Regarding what speeds you need for these common activities, BroadbandNow provides the minimum download speeds required for each: (A fun fact: With Minim, users are provided a list of activities that are and are not possible at their network's given speed, in addition to in-depth bandwidth usage insights per device). Browsing the web, checking your email, streaming 4K video, and playing an online video game each require certain speeds to execute seamlessly and without interruption. One of these is which online activity you are trying to accomplish. However, keep in mind that what constitutes a 'good WiFi speed' boils down to several factors. Seeing what your ISP advertises as their Internet speed may be a good place to start when evaluating your own WiFi speed test results.

The 2018 Measuring Broadband America, Fixed Broadband Report by the FCC provides detail as to what speeds were advertised by ISPs and what speeds were experienced by subscribers from September to October of 2017. Your ping speed dictates the quality of your voice and video calls, as well as your ability to play online games. Upload speeds are important for interactive video calls and sending files to sites and services on the internet. Your Download speed is ideally, and typically, the fastest because the majority of our online activities require we pull data from the internet. These are the primary three measures upon which your WiFi speed is tested.

Ping: The time it takes between sending a request and receiving a response, measured in milliseconds (ms) and also referred to as Latency.

Upload: The time it takes to send data, measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

Download: The time it takes to pull data, measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

If you've used any of the free speed test tools out there (see Lifewire's updated list of the top free internet speed test sites), you'll likely recognize the terms Download, Upload, and Ping: Screenshot taken Jan 24th, 2019 of Speedtest by Ookla results. But, now that you've tested your WiFi speed, how do you interpret your WiFi speed test results? How is WiFi speed measured? Testing speed on a regular basis allows you to pinpoint performance trends, isolate which devices may be causing issues for your wireless network, and ensure no one is stealing your bandwidth. There are many reasons as to why you should be regularly testing your WiFi speed at home and, not for just the obvious instances where you find your WiFi signal strength is weaker than normal.

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