How does the Comcast XFINITY speed test work?

This Comcast XFINITY speed test starts by identifying your Comcast XFINITY connection and then selecting the speed test server nearest to you.

When you click on the GO button it’ll send packets of information from the speedtest server to your device.

The Comcast XFINITY speed test is powered by Ookla and calculates the ping (latency), download speed and upload speed from your device and the test server.

The total that it takes this data to arrive and return from the server determines your Comcast XFINITY broadband speed.

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How reliable is the Comcast XFINITY internet speedtest?

The Comcast XFINITY speed checker is powered by Ookla which one of the most popular internet connection speedtest and provides accurate and consistent testing experience and results.

By automatically selecting a speedtest server closest to your location, this will eliminate latency and bottlenecks that may skew performance results.

Ookla has a worldwide network of over ten thousand speed test servers in over one hundred and ninety countries.

Source: Ookla reliable speedtests

To improve the accurateness of your test, we would recommend that you run the Comcast XFINITY speed checker from a device connected directly to the Comcast XFINITY gateway modem or router.

This will help to provide an accurate result on the performance of the Comcast XFINITY internet connection and assist to rule out the Wi-Fi related problems.

If you are unable to connect your device directly into your Comcast XFINITY modem or router, make sure that the device that you are running the test is as close the modem or router as possible. Run the speed test at least twice and from 2 separate devices to ensure that the issue is not on one of the devices.

Exactly what do the speed test results from my Comcast XFINITY speed test mean?

What is the Ping result mean?

Ping is also called latency which in internet connectivity terms refers to the the time (or delay) it takes for data to travel from one device to another. In this case, from your device using the Comcast XFINITY internet connection to the nearest server.

Ping sends information to another computer (in this case, the speedtest server) and measures in milliseconds (ms) the duration it takes to get a reply back.

If the other computer is far away or the network is congested then it will take longer to receive a response and the ping value in ms will be high.

This Comcast XFINITY speed test will automatically select a speed test server closest to your location which will eliminate latency and bottlenecks which can distort speed test metrics.

A quick ping (low ms value) means a more responsive Comcast XFINITY broadband connection.

What’s a good ping rate?

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

The speed test above will show you the location of the test server so that you may determine whether your ping result is good or not.

What is Jitter?

All data (for example an email, image, video, voice call, etc) is transmitted over the internet as a series of packets. The packets generally move at a regular rate and are stitched back together at the destination.

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

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

You do not ordinarily notice jitter as networking devices can smooth it out but you will be aware of jitter during a video and voice calls because the internet connection will momentarily stutter or break-up.

Comcast XFINITY Download and Upload speed metrics explained

Find out More:What does the Download and Upload speed metric on my Comcast XFINITY speedtest mean?

Likely causes of Comcast XFINITY slow internet connection performance

There may be a number of possible reasons why your Comcast XFINITY internet connection is not performing as expected. While we are unable address each and every possible reason, we have listed a number of likely causes.

Depending on your Comcast XFINITY broadband internet setup, some of the recommendations may not be applicable in your case. Hopefully they may trigger possible ideas or get you heading in the right direction to resolve your issue.

Is it your Comcast XFINITY broadband internet that is slow or could it be your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

You need to consider how many applications are concurrently running on your device that could be using your system resources (mainly RAM memory and CPU) and your Comcast XFINITY broadband internet bandwidth.

If you are on a PC, you can use the task manager to check your CPU and RAM usage.

On other devices you should try rebooting the device which should hopefully kill all apps that may be running in the background.

Re-run the Comcast XFINITY speed checker on your personal computer and your smart phone to see how the speed test results compare between the two devices.

This should hopefully give you some info to work with in terms of whether the issue lies with your device or the Comcast XFINITY internet connection.

• What does the Comcast XFINITY download and upload speed mean?
• 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Comcast XFINITY internet connection Speed
• DNS hack to speed up internet browsing on your Comcast XFINITY internet connection

Is the Wifi network connection the problem?

The cause of the problem may be the wireless network connection and not the Comcast XFINITY broadband internet connection.

You can rule out the Wifi network network being the cause of the issue by connecting your PC directly to the Comcast XFINITY internet modem or router using a network cable and run the Comcast XFINITY speed test again.

If speed improves when you are connected by a network cable then this suggests that the issue may be with your Wi-Fi network.

Other things to investigate are:

• Are the Wireless channels you’re using for your wireless network (SSID) overlapping with the neighbors?
• Is the WiFi frequency congested? Maybe you should consider switching to 5Ghz?
• Is your Wifi signal from the modem or router obstructed?
• Does your performance improve when you’re stood directly infront of the Comcast XFINITY Wifi modem/router?

The amount of devices connected to your home network

All devices that are connected to your internal network or Wireless network is sharing the same Comcast XFINITY broadband internet connection.

If you have several devices browsing the web, streaming video, streaming music, downloading or uploading files, video conferencing, etc, they may have an impact on the performance on your Comcast XFINITY internet connection because the available bandwidth has to be shared between all the devices.

Do you know how many devices are connected to your Comcast XFINITY broadband connection? Don’t forget about all the smart home gadgets, security cameras, door cameras, Google or Alexa hub or other similar devices that are continually connected.

Who is connected to my Wi-Fi network?

• Have you checked that your Wi-Fi network password has not been compromised?
• Do you have an unsecured Guest Wifi network?

Nearby Neighbors could be on your Wifii network and using up all the Comcast XFINITY internet bandwidth downloading, uploading, streaming or running peer-to-peer file sharing over your Comcast XFINITY internet connection. Worse still, they could be carrying out unlawful activities.

There are 2 applications that you may use to scan your wireless network to check who is connected:

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

Both apps will scan your Wi-Fi network and display a list of the connected devices.

Alternatively, you can log into the Comcast XFINITY wireless router to see who is logged in to your Wi-Fi network.

Have a look at this guide on how to use these Apps

Wi-Fi signal strength

If your device is not picking up a strong signal it will have an effect on the throughput, speed and internet performance irrespective of how fast your Comcast XFINITY internet connection is.

Situations that may affect your wireless signal are;

• Walls, doors or floors between your device and the Comcast XFINITY broadband internet modem or router
• Electrical appliances such as baby monitors and microwaves
• Overlapping Wi-Fi network signal from your neighbors
• Long distance between the device and the Comcast XFINITY broadband internet modem or router.

Do I need a wireless signal booster for my Comcast XFINITY internet?

If you discover that you have Wi-Fi black spot at your property, a wireless signal extender also know as a wireless booster is the fix to boost your signal strength across your home.

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

Place the Wifi network booster/extender where your Wi-Fi network signal from the Comcast XFINITY internet router or model is beginning to become weak. Roughly where your Wifi signal drops below 2 bars. You could use your phone to determine where this is.

Health of your End device

Viruses and malware may slow your device and consequently your performance on your device. Viruses or malware could be working silently and concealed in the background download and uploading information and slowing the performance of the whole internal network down.

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

When’s the last time the Comcast XFINITY internet modem or router was rebooted?

Just like other Internet Service Providers, Comcast XFINITY’s broadband infrastructure is continually refreshed to support new features and changes in technology. Equally, the internet routers or modem at your property will also occasionally need an update to support changes in the Comcast XFINITY broadband internet infrastructure.

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

You may be able to carry out the software upgrade by logging into the Comcast XFINITY modem/router. If you cannot do this or are unsure doing this, get in contact with Comcast XFINITY and they are able to either do this for you or talk you through it.

The type and age of the device

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

Are you experiencing the same issues or newer devices?

Is the fault external to your property?

This is probably the most common reasons for Comcast XFINITY internet issues. There are miles of cabling used to deliver the Comcast XFINITY broadband internet connection to your home.

The problem could be with the physical cabling that comes into your home and terminates into the modem or router in your house.

You should get in touch with Comcast XFINITY who will be able to conduct the relevant connection checks to check if there’s a issue on the Comcast XFINITY broadband internet connection.