Netflix launches new tool to test your Internet connection speed in real time

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,240   +192
Staff member

You’re watching Netflix and suddenly, the quality drops significantly or worse, your video freezes entirely. You’re paying out the wazoo for a speedy broadband Internet connection, so what gives? Is Netflix to blame or is your ISP crapping out on you?

A new tool from Netflix may provide some answers.

Fast.com is an online tool that will let you check your Internet connection speed in real time. The tool is compatible with both broadband and cellular connections, allowing it to be used while at home and on the go from virtually anywhere in the world. The best part is that you don’t even need to be a Netflix subscriber to use it.

David Fullagar, Netflix’s vice president of content delivery architecture, said in a blog post that we all want a faster, better Internet, yet Internet speeds vary greatly and can be affected by other users on your network or congestion with your Internet service provider. When you’re experiencing streaming issues, Fullagar added, fast.com allows you to check your download speed.

To give it a try, simply pop over to fast.com and wait for the results to appear. In the FAQ, the streaming video provider says the tool performs a series of downloads from Netflix servers to estimate your download speed. It doesn’t offer full details like ping or latency as it’s not meant to be what Netflix calls a network engineer’s analysis and diagnostic suite. For those details, you’ll want to visit a site like speedtest.net which Netflix points to for comparison purposes.

In the event you aren’t getting the speeds you pay for, Netflix recommends asking your ISP about the results.

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I like it. Much faster to use then speedtest.

its a quick little test.

However it doesn't provide all technical details that speedtest and dslreports does and with my experience that information is very important.

I like dsl reports test because it will show you buffer bloat

https://www.dslreports.com/speedtest

Those two together are the best combination for me.

Looks like you are misinformed. If you read the article, this is a speed test created by netflix for diagnosing netflix connections/bandwidth. It is not a speedtest replacement.
The site measures the actual speed when you are watching netflix. If you read some articles in the past, netflix is being throttled by some ISP such as comcast. This is the tool for that to verify them.

tried it and one of my isp at home is throttling it to 4.5Mbps where my other line is at 20Mbps. Both ISP are rated 30Mbps and 25Mbps respectively. This is a great tool but I wonder how can we protest such act to ISPs. The only way is to move to another ISP.
 
Looks like you are misinformed. If you read the article, this is a speed test created by netflix for diagnosing netflix connections/bandwidth. It is not a speedtest replacement.
The site measures the actual speed when you are watching netflix. If you read some articles in the past, netflix is being throttled by some ISP such as comcast. This is the tool for that to verify them.

tried it and one of my isp at home is throttling it to 4.5Mbps where my other line is at 20Mbps. Both ISP are rated 30Mbps and 25Mbps respectively. This is a great tool but I wonder how can we protest such act to ISPs. The only way is to move to another ISP.

I did read the article thanks
 
I really wish one of you "tech" sites would do an accurate representation of "HOW" peoples ISP and the internet in general works, and not just saying "blame your ISP for any and all speed problems you have".
I see way too many things out there saying, are you getting the speeds you're paying for, and leaving a link to some offsite speedtest.
 
If only netflix would launch global content instead of this bs...
then figure out who the content providers are and complain to them, that might be actually useful. I'm sure Netflix would love to fulfill your request as it would mean more subscribers and more money for them, but they are being blocked. For what their service costs can you actually say you are getting ripped off?
 
If only netflix would launch global content instead of this bs...
then figure out who the content providers are and complain to them, that might be actually useful. I'm sure Netflix would love to fulfill your request as it would mean more subscribers and more money for them, but they are being blocked. For what their service costs can you actually say you are getting ripped off?
they are adding more crap than movies. and even lowered the movie collection with up to 28%, in favor of netflix originals. and adding old content back, that were there a year or a few years ago. so, its a rip off.
 
I love it - a great move from Netflix. This should point the finger of blame right back on the ISPs.
 
I like it. Much faster to use then speedtest.

its a quick little test.

However it doesn't provide all technical details that speedtest and dslreports does and with my experience that information is very important.

I like dsl reports test because it will show you buffer bloat

https://www.dslreports.com/speedtest

Those two together are the best combination for me.

Looks like you are misinformed. If you read the article, this is a speed test created by netflix for diagnosing netflix connections/bandwidth. It is not a speedtest replacement.
The site measures the actual speed when you are watching netflix. If you read some articles in the past, netflix is being throttled by some ISP such as comcast. This is the tool for that to verify them.

tried it and one of my isp at home is throttling it to 4.5Mbps where my other line is at 20Mbps. Both ISP are rated 30Mbps and 25Mbps respectively. This is a great tool but I wonder how can we protest such act to ISPs. The only way is to move to another ISP.
First step is awareness. A public Netflix bandwidth site would complement that.
 
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