Windows 11 can now run an internet speed test inside Quick Settings and show your download speed, upload speed, and ping without leaving the desktop. Until now, the speed test shortcut in the taskbar annoyingly opened Bing’s speed test page in your default browser, and Microsoft is finally replacing it with a native flyout in Insider Experimental build 26340.9767.
I’ve been testing the new speed test flyout since I got the build on October 23, and it works as expected without any hiccups, even in different taskbar positions.
Windows 11’s new speed test runs inside Quick Settings
According to the release notes for build 26340.9767, Insiders “can now run an internet speed test and see the results directly in Quick Settings, without being redirected to a browser.” You can start it from the new Speed test tile in Quick Settings, from the Wi-Fi or Cellular flyout, or by right-clicking the network icon on the taskbar and selecting Test internet speed.
When you click Test, the flyout goes through finding a server, measuring ping, then testing download and upload speeds, with a gauge that goes all the way up to 1000+ Mbps.
My Virtual Machine’s Ethernet connection came in at 31.5 Mbps download, 34.4 Mbps upload, and 32 ms ping. Not the fastest numbers, but good enough for a hotel room, and also accurate, as I have tested the speed on my two Android devices and got the same results. The results showed up in less than 30 seconds.
The flyout looks like it belongs in the Windows shell. It looks good in both light and dark themes, and it worked perfectly even after I moved the taskbar to other edges of the screen.
Windows 11’s old speed test was just a Bing shortcut
Microsoft first tested a “Perform speed test” option in the network menu in September 2025, and clicking it opened Bing.com in your default browser with results for “internet speed test.” It later rolled out to everyone with the February 2026 optional update and the March security update, still as a shortcut to Bing.com.
Well, anyone can open a browser and search for a speed test, so the shortcut didn’t save any time. It was one more way to get people onto Bing.
The new build renames the option to “Test internet speed,” and clicking it doesn’t force open the browser; instead, it stays in Quick Settings.
Speedtest by Ookla still powers it, but without Bing
Clicking the small info (i) button at the top right of the flyout shows that the test is powered by Speedtest. Funnily enough, the Bing results page that the old shortcut opened also used Ookla’s Speedtest, so the engine is the one we already had, minus the browser and the Bing branding.
Microsoft says the test runs against your active internet connection, so the numbers reflect what your PC is getting at that moment. It won’t tell you why your Wi-Fi is slow, but for a quick check before a call or a big download, it’s all most people need.
Windows 11 is leaning less on Bing, even as Bing hits 1 billion users
Ironically, the change comes months after Satya Nadella said on Microsoft’s FY2026 Q3 earnings call that Bing crossed 1 billion monthly active users. Earlier this year, Microsoft also gave Windows 11’s new Search a toggle to turn off Bing web results, which also made local searches noticeably faster.
Of course, Bing isn’t going anywhere, and Microsoft hasn’t said why it rebuilt the speed test. Still, two Windows 11 features that used to push you to Bing now work without it, and both got better for it.
To get the new Speed test feature in Quick Settings, you need to be on Windows 11 Insider Experimental Preview Build 26340.9767 or newer.
Even after installing the build, I didn’t get the new speed test. I had to go to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program > Feature flags and set “Quick Settings Speed Test” to Enabled. Microsoft is using Controlled Feature Rollout here, and it hasn’t said when the feature will reach regular Windows 11 PCs.
I can almost hear the naysayers: “This should’ve been the way when they launched such a shortcut”. Yes, I agree, but they finally fixed it. And I feel more confident in Windows 11 than ever before.
Microsoft hasn’t mentioned when this will reach regular PCs, but I hope it ships soon, because it already works well no matter how many times I tested it.
