LogoLogo
  • Volunteer Documentation
  • Help Center
    • Volunteering
      • Our National Broadand Studies
      • The Benefits of Volunteering
      • How Volunteers Are Selected
      • Becoming a Volunteer
      • Waiting List Status
      • Stopping Volunteering
    • Your Whitebox
      • Introduction to Your Whitebox
      • Whitebox Setup
      • Test Interruption (Cross-Traffic)
      • Whitebox Model Specs
      • Whitebox Data Usage
    • Your Account
      • Logging In
      • Introduction to Your Dashboard
      • Understanding Your Broadband Package
      • Changing Your Email Address
      • Changing Your Password
      • Changing Your Personal Details
      • Changing Providers or Packages
      • Pausing Email Alerts
      • Using Instant Tests
      • Viewing Your Raw Data
    • Our Tests
      • Our Core Tests
      • Our Test Servers
      • Our Test Access Points
      • Our Video Streaming Tests
      • Understanding Download and Upload Speeds
      • Understanding Latency and Packet Loss
      • Understanding Jitter
      • Understanding Single- Versus Multi-Thread
    • Troubleshooting
      • Troubleshooting Your Whitebox
      • Troubleshooting Cisco Real Speed Tests
  • What's New
    • Changelog
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • Speed Tiers
  • Checking Your Speeds
  1. Help Center
  2. Our Tests

Understanding Download and Upload Speeds

Last updated 6 months ago

Download speed is the speed at which data can be transferred from the internet to your personal device, be it computer, tablet, or phone, whereas the upload speed is the one that can be transferred from your personal device to the internet. They are measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

Speed Tiers

The download and upload speeds correspond to the speed tier your internet service provider (ISP) sells when you purchase your broadband package. You'll have a figure for your download speed (e.g. up to 20 Mbps) and one for your upload speed. These can be the same or different. Upload speed is generally lower than download speed.

Checking Your Speeds

By default, you’re shown the download speed test results on your dashboard chart. This is because most people are interested in whether the internet download speed they are receiving matches what they are paying for. You can also click through your results for upload speed, latency, and packet loss.

You should be receiving download and upload speeds that are equal to or better than what you are paying your ISP for. If the speeds are lower than your contracted speed, then you can contact your ISP to ask them about this discrepancy.

A higher (or faster) download speed means that you can download more content from the internet more quickly. A higher (or faster) upload speed means you can upload content quicker.

For examples of speed tiers and packages, see .

You have , logged into your account, and can now see your data on your in the chart.

Note: You can export data to an excel sheet or as an image to share it with your ISP. Go to Analytics, select Create chart, then Download CSV. For more information about how to view and create charts using Analytics, see .

Understanding Your Broadband Package
installed your Whitebox
dashboard
Introduction to Your Dashboard
Cartoon hearts wearing different symbols
Dashboard chart