Windows 11 is getting a new feature called “Perform speed test,” which, as the name suggests, performs a speed test of your internet connection. As much as I like the idea, it turns out that the feature is just a shortcut to Bing.com’s internet speed test tool. When you tap on speed test, it opens Bing.com in your default browser.
As spotted by Phantom on X, Microsoft quietly added the internet speed test feature to preview builds.
I installed all recent builds of Windows 11 and noticed that it’s possible to turn on the “Perform speed test” button for the taskbar in version 25H2 (Dev channel), but is it really worth the hassle?
There are two ways to open the “Perform speed test” feature in Windows 11. First, if you right-click the internet (Ethernet/Wi-Fi) icon on the taskbar, you’ll now see a “Perform speed test” button in addition to the existing Diagnose network problem and Network and Internet settings.
Second, you can open the network flyout. There, you’ll find the “Perform speed test” button next to Refresh.
When you tap on the shortcut, Bing automatically opens with search results for “internet speed test.” For those unaware, Microsoft Bing previously shipped a homegrown internet test feature powered by Azure, but it was replaced with Ookla’s Speedtest.
Microsoft and Ookla have a partnership to host its Speedtest widget on Bing. The two companies formed the partnership in 2023. If you click on the “Speedtest” icon on Bing.com, it redirects to Ookla’s website. So the toggle on the Windows 11 taskbar is just a shortcut to Bing’s web test, which itself is based on Ookla’s Speedtest.
As much as I want Microsoft to build native features for Windows 11, it does make sense to use Bing’s built-in capability. That’s because at the end of the day, we’re performing an internet search, and what’s a better place than using a search engine? Also, it’s another way to increase traffic to Bing. Microsoft also uses Bing to promote Edge.
At the same time, what if you want to use the “speed test” as a way to diagnose if something in your browser is clogging the internet speed? In that case, you might prefer a native solution.
Can you use Windows Terminal to perform an internet speed test instead?
Thankfully, if you prefer an open-source terminal-based alternative, you can use LibreSpeed to stress test your internet connection on Windows. Just use the following command (invokes Winget) to install LibreSpeed:
winget install --id=LibreSpeed.librespeed-cli -e
Once you’ve installed LibreSpeed, you can use the following commands:
librespeed-cli --json # list servers / choose one: librespeed-cli --list librespeed-cli --server <ID>
LibreSpeed works equally well and aligns with Bing’s results, but of course, Bing.com’s speed test button is more than enough for most use cases.
