At some point during your everyday pandemic life, or before for that matter, you probably had a reason to check your internet speed and came across Ookla’s Speedtest website. It’s one of the OG of its kind and is among the first search results when you type “internet speed test” on Google.
Well, the company also has an app for both Android and iOS. In February this year, Ookla added a new feature to it that allowed you to test how well your device could stream video. Unfortunately, it was only available for iOS, but now it’s finally been added to Android as well.
If you’ve ever dared to dabble in the intricate world of internet connectivity, most likely you were left with an overwhelming feeling. Knowing your download and upload speeds gives you a basic overall map, but both of these stats can be affected by several factors.
How does Speedtest test streaming capabilities?
Speedtest’s new Video Testing tool (new for Android) takes into account all of the factors, including network traffic, bandwidth, your device’s hardware, and more. If you are having trouble with streaming video, Ookla’s app will tell you where that might be coming from and even give you tips on combating the issue.If you tap on the Video tab at the bottom of the app’s homepage, you will get a prompt. The prompt explains that a few short clips will play to help determine the best video quality your network can handle.
After clicking OK, the app starts the process and increases the resolution with every clip. Once finished, you will get the maximum video resolution that you can stream alongside load time information.
Of course, you can always rely on the simple download and upload speeds. If you are not too tech-savvy though, it would probably be easier to get your results in plain English. The best part, in my opinion, is that you can use the tool to pinpoint the reason behind that ever-so-annoying buffer icon.
