Broadband Speed Test
Use the broadband speed test below to get a snapshot of your current download and upload speeds. Feel free to use the results to beat your provider over the head with, or just to justify your own suspicions that you're not getting the broadband speeds you were promised! The speed check does take a few moments to run, so please be patient.
If you're using mobile broadband, click here for our mobile broadband speed test.
How does the Broadband Genie speed test work?
On starting the Broadband Genie speed test our server sends your computer a small amount of data (512KB) to evaluate the initial speed of the test. The first 64KB are ignored to take in to account the possibility of a slow start to the transmission. This initial speed is then multiplied by a constant to work out how much data to send for a full test: this will last between 10 and 20 seconds.
The same evaluation process also occurs for the upstream test (to test the upload speed), sending the same amount of data. On particularly slow connections, the evaluation can take a while to complete.
The full test then begins, with our server first sending the amount of data (calculated to optimise the length of the test), followed by your machine returning the data. The average speed of the test (note: the peak speed may be higher) is then calculated and reported to you.
You can select a 'port 80' option by clicking the box just below the test box, which uses the port 80/tcp data transfer protocol instead of the HTTP protocol. However, because it is not HTTP, if your provider carries out traffic shaping (giving priority to certain types of data) it may be that the port 80 test will show a slower result than a HTTP test, as the latter protocol might end up being prioritised.
Please note: If you want to test your mobile broadband speed, please instead use our Mobile Broadband Genie speed test.
The data stream is pre-compressed, so it should not be possible to falsify results by accelerating it using any further compression techniques/software.
Top 5 things that can affect your broadband speed
Has our fixed-line home broadband speed test confirmed your worst fears about your internet connection? Here are the most common reasons why you might not be getting the speeds you expect:
- The length, and quality, of line between your house and the exchange.
- The quality of phone extension wire inside your house.
- The time of day; peak times can slow speeds, especially if your provider has a lot of users locally.
- The speed of your PC or laptop; a slow running machine can affect performance.
- Traffic 'shaping', or management; when a provider slows your connection because it prefers one kind of traffic over another (for example, streaming video over downloading).
