How does the Spectrum speedtest work?

The Spectrum speed checker starts by determining your Spectrum connection and then selecting the speed test server nearest to your location.

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

The Spectrum speed test is powered by Ookla and calculates the ping (latency), download speed and upload speed between your device and the selected test server.

The total that it takes this data to go to and return from the server establishes your Spectrum internet connection speed.

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How reliable is the Spectrum internet connection speedtest?

The Spectrum speed test is powered by Ookla which one of the most popular broadband connection speed test and provides accurate and consistent testing experience and results.

By automatically choosing a speedtest server closest to your location, this will eliminate latency & bottlenecks which may distort performance metrics.

Ookla has a global network of over 10,000 speed test servers in more than one hundred and ninety countries.

Source: Ookla reliable speedtests

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

This will help give a more precise result on the performance of your Spectrum broadband connection and assist to rule out the wireless related problems.

If you cannot connect your device directly into your Spectrum modem or router, ensure that the device you are performing this test is as close the modem or router as possible. Also run the speedtest at least twice and from 2 different devices to make sure that the problem is not on one of the devices.

Exactly what do the results from my Spectrum speedtest mean?

What does the Ping result mean?

Ping is sometimes called latency which in internet connectivity terms refers to the the time (or delay) it takes for data to traverse from one device to another. In this instance, from your device using the Spectrum broadband connection to the closest Ookla server.

Ping sends information to another computer (in this case, the Ookla speed test server) and measures in milliseconds (ms) how long it takes to get a reply back.

If the Ookla test server is very far away or the network is congested it may take more time to receive a reply and the ping value in ms will be high.

This Spectrum speed tester will automatically choose a speed test server closest to your location which will eliminate latency and bottlenecks that can distort speed test metrics.

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

What is a good ping rate?

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

The speed test above will display the location of the test server so that you can determine if your ping result is good or not.

What is Jitter?

All data (e.g. an email, image, video, voice call, etc) is transmitted across the internet as a series of packets. These packets typically 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.

Think of it similar to running a tap and then increasing or decreasing the flow rate of the water coming out. When the flow becomes irregular (because of the increasing and decreasing), the Jitter value goes up – which is not good.

You do not normally notice jitter as networking devices can smooth it out however, you will notice jitter whilst on a video and voice calls because the internet connection will momentarily stutter or break-up.

Spectrum Download and Upload speed results explained

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

Likely causes of Spectrum slow broadband internet performance

There are a number of possible reasons why the Spectrum internet connection is not performing as expected. Whilst we cannot tackle each and every possible cause, we have listed a number of likely causes.

Based on your Spectrum broadband internet setup, some of the suggestions may not be relevant in your case. Hopefully they may trigger food for thought or get you on the right path to resolve the issue.

Is it the Spectrum internet that is slow or is it your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

You may need to consider how many applications are concurrently open on your device that may be utilizing your system resources (mainly RAM memory and CPU) and your Spectrum internet connection bandwidth.

If you’re on a laptop, you can use the task manager to check the CPU and memory usage.

On any other device you should try rebooting the device which should hopefully shut down all apps that may be running in the background.

Run the Spectrum speed checker on your computer and your smart phone to see how the speed test results compare between the two devices.

Hopefully the will give you some information to work with in terms of whether the problem lies with your device or the Spectrum internet connection.

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

Is the wireless connection the problem?

The cause of the problem may be the Wi-Fi network connection and not the Spectrum internet connection.

You could rule out the wireless network network being the cause of the issue by connecting your computer directly into the Spectrum internet modem or router using a network cable and run the Spectrum speed checker again.

If speed is better when you’re connected using a network cable then this proves that the fault may be with the Wifi.

Other things to check are:

• Are the WiFi channels you are using for your wireless network (SSID) overlapping with the neigbours?
• Is the Wireless frequency congested? You should consider switching to 5Ghz?
• Could your Wifi network signal from the modem or router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when you are stood directly in-front of the Spectrum Wifi network modem/router?

Number of devices connected to your internal network

All devices that are connected to your home network or Wifi is utilising the same Spectrum internet connection.

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

Do you know how many devices are connected to your Spectrum internet connection? Don’t forget about all the smart home devices, CCTV cameras, door cameras, Google or Alexa home hub or other similar devices that may be constantly connected.

Who is connected to my wireless network?

• Check that your wireless network password has not been leaked?
• Do you have an unsecured Guest wireless network?

Nearby Neighbors may be using your wirelessi network and eating up all your Spectrum internet bandwidth downloading, uploading, streaming or running peer-to-peer file sharing over your Spectrum internet connection. Worse than that, they could be carrying out illegal activities.

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

• MS Windows users may use Wireless network watcher
• Apple 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.

As an alternative, log into the Spectrum wireless router to see who is connected to your Wifi network.

Check out the guide on how to use these applications

Wi-Fi signal strength

If the PC, laptop is not picking up a strong signal it will affect on the throughput, speed and internet performance regardless of how fast the Spectrum internet connection is.

Situations that can affect the wireless signal are;

• Walls, doors or floors between your device and the Spectrum internet modem or router
• Household appliances such as baby monitors and microwaves
• Overlapping Wi-Fi network signal from your neighbours
• Long distance between the device and the Spectrum internet modem or router.

Do I need a wireless network signal booster for my Spectrum internet?

If you find that you have Wifi black spot in your house, a wireless signal extender also know as a Wi-Fi booster is the solution to increase your signal strength across your home.

The Wi-Fi network booster simply picks up the existing Wifi signal just as it is starting to become weak and then re-transmits the Wifi network signal at a stronger rate to extend its coverage.

Locate the wireless network booster/extender where the wireless network signal from the Spectrum broadband internet router or model is becoming weak. Approximately where your Wifi network signal drops below two bars. You can use your phone to determine where this is.

Health of your End device

Viruses and malware may slow down your device and consequently your performance on your device. Viruses and malware may be working silently and concealed in the behind the scenes download and uploading data and thus slowing the performance of your whole internal network down.

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

When was the last time your Spectrum internet modem or router was restarted?

In the same way as other Internet Service Providers, Spectrum’s broadband infrastructure is continually refreshed to support new features and changes in technology. Likewise, the broadband internet routers or modem at your home will also occasionally need an update to support changes in the Spectrum internet infrastructure.

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

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

The type and age of the device

Newer computers, smart phones and other internet enabled devices are generally faster than old devices due to advancements in networking technology and protocols.

Are you seeing the same issues or newer devices?

Is the fault external to your home?

This is probably the most common reasons for Spectrum internet connectivity issues. There are miles of cables used to present the Spectrum broadband internet connection to your home.

The problem may be with the physical cabling that comes into your property and goes into the modem or router in your home.

You should get in touch with Spectrum who should be able to run the appropriate connection tests to check if there’s a issue on the Spectrum internet line.