How to Check Your Internet Speed When Working from Home
Nowadays, with the help of modern technology, working from home has never been easier. The number of people who are working from home is increasing more and more every day. As almost every job from home is done online, having a good internet speed is very important as video calls, saving random files, and holding online meetings are required and necessary in such jobs. Checking your internet speed is not a complicated thing to do, and in this simple guide, we will explain to you how to do it the right way and understand what those numbers really mean.
Start By Analyzing Internet Performance
Before you check your internet speed, one thing that you should do is check the typical internet performance in your area. For example, analyzing internet performance in Gig Harbor can show you what is the average speed in such an area and ask about the experiences of other people. If you don’t have enough knowledge about the normal numbers for an internet performance, there are available websites that can compare internet speed for you. If your internet performance is weaker than what one typical for the area that you live in, then there is probably a problem that should be solved.
Run a Free Speed Test
There are many free speed tests available online that you can use to check the quality of your internet connection. Besides many available websites, in most cases, you can also use your internet provider’s own platform. The testing process is not complicated. You just need to do two simple steps, which are pressing the “start” and “go” buttons, and you will quickly get three main results, which are download speed, upload speed, and ping.
Download speed shows how fast your device receives data from the internet, while upload speed shows how fast it sends it. Ping shows how fast your connection responds, which is extremely important for video calls, meetings, and everything that requires direct communication.
Understanding the Results
Doing a test doesn’t mean anything if you don’t understand what all those numbers mean. When it comes to normal download speed, 25 Mbps is enough for working from home and for all the tasks that this kind of speed is responsible for. For smoother calls and sending large files, 5-10 Mbps for upload speed is okay, and for Ping, under 50ms means that your connection is responding quickly enough. Anything below these numbers can cause many struggles, such as long loading, frozen pictures, or delays when you are sending any kind of files.
Check the Internet Speed More Than Once
Internet speed can vary throughout the day, which is why during the testing process, you should check it a few times during the day. To get more reliable results, do it in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. During the daytime, if many people from your area are connected online, your connection can slow down, and that is something that you should keep in mind. Plan your working time according to these results in order to prevent any kind of struggles with internet speed and achieve better results.
What to Do When the Connection Is Bad
Sometimes, even when your internet speed is usually good, it can slow down and have some interference, but that is nothing that you should worry about. When such a thing happens, you can restart your modem or router, which usually solves the problem. If it doesn’t help, move closer to it or use a cable for a direct connection. Update your router firmware and try to limit the number of devices that use Wi-Fi while you are working. If these methods don’t work, then you should call your internet provider and report the problem.
Make Regular Checkups a Habit
To prevent any possible problems with your internet connection, you should do the checkups once a week or when you immediately notice that things are loading slower than usual.
These checkups shouldn’t be done only when there is something wrong, but also when something becomes a habit, especially when the internet is important in cases like working from home. This is a quick procedure that takes only a few minutes, so why should we wait for a problem to occur when we can be the ones to prevent it?
Every job is hard, and something that we can all do is take measures that will make this job easier for us. By having a normal internet speed, we are preventing stressful situations and unwanted events, making the work go more smoothly and efficiently.
