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Speedtest

Quick Fix

Manually select a test server in Portugal

Speedtest defaults to a server in Cyprus for some IP ranges, which makes results look slow. Force a Portugal server to get accurate numbers.

  • In the app / website: manually select a test server located in Portugal.
  • On a Linux server (CLI): 
    # Remove old speedtest-cli
apt-get remove -y speedtest-cli

# Install dependencies
apt install gnupg1 apt-transport-https dirmngr -y

# Install official Ookla speedtest
curl -s https://packagecloud.io/install/repositories/ookla/speedtest-cli/script.deb.sh | bash
sudo apt-get install speedtest

# Run it against a Portugal server
speedtest --server-id=44427

Find server id

Get the current list of servers in Portugal. Change the search parameter to find any other location 

# Install curl and jq
apt install curl jq -y
# Get list of servers in Lisbon
curl -s "https://www.speedtest.net/api/js/servers?engine=js&https_functional=true&limit=1000&search=Lisbon"   | jq '.[] | {id, sponsor, name}'

tl;dr: speedtest results are not accurate without adjustement

Slow network - Wrong speedtest results (Portugal only)

  • Your test server MUST BE in Portugal
  • For some IP ranges, Speedtest sets the test servers in Cyprus

Why? And how to fix?

  • Speedtest sets the test server location based on the ISP location, not the actual datacenter location
  • Since the ISP is registered in Cyprus, Speedtest will run the test over the distance of 3800km, instead of 5km
  • To fix this, you need to manually select a test server in Portugal

Before update (default)

Test server is in Cyprus, 3800km away Speedtest

Updated ISP country to Portugal

After updating to datacenter country, the speedtest results are accurate Speedtest