How to Check Internet Speed at Home

Are you struggling to make that teleconference work due to poor internet connection? Wondering how you can check my internet speed at home? Working from home can be frustrating at times if you don't have a strong internet connection, but provided the appropriate methods are taken, you can glide through your work as though your back in the office.

Optimizing Network Bandwidth for a Strong Internet Connection

The goal of your conference call is to maintain clarity, in real-time, while sharing information to a prospect or customer. For individual conferencing, while working from home, it would require 2 Mbps down and 2Mbps up of internet bandwidth on both sides. With both sides sending and receiving data will ensure your call is clear, and your video quality is ideal for both parties involved. The last thing you want to deal with is hiccups during your video call and not having the appropriate IT specialist to come to your aid.

How to check internet speed.

Before contacting your Internet Service Provider you may want to conduct a speed test here that displays your download and upload speeds. Once you know what your internet bandwidth is on both sides, you can then troubleshoot what might be happening.

Checked Internet Speed, Now What? Things that might be impacting your internet speed.

• End-User Hardware Issues: you may have an old router that cannot keep up with your desired speed or a poorly configured wifi connection that's being slowed down by interface. To create a strong internet connection, improve your signal by positioning your router correctly - reduce interference and obstructions.
• Distance from ISP: the further away you are from the internet service providers hardware will affect the strength of your internet connection. Get closer.
• Congestion: you may be competing for internet connection if you are sharing a line with many neighbors at the same time. If all your neighbors are using BitTorrent 24/7 or using other demanding applications is a contributing factor for the slow connection. You can see if your provider can set up a dedicated line to your house to overcome the party-line slow down.
• Time Of Day: typical peak hours range from 6 pm to midnight; however, with more workers working from home, these hours could adjust to 8 am to 5 pm. You may experience longer wait times and slower speeds during these hours. Try scheduling calls our of peak hours or being more strategic about length of meetings.
• Throttling: peer-to-peer traffic may become victim to throttling. Your internet provider may slow down your connection for the remainder of the month if you hit a certain amount of downloaded data. Call your internet provider to see where your data is at, you may need to upgrade.
• Server-Side-Issues: your download speeds depend on many factors, such as the speed of the servers you're downloading from and the routers in-between.

Notify your IT team of your internet connection issues.

If you run through these quick fixes and your still having problems, check with your company to see if the IT department can walk you through the steps to get set-up. If your company doesn't have an IT department, there are many available IT services available to you. Visit our page dedicated to the services we provide by clicking here.

Don't be shy about asking your company to compensate for better internet connections.

Upgrading is expensive, so make sure your are billing your employer for this new upgrade. It's best practice for your employer to reimburse you for any reasonable business expenses such as a cell phone with data plans, home internet access, and a laptop if you are a remote worker. In a study conducted by OWL Labs, 29% of remote workers said they were happier in their remote positions compared to on-site professionals, so don't be afraid to push for this option at your work.