Internet speed test for exams and video calls.
A speed test that tells you whether the connection is good enough for a proctored exam or a call, not just how fast it is. It talks only to this site.
One check
- Internet
Runs like the stress test: one check after another, with the progress along the top. Nothing you show the camera or say into the microphone leaves this page.
What it measures
Measured here, not assumed.
Latency and jitter
Eight small round trips to this site. The average is latency; how much it varies is jitter, which is what makes video freeze even on a fast connection.
Download
A 4 MB transfer, timed. Modest on purpose: this is run by people on metered connections.
Upload
A 2 MB transfer the other way. Upload is the figure a proctored exam depends on, because it streams your camera the whole time.
Against the common minimums
Most vendors require 1.5 Mbps each way and recommend 3 Mbps or more; latency under about 150 ms keeps video responsive. The verdict is against those bands.
If it fails
The usual failures, and what fixes each.
- Upload is too low
- Connect with a network cable if you can. On Wi-Fi, move closer to the router and away from walls. Pause cloud backups, downloads and streaming on every device in the house for the exam.
- Latency or jitter is high
- Turn off any VPN. Prefer a cable to Wi-Fi. If the connection is mobile or satellite, ask the vendor whether it is acceptable and keep an alternative ready.
- The test could not run
- Something on the network blocked the test traffic, usually a strict proxy or a corporate filter. Try a home network, or run the check without a VPN.
Where a browser stops
What it cannot tell you.
- How the connection will behave at exam time. Networks are busier in the evening; run the test at the time of day the exam will be.
- Whether the vendor's own servers are as close as ours. Latency to them may differ.
- What is sharing the connection. Other devices streaming or backing up cut into upload most.
Privacy
Nothing leaves this page.
The camera and microphone are read on this page and stopped as soon as they have been measured. The clip you can play back lives in the browser's memory and is discarded when you leave. The location check discards the position. The internet test sends random bytes to this site and nothing else. The result is stored nowhere unless you ask for it by email, and then only the fact that an email was sent is kept.
Questions
Internet speed test, answered
- What internet speed do I need for an online proctored exam?
- Most vendors require at least 1.5 Mbps download and upload and recommend 3 Mbps or more, with a stable connection. A few require far more. Upload matters most, because the exam streams your camera.
- Why is my video freezing when my speed test is fast?
- Jitter. A connection can be fast on average and still deliver data unevenly, which shows as frozen video. Wi-Fi interference is the usual cause; a cable removes it.
- Is Wi-Fi good enough for an online exam?
- Often, but a cable is steadier. If the test shows high jitter or upload near the minimum on Wi-Fi, use a cable or sit next to the router for the exam.
- Why does this test give a different number from other speed tests?
- It uses small transfers to a single server, so it is closer to what a real exam session does than a test that opens many connections to the nearest server. The absolute number can be lower; the verdict against the exam minimums is the point.
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