Broadband speed trials

The data our test transfers is not stored on your computer. We use browser cookies to remember your last test result, your postcode and the rating you gave your provider. This is to save you time when you next visit the site, allow comparisons with your last result and to prevent too many duplicate provider ratings.

Our cookie only lasts 30 days, but will be rewritten with each test. Your test results are stored on our servers to allow us to report on the average speeds of each of the providers. This helps other visitors to our site to decide which is the best broadband provider for their needs, as do any ratings you leave for your provider. Rating your provider or entering your postcode are optional, the test will work without these.

However if we have your postcode then we're able to show you the estimated speeds for your line and which technologies are available in your area. This allows you to better understand your speed in context and determine whether you have a fault, or if you're just experiencing the speeds expected in your area. Broadband speed is generally measured in megabits per second.

This is written as 'Mbps' or just 'Mb', sometimes this is also referred to as 'meg' or 'megs'. A 'bit' is a single binary digit of data. There are 1,, bits in a megabit.

Most computers measure filesize in 'bytes' rather than bits. Bits tend to be abbreviated to lower case b while bytes are abbreviated to upper case B, so a MB is very different to a Mb. There are 8 bits to 1 byte, bytes to the kilobyte and kilobytes to the megabyte.

This means that there are actually 1,, bytes or 8,, bits in a megabyte. File transfer speed, as reported during a download, is likely to be measured in megabytes per second rather than megabits per second, which means this is more than 8 times slower than you might expect if you thought megabits and megabytes were equivalent. In reality a 38Mb fibre broadband connection can only download a file at 4.

However for most webpages that's immediate loading, and for the average music album download, that's approximately one track per second. You'd also be able to download the average standard definition movie in just 3.

Obviously on a 76Mb connection these times are roughly halved or a little over. We often get asked why broadband speed checkers sometimes report download speeds slower than the maximum theoretically possible at a property.

We've compiled a list of some of the causes of slow broadband connections. You can use our broadband speed test to test your speeds at any time. We suggest you try speed tests a number of times over a period before reporting issues to your providers technical support.

If you're a heavy downloader then faster speeds will certainly allow you to download more files more quickly. If you stream videos, TV shows and films over your connection then download speeds of 5Mb or over should allow high definition content without buffering.

However if you live in a home with more than one Internet user, perhaps other family members or housemates, then you can quickly discover that you need several times that at times when everyone's using your connection, especially if more than one of you wants to stream video. If you currently experience regular buffering of videos and slowdowns when other people are using your connection then you'd also very likely benefit from a speed upgrade. If you're not currently using a cable or fibre service then switching from standard broadband to a superfast connection will most definitely produce a significant speed improvement.

Data is continuously downloaded until we are confident that we have an accurate result. Our broadband speed check normally completes in around 30 seconds. This time is required to ensure that the test is as accurate as possible. Quicker tests are not as accurate. Our software analyses the performance of the test in order to ensure the results we provide are a true reflection of the user experience during the test. This is the actual speed at the time of the test and results at other times will vary depending on factors in the premises as well as other factors between the premises and the Internet.

Speeds can vary during the day for a number of reasons. This could be due to unreliable or unstable connections between the device and the internet. This is usually a temporary problem and repeating the test will be successful. We will keep trying to complete a successful test for up to 60 seconds before canceling the test. If the test still fails then please check the factors that can affect your results: How to improve your Broadband Speed.

Log in Register Log off Previous results Reports. For best testing accuracy please install our android app. For best testing accuracy please install our iOS app. Ping Download Upload ms Please confirm your provider and change if necessary. Start speed test again. Schedule speed test. Install speed test. Compare broadband. Enter your postcode below to compare broadband packages in your area. How it works. Broadband Speed Test: How fast is fast enough? With FTTC broadband, a network of fibre optic cables runs to your local telephone exchange cabinet from where data travels through often old telephone copper cables for the final few hundred metres or kilometres to your home.

Since copper wires tend to significantly slow down the speed of a connection, FTTC broadband has a maximum speed of Mbps, and the speed degrades the further the data has to travel along a copper wire. So depending on how far your home is from your local cabinet box, the speed you're able to get could be far lower than Mbps. There are a number of things you can do to give your internet connection a boost.

Unhappy with your speed? Get faster broadband. How can I check my broadband speed? What do my results mean? How fast does my broadband speed really need to be? How can I compare broadband speeds from one provider to another? Why am I not getting the broadband speeds I signed up for?

How can I speed up my broadband connection? Reposition your router - moving your router into the direct line of sight of your device will help maximise your speed.