Accuracy of Speedtest.net app vs Speakeasy

[jkr4577]

Hi All,

I made a quick video to demonstrate the vast difference in reported 4G speed between the Android speedtest.net app and the browser version of the speakeasy test. My results show great differences btw the two (2-3 Mbps). I don't know which one is correct; but I think the Speedtest app cannot correctly determine WiMax and WiFi speeds. In addition to what the video shows, when the EVO is connected to home Wifi the greatest speed Ive seen is 11 Mbps (even though the app dial stops at 10) when a laptop test done at the same time correctly shows 15+.
Is anyone else seeing similar? I just think its flawed that many are using the app as the standard for network speeds on mobile devices...
YouTube - HTC EVO 4G Speed Test Speakeasy vs Speedtest.net

 

[nRRe]

on my laptop speedtest will show 8-20mbps depending on what server i use.

speedtest.net apps on my phone have had 3g speeds anywhere from 100kbps to 1800kbps. they change as easily as setting the phone on the seat next to me, or holding it differently.

however when connected to my wifi i've never had the phone go above 6.5mbps, usually its 4.5-5.0. where as on the laptop it can hit up to 20mbps.

 

[heavychevy]

What kind of high speed home internet gets 20mbps? My crappy DSL gives me less than 1 mbps. Might as well cut that garbage off and tether my phone.

 

[sitlet]

I never use SpeedTest, they are always wrong. Too many people use it, and their servers cant handle it. I use the XtremeLabs speed test app.

 

[PuRock]

I'm so glad someone brought this up, because this has been bugging me.

I've determined that the Speedtest app is faulty. Because it gets inconsistent and wierd readings during the test. The speakeasy test is usually pretty consistent and makes more sense.

But if someone can figure out an official answer that would be awesome, because this irks me as well.

 

[sag7392]

^

Me too...and I use Speakeasy as well.

 

[ELKay55]

Interesting results...
I always use SpeedTest.net both mobile and at home.
I checked my EVO on my home wireless network, it blew a 11.63Mb/s down while my lap top got 20.64Mb/s download on the same wireless router. Comcast in ATL below

On the Sprint 4G-Clearwire around ATL the best I have gotten down is 3.26 Mb/s.
Will try an alternate test site and repost back
Love the phone, and the connectivity. Great work by HTC and Sprint

 

[Drew5150]

well they both seem inaccurate to me.

the speedtest app seems more consistent to me. over 3g i average 1.2 to 1.5mbps. with speakeasy i see .7-1.2mbps, a larger differential range. over wifi with the speedtest app i see around 4.8mbps with att dsl that is rated max of 6mbps, speakeasy sees 5.1mbps. my hardwired pc at speedtest.net reads 5.1mbps and same for speakeasy. my wifi speeds are what i expect out of my att dsl.

wifi all seems very similar to me with whatever i test it with. mobile networks seem way more variable to me.

also with the speedtest app it does not detect my location correctly. i can not find a server within 1000 miles of where i live. it tells me wichita kansis is 45 miles away... i live in san francisco

 

[bluehaze013]

The Speedtest.net app is flaky as heck, one test it will give 1mb per second next it will give 100kb per second. I think there are too many people using their servers or something.

I have been using the fcc app to test speed.

 

[Clipp]

I think they're both junk. Best way, IMO, is to tether and test speeds on a computer. Testing within the mobile space, whether it's through an app or mobile browser, has always given me varying results.

 

[jkr4577]

also with the speedtest app it does not detect my location correctly. i can not find a server within 1000 miles of where i live. it tells me wichita kansis is 45 miles away... i live in san francisco

Yeah sometimes Ill get defaulted to KS also (Sprint HQ??). Even after the GPS indicator blinks/searches.

 

[jkr4577]

But if someone can figure out an official answer that would be awesome, because this irks me as well.

Yeah I actually "emailed the developer" and asked why the inconsistencies.. I wonder if I get a reply

 

[jkr4577]

Got a response: Here is the email. He acknowledges slower speeds on the phone with Wifi, no mention of WiMax limitations though..

Me:
"Hello. Your Android app never reports the correct speed when connected to Sprint WiMax 4G. WiFi also. Id it designed to only work on cell networks? Does anything need to be optimized to report correct speed?"

Response:
Jeremy,

The program is capable of reporting both 3G and Wifi connection speeds. Phones have limitations that computers do not, so you will typically see slower speeds on your phone vs your computer when connected to Wifi.

If you continue to have problems, uninstall the application and reinstall. Reboot the phone once the reinstall is complete.

Kind Regards,
Andrew @ Speedtest.net

 

[Deleted User]

What kind of high speed home internet gets 20mbps? My crappy DSL gives me less than 1 mbps. Might as well cut that garbage off and tether my phone.

FIOS...

84.75 Mb/s down, 18.28Mb/s up.

If I were getting <1Mb/s from my DSL, I'd just teather too.

 

[myriam]

Yes I think Speedtest is wrong. Today I got 3G seed of 24kbs but I was downloading things and connecting with the INTERNET very fast. It can't be so slow.

 

[malibu23]

u guys do KNOW that these tests are Mb as in megabits not MB as in megabytes...right?
all ISP tests usually run on this scale.

Bit Calculator - Convert between bits/bytes/kilobits/kilobytes/megabits/megabytes/gigabits/gigabytes.

 

[raqball]

What kind of high speed home internet gets 20mbps? My crappy DSL gives me less than 1 mbps. Might as well cut that garbage off and tether my phone.

I get about 21 on my laptop via ATT uVerse...

 

[IOWA]

What kind of high speed home internet gets 20mbps? My crappy DSL gives me less than 1 mbps. Might as well cut that garbage off and tether my phone.

Comcast, ATT, Verizon, Roadrunner.....etc etc

Got a response: Here is the email. He acknowledges slower speeds on the phone with Wifi, no mention of WiMax limitations though..

Me:
"Hello. Your Android app never reports the correct speed when connected to Sprint WiMax 4G. WiFi also. Id it designed to only work on cell networks? Does anything need to be optimized to report correct speed?"

Response:
Jeremy,

The program is capable of reporting both 3G and Wifi connection speeds. Phones have limitations that computers do not, so you will typically see slower speeds on your phone vs your computer when connected to Wifi.

If you continue to have problems, uninstall the application and reinstall. Reboot the phone once the reinstall is complete.

Kind Regards,
Andrew @ Speedtest.net

I've hit 10-12 mbps on my Samsung Moment through wifi.

 

[nRRe]

u guys do KNOW that these tests are Mb as in megabits not MB as in megabytes...right?
all ISP tests usually run on this scale.

Bit Calculator - Convert between bits/bytes/kilobits/kilobytes/megabits/megabytes/gigabits/gigabytes.

yeah people commonly get confused between kiloBITS and kiloBYTES.

8 bits =~ 1 byte.

 

[erijacob]

I've been using speedtest.net for a while on my phone but just learned about speakeasy. I just connected to Chicago 4G on the Evo and got 5mbps down on speakeasy on the first attempt. I then immediately closed it and went over to speedtest.net and got 3mbps down. Seems inconsistent. I feel like speedtest is very inaccurate- if I sit on my phone hitting "Test Again" repeatedly I always get different results each time. It almost seems like the server is sluggish, not my connection

 

[novox77]

FIOS...

84.75 Mb/s down, 18.28Mb/s up.

If I were getting <1Mb/s from my DSL, I'd just teather too.

I'm on Fios as well. unbeatable upstream. Which is good for me because i run several server daemons: apache, tomcat, ftpd, vnc server, mysql, etc.

At home, my evo is connnected to wifi, courtesy of Verizon's fios router. Don't need 4G at home!

 

[meyerweb]

I don't believe any of these tests. They're all highly variable, and they vary too much from each other.

 

[luv2skyout]

First, I luv and hate speed tests. We all want to see how fast our stuff works, but unless you setup a lab in an environment that you can control ALL the variables, you'll never know the true speed. Here are some MAJOR factors: 3G/4G/Cable/DSL/wifi are shared mediums. You are not the only person on that line and must share it with everyone else. Second, I may have a 100Mbps connection with Verzion, but once I go outside their network to somewhere else (general the case), my speeds are affected by every router I cross. Third, many (not all) speed tests simply upload/download a single file such as a jpeg and this is not representative of 'average' traffic of anyone. For example, Speakeasy clearly states not to use their test with lines over 20Mbps, yet I know several people complain to me about this and I keep pointing this out.

So, setup the lab, then let's see what's on the slab!

 

[FatalErrorz]

What kind of high speed home internet gets 20mbps? My crappy DSL gives me less than 1 mbps. Might as well cut that garbage off and tether my phone.

Cable Internets...like Comcast. I get 10.3mbps with a wireless connection. If I plug my laptop into the wall, it is closer to 15mbps a second. I think that's false too because I can download a 5mb song in about 3 seconds.

 

[FatalErrorz]

I'm on Fios as well. unbeatable upstream. Which is good for me because i run several server daemons: apache, tomcat, ftpd, vnc server, mysql, etc.

At home, my evo is connnected to wifi, courtesy of Verizon's fios router. Don't need 4G at home!

Oh yeah...The WiFi's are much faster than the 4G's or LTE's.