When downloading an app is not an option, you still can run a network speed test on your iPhone using Safari. It only takes a minute, too.
You Don’t Have to Download an App to Run a Network Speed Test on iPhone – Just do it Straight from Safari Instead
I know people who care a little too much about network speeds. At best, you’ll end up checking social media once or twice in an hour, but definitely run a speed test to make sure that Wi-Fi or cellular connection is hitting gigabit speeds. How dare it drop a megabit or two behind our backs, right?
Anyway, in order to run a network speed test, people usually turn to apps like Speedtest.net. What if you want to run that speed test but don’t want to download any app at all. Of course, you’d want to do that, especially if storage on your phone is limited or you do such a thing occasionally. Keeping an app around for an occasional thing isn’t a great idea, in my opinion.
There are two great services that allow you to run an online speed test quickly and swiftly. One is Speedtest.net and the other is Fast.com. The first one, you’re aquatinted with already, and know its app inside out. The second one is from Netflix and it uses a Netflix server near your location to run a quick speed test. The Netflix option may not be as accurate as Speedtest.net but it instantly gives you results no matter where you are.
Personally, I would suggest opting for Fast. It doesn’t require you to fiddle with it at all. The moment you type in that web address, it instantly starts running a speed test and will show you the results in a matter of seconds. Sure, it may not be that accurate and you really don’t want it to be. The purpose of these tests is to give you a general idea of what speeds you can expect while connected to a cellular or Wi-Fi network. Factors like how far you are from the server, what sort of network you’re going through, routing, are never ever taken into account. These tests simply download a dummy file in a straight line to give you a glimpse at peak speeds.
It’s not strange at all that a speed test would show you up to gigabit speeds, but the actual download does not go beyond, let’s say, 200 megabits per second. Chances that the problem lies with your ISP are always high. It’s usually a case of bad routing.
