The most common factor we see with speed issues is that the testing is not being performed accurately. To investigate your broadband speed issue it's vital that we have the most accurate data, so we recommend performing some isolated speed tests. These instructions will guide you through what you need to do.
Before you begin:
- Please refer to our speed guide for more clarification on the speed expectations for your service type: http://voyager.nz/speedguide
- We do not recommend using a mobile phone for your speed testing.
- If you are connected by WiFi (wireless) to your router, then this is not an accurate method to determine the speed of your broadband connection. We cannot accept WiFi speed test results as there are factors outside our control between your device and your router that will impact WiFi performance such as:
- The distance from your device to your router
- WiFi signal/band type - 2.4Ghz/5Ghz
- Building obstructions
- Electromagnetic interference
- Appliance interference (eg. microwaves)
- Test results must be taken from a cabled computer to the router.
Do you have the right devices to test with?
Your Modem/Router:
- Check if the router is capable of handling the speed of your connection.
For Fibre, we recommend using a router with a Gigabit WAN port.
Ensure your router is configured with:
- MTU: 1492
- MSS: 1452
The Device you test from:
- For your speed test, you will require a computer or laptop with a Gigabit network interface
- You can check if your computer supports gigabit by referring to our online guide here: http://voyager.nz/nicgb
- A computer with an SSD Hard drive is recommended. If the computer has a rotating hard disk drive then it's performance may bottleneck speed testing for Fibre services.
- The other hardware on the computer should also be current (CPU, RAM). If the hardware is out of date or of low performance, this will impact the results.
Cables to use:
Always use a Cat 5e or Cat 6 Ethernet cable.
Isolate your connection
- Connect your computer or laptop directly to the modem with an Ethernet cable and if possible temporarily disable the computer's WiFi.
- Make sure you have a suitable Ethernet cable for your testing. We recommend using either a Cat5e or Cat6 Cable.
- If you have any Firewalls or other Security Programs on the computer, please consider disabling these temporarily during the testing.
- Make sure there are no other devices connected to your router by either an Ethernet cable or WiFi while you perform the testing as their activity will impact your results.
Perform a speed test
Do a speed test to the servers listed below at different times throughout the day (Morning, Midday, & Evening).
Test from: http://speedtest.net/
Test to these servers:
- Voyager Auckland
- Spark Auckland
Check your results
Take a screenshot of each result or just write down the latency (Ping), Upload (Mbps) and Download (Mbps) results.
Example result for a 200/20 Fibre (UFB) connection:
Still having issues?
You can now perform the Ookla (speedtest.net) speed testing from the command line. This may overcome some performance issues that may be affecting older computers.
You can download or install the speed test here for your operating system: https://www.speedtest.net/apps/cli
Here are the instructions for the Windows version:
1) Click on 'Download for Windows' and download the Zip file.
2) Once you've downloaded the Zip file, extract the files inside and execute the speedtest.exe file.
You may be prompted by security applications such as Windows Defender. If you are happy to proceed, allow the application to run.
3) You might also be prompted to agree to the Speedtest.net TCs. If you are happy to proceed, type 'yes' and press enter.
4) The speed test will execute and show you the results as it runs, but it will close once the test is completed so ensure to note the results quickly.
5) Otherwise, you can open command prompt and navigate to the speedtest.exe file to execute it.
6) You can execute the following commands to test to these servers specifically:
- Voyager Auckland: speedtest.exe -s 18822
- Spark Auckland: speedtest.exe -s 11327
7) If the test results are not as expected for your service, if possible please review testing with another compatible router that you may have access to (Preferably a different make or model to eliminate the router as being the possible cause of the problem).
Get in touch
If you are experiencing any difficulty with any of these instructions, give us a call on 0800 477 333 (8AM to 10PM, 7 days a week).