Your speed test is hiding what actually makes your internet feel slow

By Gavin Phillips Published Jul 31, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT Gavin is the Segment Lead for the Technology Explained, Security, Internet, Streaming, and Entertainment verticals, former co-host on the Really Useful Podcast, and a frequent product reviewer. He has a degree in Contemporary Writing pillaged from the hills of Devon, more than a decade of professional writing experience, and his work has appeared on How-To Geek , Expert Reviews , Trusted Reviews , Online Tech Tips , and Help Desk Geek , among others. Gavin has attended CES, IFA, MWC, and other tech-trade shows to report directly from the floor, racking up hundreds of thousands of steps in the process. He's reviewed more headphones, earbuds, and mechanical keyboards than he cares to remember, and enjoys copious amounts of tea, board games, and football. Sign in to your MakeUseOf account Add Us Add on Google Preferred Source Google News Summary Generate a summary of this story Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Your last speed test probably told you your internet is fast. It might even be right. Big download and upload numbers are easy to trust, mostly because they're the only numbers on the results page, and they look nice and shiny.