And this health check means a smooth and reliable speed test performed on your broadband Internet. Your ATT Internet connection needs a health check at this point.
For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at or send her an email.Do you experience slow data download and upload speed on your AT&T Internet Broadband? Are you paying for more than what you are expecting from your ISP? Well, this problem occurs when your Internet connection has got into some problem due to one of the factors affecting the Internet speed. On the Kim Komando Show, the nation's largest weekend radio talk show, Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today's digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. If you are looking for topics about everything digital that you can listen to on your phone, tablet or computer, click here for my free podcasts. Click here to find your local radio station. From buying advice to digital life issues, be sure to listen or download the podcasts. That seems to get the right people’s attention.įinding the best tech solution is one of things I discuss on my national radio show. If there aren’t any other cable providers in your vicinity, and your provider is being unhelpful, consider complaining on social media. You can even try a few settings tweaks of your own, such as changing the DNS settings.ĭon’t be afraid to shop around for another connection. Click here for a review of the best routers to speed an internet connection. The same holds true if your router is older. It’s never worth renting a modem from your provider. If you modem is more than a few years old, there are faster and more reliable standards. You might have another problem with your connection. If you have inconsistent numbers based on the time of day, see how the highest number compares to your internet plan. In both cases, politely request for a prorated credit on your account or other concessions. If the speed is 50% slower, ask to pay the same amount as the next tier down. It won’t match exactly, but if the average is 75% or less of what your provider advertises, you need to call the company and alert them to the problem. If the numbers are fairly consistent, match them to the numbers your provider says you should be getting. The chart depicts how your speed is changing over time. You’re looking for any time-based slowdowns.Īt the top of the Speedtest page, click the “Results History” link to see your past speed tests. Run tests for a few days in the morning, noon or afternoon and evening. For the best speed comparison, it’s best to use the same server. To use a different server, just hover over a green dot on the map screen and click on a server name or location. Once the test is complete, you can try it again or run another test with a different server. Helpful reference: “Mbps” stands for Megabits per second and “kbps” stands for kilobits per second.
Don’t worry if your upload number is much lower than your download speed. It will automatically select the best server near you and then run tests to figure out your download and upload speed. Go to and click the green “Begin Test” button. By the way, if you want to know who is the bandwidth hog in your home, click here for the steps to uncover that mystery. You will get lower figures if something is hogging your connection while you are performing the speed test. Stop any video streaming, file downloads or online gaming. You should also make sure that none of your other household gadgets is using the Internet. Don’t use a gadget on Wi-Fi since Wi-Fi has its potential speed problems that can skew results. If you’re running Speedtest on a desktop or laptop, plug it directly into your router or cable modem. It’s simple to use but gives plenty of detailed information.īefore you begin a Speedtest, make sure everything is properly set up. To get started, you need a way to measure your Internet speed that’s a little more precise than, “Well, it seems slow.” One free testing service is. Click here to learn more about making that decision and other ways to save on your Internet bill right now. You might be able to scale back on your Internet plan and save some months. You might just not be using your connection heavily enough to notice. The speed limit is still the same, but you can have more cars traveling at top speed at once.Įven if you haven’t noticed a slowdown in your Internet connection, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re getting all the bandwidth called for in your plan. In other words, having more bandwidth is like adding another lane to the highway.