How to test your NBN speed properly—and give your provider useful results

A slow speed-test result is a clue, not a diagnosis. Before paying for a faster NBN plan, collect a small set of comparable results that can show whether the problem follows your Wi-Fi, your device or the internet connection itself.

1. Make the first test easy to interpret

Pause large downloads, cloud backups and streaming where practical, and tell other people in the house what you are testing. Keep the same computer and browser for your initial comparisons. If a VPN is active, record that fact; do not disable an employer-required connection without permission.

For a wired test, connect to a LAN port on your router. You do not need to dismantle the NBN connection, unplug fibre or factory-reset anything. Ethernet removes the Wi-Fi hop from this comparison, but the computer, adapter, cable and router can still limit the result.

If Ethernet is not an option, start close to the router and label the result Wi-Fi. It is still useful information; just do not present it as a direct measurement of the line into your home.

2. Run Wireless Choices, then Speedtest.net

Open the Wireless Choices speed test

On Wireless Choices, note the selected server and use Start speed test. The page offers a server-change control and displays download, upload, ping and jitter. Its description identifies the ping reading as an HTTPS round-trip measurement. Keep the server consistent when repeating a comparison.

Open Speedtest by Ookla

Use Speedtest.net for a second measurement under the same conditions. Ookla documents download, upload and latency testing. Note whichever server it uses rather than assuming the two tools reached the same endpoint. Run them sequentially so one test is not competing with the other.

Neither result is a certificate of your plan speed. We inspected the Wireless Choices interface and read the supporting documentation; we have not run a controlled accuracy comparison between the tools. A difference between them is a reason to record the conditions, not automatically to discard the lower number.

3. Read more than the download number

Download describes data arriving at your device; upload describes data leaving it. Ping measures response delay to the test endpoint, while jitter describes variation in delay. Record the units as well: Mbps for throughput and milliseconds for delay.

A quick response to a local test server does not tell you how an overseas game server will behave. If one application is the problem, write down its name and server region alongside the speed-test results. Avoid turning a single good result into proof that every destination works well.

4. Compare the places and times that matter

After the wired baseline, try Wi-Fi near the router and then where you normally work or watch television. Change one condition at a time. Our suggested schedule is a daytime session and an evening session on more than one day, with a repeat if a result looks unusual. This is a practical sample, not a regulatory testing protocol.

The ACCC’s guidance uses 7pm to 11pm as the busy evening period for advertised typical NBN speeds. Compare your plan’s published figure with your results, while also checking any disclosed technical limit for your address. Do not substitute the biggest number in the plan’s name for its actual conditions.

5. Give support a pattern they can investigate

If wired results are reasonable but the study’s Wi-Fi is consistently poor, investigate the home-network difference first. If both are repeatedly poor, ask your provider to investigate the service. Neither pattern proves a particular fault on its own.

Here is a useful message to adapt: “My plan is [name]. On [dates], I tested [device] by Ethernet to [router], with [background activity/VPN status]. Results were [download/upload/ping] to [server]. The same device on Wi-Fi in [room] gave [results]. Can you check the service and advise the next diagnostic step?”

Save the screenshots and a fault reference. Contact your provider first; the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman can help with unresolved provider disputes. A low result alone does not establish an automatic refund entitlement.

Your results record

Copy this blank record for each session. Keep all the readings, not just the best one. We have left the values blank because these are your measurements, not demonstration results.

Date and time: —
Tool and server: —
Device and connection: —
Room / Ethernet to router: —
Download / upload (Mbps): —
Ping / jitter (ms), if shown: —
VPN and background activity: —
Problem observed / result link: —