How does this T-Mobile speed test work?

This T-Mobile speed test starts by identifying your T-Mobile connection and then selects a speed test server closest to your area.

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

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

The time that it takes this packet to go to and return from the server determines your T-Mobile internet speed.

How accurate is the T-Mobile internet speedtest?

The T-Mobile speed checker is powered by Ookla which one of thee most popular internet connection speed test and provides accurate and consistent testing experience and results.

By automatically choosing a speedtest server closest to your area, this eliminates latency and bottlenecks that can distort performance results.

Ookla has a global network of over ten thousand speedtest servers in over 190 countries.

Source: Ookla’s metrics and methodology

To improve accuracy, we would recommend that you run the T-Mobile speed tester from a device directly connected to the T-Mobile gateway modem or router.

This will help to provide a more precise reflection on the performance of your T-Mobile broadband connection and assist to elimate the Wifi related issues.

If you cannot connect your device directly into the T-Mobile modem or router, make sure that the device that you are performing this test is as physically close the modem or router as possible. Run the speedtest at least twice and from two separate devices to ensure that the issue is not on the device.

Exactly what do the speed test results from my T-Mobile speed test mean?

What is the Ping metric mean?

Ping is also called latency which in connectivity terms refers to the the time (or delay) it takes for data to traverse from one device to another. In this case, from your device using the T-Mobile broadband connection to the closest Ookla test server.

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

If the Ookla test server is very 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 T-Mobile speed tester will automatically choose a speedtest server nearest to your location which will eliminate latency and bottlenecks which can skew performance metrics.

A fast ping (low ms value) means a more responsive T-Mobile broadband connection.

What’s a good ping rate?

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

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

What’s Jitter?

All data (for example an email, image, video, voice call, etc) is sent across the internet as a series of packets. These packets usually move at a constant rate and are rebuilt back together at the destination.

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 becomes abnormal (due to the increasing and decreasing), the Jitter value goes up – which is not a good thing.

You do not ordinarily notice jitter as networking devices can smooth it out but you will notice jitter while on a video and voice calls because the internet connection will momentarily hang or break-up.

T-Mobile Download and Upload speed metrics explained

Find out More:What does the Download and Upload speed metric on my T-Mobile speedtest actually mean?

Likely causes of T-Mobile slow internet speed

There are a number of possible reasons why your T-Mobile internet connection is not performing as expected. Whilst we are unable tackle each and every possible reason, we have listed a number of common possibilities.

Based on your T-Mobile internet setup, some of the suggestions may not be relevant in your scenario. Hopefully they may trigger possible reasons or get you heading in the right direction to fix the issue.

Is it the T-Mobile internet that is slow or could it be your device (PC/laptop/phone)?

You need to consider how many apps are concurrently running on your device that could be utilizing your system resources (mainly RAM memory and CPU) and your T-Mobile broadband internet bandwidth.

If you are on a laptop, you may use the task manager to check the processor and RAM usage.

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

Re-run the T-Mobile speedtest on the personal computer and your smart phone to see how the speedtest results compare between the two devices.

Hopefully the will provide you with some info to work with in terms of if the problem lies with your device or the T-Mobile internet connection.

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

Is the wireless connection the problem?

The cause of the problem could be the Wifi connection and not the T-Mobile broadband internet connection.

You could eliminate the Wi-Fi network network being the cause of the problem by connecting your PC directly into the T-Mobile internet modem or router using a cable and run the T-Mobile speed test again.

If performance is better when you’re connected via a network cable then this suggests that the issue may be with your wireless.

Possible things to investigate are:

• Are the Wireless channels you’re using for your Wifi network network (SSID) overlapping with your neighbors?
• Is the Wireless frequency congested? Maybe you should consider switching to 5Ghz?
• Is your wireless signal from the modem or router obstructed?
• Does the performance get better when you’re stood directly in-front of the T-Mobile Wifi network modem/router?

The amount of devices connected to your home network

Every device that is connected to your internal network or Wireless network is utilising the same T-Mobile 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 speed of your T-Mobile broadband internet connection because the available bandwidth is being split between all the devices.

Are you aware of how many devices are connected to your T-Mobile broadband connection? Don’t forget about all the smart home gadgets, security cameras, doorbell cameras, Alexa/Google hub or other similar devices that may be constantly connected.

Who’s connected to my Wi-Fi network?

• Have you checked that your Wifi network password has not been shared?
• Do you have an unsecured Guest wireless network?

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

There are 2 applications that you may use to scan your Wi-Fi 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 Wi-Fi network and display a list of the connected devices.

As an alternative, log into the T-Mobile wireless router to see who is connected to your Wi-Fi network.

Have a look at the tutorial on how to use both applications

Wireless signal strength

If your device is unable to pick up a strong signal it will affect on the throughput, speed and internet performance regardless of how fast the T-Mobile internet connection is.

Situations that can affect the wireless signal are;

• Walls, doors or floors between your device and the T-Mobile broadband internet modem or router
• Household appliances such as baby monitors and microwaves
• Overlapping wireless signal from your neighbours
• the distance between the device and your T-Mobile broadband internet modem or router.

Do I need a wireless signal booster for my T-Mobile broadband internet?

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

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

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

Health of your End device

Viruses or malware may slow down your device and 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 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 T-Mobile internet modem or router was rebooted?

Just like other Internet Service Providers, T-Mobile’s broadband infrastructure is continually refreshed to support new features and changes in technology. Likewise, the internet routers or modem at your property will also periodically need to be updated to support changes in the T-Mobile broadband internet infrastructure.

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

You can carry out the software upgrade by logging in to the T-Mobile modem/router. If you cannot do this or are not confident doing it, get in touch with T-Mobile and they will be able to either do this for you or guide you through it.

The type and age of the device

Newer PCs, phones and other internet enabled devices will be generally faster than older devices due to developments in networking technology and protocols.

Do you experience the same problems or newer devices?

Is the fault external to your home?

This is probably the most likely reasons for T-Mobile internet issues. There are miles of cables involved to bring the T-Mobile internet connection to your home.

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

You should contact T-Mobile who will be able to conduct the relevant line checks to see if there is a problem on the T-Mobile broadband internet connection.