From WiFi radio
to real video player.

Layered measurement — WiFi radio, IP, transport, applications, CDN, real video player. Each layer cross-checks the others.

Get the App — Mac / Windows / iOS / Android How it works
  1. You hit go
  2. howismywifi does the work
  3. Results & analysis
    The apps publish by default · opt-out details

Link characterization — and what it means for video

Probes run continuously in the background. Video tests — our own stream, YouTube and Netflix — run inside scheduled rounds (YouTube also on demand), so you see both the wire and the app.

Video Playback

The device’s own player streams a short clip from our server and measures startup time, stalls and buffer — the same clips everywhere, so the same kind of device compares like with like across links (iPhone, Android, Mac and the command-line tool; Windows from its next release). On desktop, a headless Chromium player also loads YouTube for its startup, the resolution it actually picked, stalls and ABR switches, with a no-browser fallback that estimates streamable resolution from segment download speed.

Netflix Max Bitrate

Discovers Netflix Open Connect endpoints via fast.com and measures throughput from the same servers that serve Netflix video. Reports 4K / 1080p / 720p / SD from the Mbps one connection gets, the way a single video stream would. Alternate runs use four connections to the same server, which tells a per-connection video cap from a whole-device one (Windows app: next release) — per-CDN throttling invisible to generic speed tests.

Adaptive Throughput

Round-based scheduler front-loads measurement — up to 3 rounds in the first 5 min, 5 per 30-min cycle. Our own four-stream speed test (4s default, 12s on GEO) with on-demand “test now” trigger. Falls back to Cloudflare, then Akamai, when rate limits block it.

Latency & Loss

ICMP ping at 5/sec to gateway and internet — 36,000 samples/hour vs ~720 from a typical SLA probe. Loaded-latency (bufferbloat) split as gateway vs internet, and PEP/ICMP-proxy detection for satellite links.

Multi-Protocol

UDP, TCP, HTTP, and QUIC probes run concurrently. QUIC reveals TCP proxy presence on satellite links — something single-protocol testing can’t show.

WiFi Signal & Path

RSSI, noise floor, channel, MCS, spatial streams sampled continuously. Traceroute every 30s catches routing changes and beam handovers, not just a single snapshot.

Built for these links

Tested and tuned for the full range of connectivity environments

~750 ms RTT

GEO Satellite

~50 ms RTT

LEO Satellite

50–750 ms

In-Flight WiFi

~80 ms RTT

Hotel / Public

~35 ms RTT

Campus / Office

Coverage by layer

What each layer is actually measuring — not just how many probes

One-shot speed test

  • —WiFi radio—
  • —IP / path—
  • ✓TransportTCP only
  • —App / DNS—
  • ✓CDN1 source
  • —Real video player—

Standard SLA test

  • —WiFi radio—
  • ✓IP / pathICMP
  • ✓TransportTCP only
  • —App / DNS—
  • ✓CDN1 source
  • —Real video player—

howismywifi

  • ✓WiFi radioRSSI, MCS, NSS, PHY
  • ✓IP / pathICMP + traceroute
  • ✓TransportTCP + UDP + QUIC
  • ✓App / DNSHTTP + DNS + canaries
  • ✓CDN4 sources
  • ✓Real video playerOur stream + YouTube + Netflix

Ready to capture?

Available for macOS, Windows, iOS, Android (beta), and as a Python CLI.

Get the App How it works