How fast is the Internet connection of your Windows 11 PC? It may surprise you that you may give two answers to that question: the maximum speed of the line or the actual speed of the device.
Speedtests help test this. They are useful for troubleshooting connection-related issues, and may also help you get a partial refund from your Internet Service Provider, if the advertised speed does not match the actual speed you get.
Most Internet users run tests in browsers. Go to a site like speedtest.net, fast.com, or Cloudflare Speed, and you get information about the download and upload speed and the ping.
There are also some apps that you can run locally, which may offer better results as they eliminate the browser bottleneck. Lastly, there are also some command line solutions, but these may require the installation of extra packages.
For example, to install Speedtest CLI, which enables you to run tests from the command prompt, you would first install the module with the command winget install Ookla.Speedtest.CLI. Once done, you’d run a basic test from the command prompt with the command speedtest. You can also use parameters, which allow you to test the speed against specific servers or write the output to a json file.
The Windows 11 Speed test
Microsoft released preview updates for Windows 11 about a week ago. These add several new features, including a new speedtest.
Here is how Microsoft describes the feature:
A built‑in network speed test is now available from the taskbar. You can open it from the Wi‑Fi or Cellular Quick Settings, or by right-clicking the network icon in the system tray. The speed test opens in the default browser and measures Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, and cellular connections. This feature helps check network performance and troubleshoot issues.
This sounds like a useful addition to Windows. Instead of having to open a test in a browser, run an app or a command, you’d simply run the test from the taskbar.
However, when you test the feature, you may realize that this is not a fully integrated speedtest in Windows 11. When you select the option, for instance by right-clicking on a network icon on the Windows taskbar, you are taken to the speedtest.net website.
In other words, Microsoft has implemented a shortcut to the website instead of implementing its own solution.
Is it still useful? Well, it may save you a click or two and it may expose the option to some users who did not know such tests existed in first place.
However, if you have used a device with Internet connectivity for a while, you may not be that impressed by this new feature.
Now it is your turn: have you used speed tests in the past to test your Internet speed?