How does the Agile Networks speedtest work?

The Agile Networks speedtest begins by determining your Agile Networks connection and then selects the speed test server nearest to you.

When you click the GO button it will send packets of data from the speed test server to your device.

The Agile Networks speed test checker is powered by Ookla and measures the ping (latency), download speed and upload speed from your device and the selected test server.

The time that it takes this packet to arrive and return from the server establishes your Agile Networks internet speed.

How reliable is the Agile Networks internet connection speedtest?

This Agile Networks speed checker is powered by Ookla which one of thee most popular broadband connection speed test and provides accurate and consistent testing experience and results.

By automatically selecting a speed test server closest to your area, this eliminates latency & bottlenecks that may skew performance metrics.

Ookla has a worldwide network of over ten thousand speed test servers in more than 190 countries.

Source: Guide to Ookla’s methodology

To improve the accuracy, we would recommend that you run the Agile Networks speed tester from a device connected directly into the Agile Networks gateway modem or router.

This will help to provide an accurate reflection on the performance of your Agile Networks broadband connection and assist to elimate the wireless related issues.

If you are unable to connect your device directly into your Agile Networks modem or router, make sure that the device you are performing this test is as physically close the modem or router as possible. Run the speed test at least twice and from two different devices to make sure that the fault is not on the device.

What do the results from my Agile Networks speedtest mean?

What does the Ping metric mean?

Ping is sometimes referred to as latency which in connectivity terms means the time (or delay) it takes for data to traverse from one device to another. In this case, from your device using the Agile Networks broadband connection to the nearby server.

Ping sends data to another computer (in this case, the Ookla speed test server) and measures in milliseconds (ms) the duration it takes to receive a reply back.

If the server is far away or the network is busy then it will take more time to receive a reply and the ping value will be high.

This Agile Networks speed checker will automatically select a speed test server closest to your location to eliminate latency and bottlenecks that can skew performance metrics.

A fast ping (low ms value) means a more responsive Agile Networks broadband connection.

What is a good ping result?

A typical ping rate to a device across the same city should be lower than 20ms. A typical ping rate between cities you would expect to see ping values between 30-60ms, and between continents that figure can climb to over 200ms.

The speedtest above will display the location of the test server so that you may determine whether your ping result is good.

What is Jitter?

All data (e.g. an email, image, video, voice call, etc) is sent over the internet as a series of packets. The packets usually move at a regular rate and are rebuilt back together at the destination device.

Jitter is the rate of delay during the transmission of the packets.

Try to think of it like running a tap and then increasing or decreasing the flow rate of the running water coming out. When the flow rate becomes abnormal (due to the increasing and decreasing), the Jitter value increases – which is not good.

You don’t usually notice jitter because networking devices can smooth it out however, you will be aware of jitter while on a video and voice calls because the internet connection will momentarily stutter or break up.

Agile Networks Download and Upload speed metrics explained

Read More:What does the Download and Upload speed metric on my Agile Networks speedtest actually mean?

Likely causes of Agile Networks slow internet connection performance

There are several reasons why the Agile Networks internet connection is not performing. Whilst we are unable tackle each and every possible cause, we have listed a number of likely causes.

Based on your Agile Networks broadband internet setup, some of the suggestions may not be relevant in your scenario. We hope that they may trigger food for thought or get you on the right path to fix your fault.

Is it your Agile Networks internet that is slow or could it be your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

You need to check how many apps are simultaneously running on your device that may be utilising your system resources (mainly RAM memory and CPU) and your Agile Networks internet bandwidth.

If you are on a PC, you may use the task manager to see your CPU and memory usage.

On any other device you should try rebooting the device which should hopefully terminate all programs that may have been running in the background.

Re-run the Agile Networks speed checker on the personal computer and your smart phone to see how the speed test results compare between the 2 devices.

This should hopefully provide you with some information to work with in terms of if the issue lies with your device or the Agile Networks internet connection.

• What exactly does the Agile Networks download and upload speed mean?
• 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Agile Networks Internet Speed
• DNS hack to speed up internet browsing on your Agile Networks broadband

Is the Wifi network connection the problem?

The cause of the problem could be the Wifi network connection and not the Agile Networks internet connection.

You could eliminate the Wifi network network being the cause of the issue by connecting your PC directly to the Agile Networks internet modem or router using a network cable and run the Agile Networks speed test again.

If speed improves when you’re connected via a network cable then this proves that the fault may be with your Wifi network.

Other things to verify are:

• Are the WiFi channels you are using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
• Is the WiFi frequency congested? Maybe you should consider switching to 5Ghz?
• Is your Wifi signal from the modem or router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when you’re stood directly infront of your Agile Networks Wi-Fi network modem/router?

Number of devices connected to your home network

Every device that is connected to your internal network or Wifi network is utilising the same Agile Networks broadband internet connection.

If you have multiple devices browsing the internet, streaming videos, streaming music, downloading or uploading files, video conferencing, etc, they will have an impact on the speed on your Agile Networks internet connection because the bandwidth has to be split between all the devices.

Do you know how many devices are connected to the Agile Networks broadband connection? Do not forget about all the smart home devices, security cameras, door cameras, Google or Alexa home hub or other similar devices that are constantly connected.

Who’s connected to my wireless network?

• Check that your Wi-Fi network password has not been compromised?
• Do you have an open Guest wireless network?

Nearby Neighbors could be on your Wifii network and eating up all the Agile Networks internet bandwidth downloading, uploading, streaming or running peer-to-peer file sharing over your Agile Networks internet connection. Worse than that, they could be carrying out illegal activities.

There are 2 apps that you may use to scan your wireless network to check who’s connected:

• MS Windows users may use Wireless network watcher
• MAC users can use whoFi (who is on my Wifi)

Both apps will scan your Wifi network and display a list of the devices connected.

As an alternative, log into the Agile Networks wireless router to find out who is logged in to your Wi-Fi network.

Check out this guide on how to use both Apps

Wifi signal strength

If your PC, laptop is unable to pick up a strong signal it will have an effect on the throughput, speed and internet performance irrespective of how fast the Agile Networks internet connection is.

Conditions that can affect your wireless signal are;

• Walls, doors or floors between the device and the Agile Networks broadband internet modem or router
• Household appliances like baby monitors and microwaves
• Overlapping Wifi signal from your next-door neighbours
• the distance between your device and the Agile Networks broadband internet modem or router.

Do I need a wireless network signal booster for my Agile Networks broadband internet?

If you discover that you have Wifi blackhole in your house, a Wifi signal extender also know as a Wifi booster is the solution to increase the signal strength across your home.

The Wifi network booster simply picks up your existing Wi-Fi network signal just as it is becoming weak and then re-transmits the wireless signal at a stronger rate to boost its reach.

Locate the Wi-Fi network booster/extender where your Wifi signal from the Agile Networks broadband internet router or model is becoming weak. Roughly where the wireless network signal drops down to 2 bars. You can use your phone to determine where this is.

Health of your End device

Viruses and malware can slow down your device and consequently your performance on your device. Viruses and malware could be working silently and hidden in the background download and uploading data and slowing the performance of the whole internal network down.

When is the last time you ran a full Virus and Malware check on your device?

When’s the last time the Agile Networks broadband modem or router was restarted?

In the same way as other Internet Service Providers, Agile Networks’s broadband infrastructure is continually upgraded to support new features and changes in technology. Equally, the broadband internet routers or modem at your property will also occasionally need an update to support changes in the Agile Networks internet network.

The update could be in the form of a software update or an upgrade of the physical Agile Networks modem/router hardware to a newer version.

You may be able to carry out the software upgrade by logging in to the Agile Networks modem/router. If you cannot do this or are not confident doing it, contact Agile Networks and they will be able to either it for you or guide you through it.

The type and age of the device

The latest PCs, phones and other internet-enabled devices are generally faster than old devices due to developments in networking technology and protocols.

Are you seeing the same problems or newer devices?

Is the issue external to your property?

This is one of the most likely reasons for Agile Networks internet issues. There are miles of cables used to bring the Agile Networks broadband internet connection to your home.

The fault could be with the physical connection that comes into your property and terminates into the modem or router in your house.

You should contact Agile Networks who should be able to conduct the relevant connection tests to check if there’s a problem on the Agile Networks internet connection.