Latency is also measured while the upload test is in progress to see how it is affected by upload activity on your network, like someone on your home network uploading a year’s worth of photos.

Latency is measured while the download test is in progress to see how it is affected by download activity on your network, like a household member downloading a large game while you’re trying to work. This test at the beginning of your Speedtest measures the response of a request on your network as if it is not in use. The loaded latency test measures ping during three stages, giving you a convenient, easy to use way to better understand your network experience.

Our new latency test measures loaded latency, giving a more nuanced picture of responsiveness and what the bottlenecks in your connection really are. Instead, you might find yourself with a laptop, tablet, phone, TV and even other smart devices connected to Wi-Fi all at once. However, we’re no longer living in a world where one device is connected to one router. A simple measure, labeled “ping,” has been at the top of the app next to download speed. Which means poor latency is becoming more obvious as the internet gets faster and more devices are connected online. These days, many folks have faster connections but there’s still a disconnect between asking their device to perform an action online and having it complete that action. However, it has often been difficult to tell the difference between a slow connection and a high latency as both can delay you from getting what you want from the internet. Latency has always mattered to online experience. An example of how this works in online gaming is when you ask your character to move - if your character moves almost immediately, you have a low latency, if there is a delay in your character completing that movement, you might have a high latency. A low latency means the server is responding quickly to your request whereas a high latency means a slow response. Latency (sometimes called ping) measures how quickly your device gets a response after you’ve sent out a request. That something is often latency and we at Ookla® have recently redesigned how Speedtest® measures latency to give you better access to this essential metric. As speeds increase globally, it’s becoming increasingly obvious to many that something is still getting in the way of the seamless video calls, streaming, and gaming we dream of. Latency can seem like a sleeper metric - one that you may not think about when you’re troubleshooting your connections but one that deeply affects your online experience.

Ookla speed test download