How do I run an accurate speed test?
Plug one computer into the wall port with an Ethernet cable, close everything else, and run the test two or three times — anything else is measuring your Wi-Fi, not your line.
A speed test measures the weakest link between the test server and whatever you're holding. If you want to know what your line is doing, you have to remove everything else from the path.
- Plug in. Connect a laptop or desktop by Ethernet cable — straight into the wall port, or into a LAN port on your router. There's no modem to work around; the handoff is a standard RJ45 Ethernet port or SFP.
- Use one device. Disconnect or pause the others if you can.
- Close other traffic. Streaming, cloud backup, game downloads, security cameras, and system updates all count against the same pipe.
- Check the port can carry the plan. A 1 Gb Ethernet port maxes out around 940 Mbps after protocol overhead — it physically cannot display 2 Gb. On the 2 Gig or 10 Gig plans you need a 2.5 Gb, 5 Gb, or 10 Gb network adapter and a cable to match.
- Run it three times and take the middle result. One test is a sample, not a measurement.
- Write down the number, the time, the device, and whether you were wired or on Wi-Fi. That's exactly what we'll ask for.
Why a phone on Wi-Fi isn't a measurement of your line. Wi-Fi is a shared radio channel split with every other device in your home and often with your neighbors' networks. Add walls, distance, and a phone's small antennas, and the number you get describes the Wi-Fi in that room. It's still useful — it just answers a different question.
If that didn’t work
Call (617) 693-9434, Mon–Fri 8am–6pm ET, with your wired result and we'll look at it with you.
More in Troubleshooting
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- Why is my streaming buffering?
- Why do my video calls and games lag?
Talk to us
Call (617) 693-9434, Monday to Friday 8am–6pm ET, or email [email protected]. We answer within 24 hours, and usually within an hour.
Boston Broadband is a service-area business serving Boston, Brookline and Cambridge, Massachusetts. There is no counter to walk up to — phone, email and your account at myaccount.bostonbroadband.com are the ways in.