• Plug your computer directly into your router or cable modem. It is necessary to restart the router or modem (press the Reset button) whenever you change the device connected to it.
• Verify that your computer is not running other tasks. It is important to close all applications, navigation windows and tabs. Only the speed test window must be open. Open Task Manager (in Windows), click the Applications tab and then close all applications.
• Check to make sure that only the speed test uses your Internet connection. Open the Task Manager (in Windows) and click on the Network tab to check if the Local Area Connection graph is up.

Internet speed test measures the speed of the device being used for testing, not the speed provided to your home through the router or modem.

Think of it like a road network: your home is connected to the Internet by highway — the speed of the plan you chose with your Internet Service Provider — divided into multiple lanes going to each device your.

Your Internet Service Provider's speed test measures the speed of a single lane, or in other words the speed of a single device, not that of the highway or your overall speed home . That's why the measured speeds are often lower than those specified in your plan.

Your Internet Service Provider's plans may be designed to accommodate the needs of multiple bandwidth-hungry peripherals, and bandwidth is too critical to manage by a single device.