How to Test Internet Speed and Show it on Taskbar in Windows 11

Whether you are trying to download some files, stream movies, remotely work, play games online, or just surf, knowing your Internet Speed is important because it controls what kind of activities you can do on the internet. Also, testing the internet speed can help you determine whether your router or network adapter working properly as well as help you fix internet-related problems.

There are several ways to test internet speed in Windows 11. You can use the control panel, settings, or PowerShell to find the connection link speed of all your network adapters. Or, you can use a dedicated third-party app or online tools to measure real-time download and upload speed as well as network latency. In this article, we will show you how to check the link speed, and display real-time download and upload speed in Windows 11.

Use “Net Speed Meter” App from Microsoft Store

The Internet Speed monitors allow you to measure your real-time download and upload speed as well as network latency or delay (among other information). There are numerous speed monitors available online (free and paid) that be used to test your network speed. They can also help you track internet usage on your PC.

Microsoft has a free Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app available in Microsoft Store that can be added to the taskbar to monitor your network speed.

First, you need to download and install the Net Speed Meter app from the Microsoft Store.

To do that, click the Start button and select ‘Microsoft Store’ from the Start menu. Or search for ‘Microsoft Store’ in the Windows search and select the top result.

When the Microsoft Store app opens, search for ‘Net Speed Meter’ in the search bar at the top and then select the ‘Net Speed Meter’ app in the search results.

Then, click on the ‘Get’ button on the Net Speed Meter page to install it.

Once the app is downloaded and installed, click the ‘Open’ button to launch it.

If you are asked to keep the ‘Net Speed Meter’ app running on the taskbar, click ‘Yes’. Then, you’ll see Net Speed Meter on the desktop top right corner as shown below. The Speed meter will show you the live download and upload speed.

You can also drag and drop the Network Speed meter wherever you want on your desktop.

You can also find the Network Speed meter app running in the taskbar corner overflow (System tray).

You can move the Network Speed meter to the taskbar by right-clicking on it and selecting ‘Keep in Taskbar’.

The Network Speed Meter UI on the desktop will show you the real-time upload and download speed but not your internet connection’s maximum speed. If you are not actively using the internet or any of your apps are using the internet, the speed meter UI will just show you ‘0.0 kbps’ for download and upload speed.

To fully test your maximum internet speed, right the Network speed meter UI or the icon in the system tray and select the ‘Test Speed’ option.

In the Test Speed dialog window, choose the upload file and download file size with which you want to test the speed. You can also choose the Unit Speed: ‘Byte/s’ or ‘Bit/s’. Then, click the ‘Start Test’ button.

It will take a few seconds to finish the scan and another window will popup to show you the maximum download and upload speed.

Test Your Network Connection Speed Using Windows PowerShell

Windows PowerShell is one of the ways to test your network connection’s link speed. To do that, follow these steps:

Open the Start menu, search for ‘PowerShell’ and open the top result.

When the PowerShell window opens, type the below command or copy-paste the below command and hit Enter:

Get-NetAdapter | select interfaceDescription, name, status, linkSpeed

Once the command is executed, check the ‘LinkSpeed’ column for the speed of different network adapters. If you are connected through WiFi check the Wireless LAN’s link speed or if you are using a wired connection, check the Local Area Network. You can also identify the active network adaptor by the checking Status column which would be ‘UP’.

The link speed is usually the maximum theoretical speed between your device and your local Wi-Fi router but it is not the actual download or upload speed you can get when downloading a file or browsing the internet.

Check Network Adaptor Connection Speed Using Control Panel

You can also check your network adaptor connection speed using Network and Sharing Center.

First, open the ‘Control Panel’ by searching for it in the Windows Search.

In the Control Panel (Category View), select ‘Network and Internet’ settings.

Then, click the ‘Network and Sharing Center’ option.

In the Network and Sharing Center, click on the network connection setting link next to ‘Connections’ you want to see its speed.

Now, you will see the link speed in the network properties window.

Check Network Adapter Speed using Settings

Another way to check your network link speed is through Windows Settings.

First, open Windows Settings by right-clicking the Start button and selecting ‘Settings’.

On the Settings page, go to the ‘Network & Internet’ tab on the left panel and click on the ‘Properties’ option under the connected network on the right side.

On the network page, scroll down to the ‘Link Speed (Receive/Transmit)’ to check the network connection/link speed.

Check Your Internet Speed Using 8GadgetPack

The above PowerShell, Settings, and Control Panel methods will only show your network link speed which will remain the same throughout the connection even if your internet is slow. The link/connection speed is not the same as the download speed/ bandwidth. For example, your broadband provider may tell you that your connection speed is 1 Mbps but the actual speed you will get when downloading a file or browsing is around 100 – 120 Kbps.

The link speed is usually the measure of speed from your computer to the core nodes and your ISP in your region. But the actual internet speed is affected by various factors such as the route the data takes across the internet to reach a particular server/website, the speed of the server, the number of users the server can handle, and low-performing nodes in between, traffic, and others.

The bandwidth (download and upload speed) of the internet is not fixed, it changes throughout the day. Like Network Speed Meter, you can also use the 8GadgetPack widget to test your download and upload speed. Here’s how you can do that:

First, download the 8GadgetPack program from the website. After it’s downloaded, double-click on the ‘8GadgetPackSetup to start the installation.

When the installer opens, click the ‘Install’ button.

If you are prompted by User Account Control, click ‘Yes’ to continue.

After the installation is complete, make sure the ‘Show gadgets when setup exits’ box is checked, and click ‘Finish’.

This will open the 8GadetPack sidebar on the right of the Windows 11 desktop.

If it doesn’t open automatically, open Windows Search, type ‘8GadetPack’, and select the ‘8GadetPack Tools’ app from the result.

Then, select ‘Enable Sidebar’.

Now, you can add any gadget (network meter) you want to your desktop from the pack.

To do that, right-click the sidebar and select the ‘Add gadgets…’ option or click the plus button at the top left corner of the sidebar.

Alternatively, you can also open the 8GadgetPack Tools app and select the ‘Add gadget’ option.

When the gadget pack opens up, use the arrow buttons at the top left corner to scroll through the pages and find the Network meter gadget.

Then, double-click the ‘Network Meter’ gadget from the list to add it to the sidebar.

The network meter will show you the current download and upload speed of the connected network.

You don’t have to keep the gadget in the sidebar, you can click and drag the gadget to any place on your desktop.

Besides these apps, numerous third-party tools can help you test your internet speed and monitor your data usage such as NetSpeedMonitor, NetWorx, DU Meter, etc.

Test Your Internet Speed Online

If you don’t want to install yet another piece of software on your computer, you can one of the various online tools to test your internet speed. You can measure your internet speed in any browser using these online tools.

Speedtest by Ookla is one of the most popular speed test you can use online. Go to the Ookla speedtest website and click the ‘Go’ button.