.
Step
4Click RUN SPEED TEST
You’ll now be able to see the internet connection speed test, click the button marked “RUN SPEED TEST” to start the test.
Step
5Wait for the speed test to complete
The speed test takes around a minute to run. You can observe the download and upload tests running.
Step
6View the test results
Once the test is complete, Google will show you the results and you can see your internet connection speeds.
Troubleshooting
The above guide uses the Google internet connection speed test as it is simple to find and use but Fast.com and SpeedTest by Ookla are also easy-to-use popular options.
If, rather than looking to check the internet connection speed of a specific device, you want to check the internet speeds being provided directly to your router before being dispersed over Wi-Fi to your various device then you can. Head to Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi. Then, select your Wi-Fi network and view the speed listed next to the Link speed (Receive/Transmit) section.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
