What is jitter, when testing your internet speed? | Test here your Jitter

Have you ever done an internet speed test and seen the measurement called Jitter? Have you ever wondered what it is and why it is also being measured?

In this blog, we will cover as much as possible to give you a basic understanding of what jitter is, how you can measure it, and the acceptable jitter speeds and we will also talk about the difference between ping speed and jitter speed.

What is jitter on speed test?

Jitter is a term used to measure the variation or inconsistency of your ping speed. In other words, it measures how consistent your ping speed is. 

If we dive a little deeper into understanding what jitter is we need to know that everything that happens online comes down to packages that are being sent and received over a network.

We will use an example to explain jitter and why it happens.

Imagine your internet being a road that is supposed to take you from place A to place B and in this example, you are a package that needs to go to place B and then back to place A.

If the road is empty, you will reach there faster than if the road is bustling. It will take some time to reach there if the road has holes or there is a traffic jam.

This traffic jam or hole can only be in one part of the road but not the entire road.

So parts will be faster than other parts.

This inconsistency in speed is called jitter. You can experience jitter the most when you stream, call, or video call over the internet. It won’t matter as much when you are just sending a text or an email. Jitter is measured in milliseconds (ms).

What is jitter in internet speed?

In networking, jitter is a measure of the variation in the delay between data packets. It is often measured in milliseconds (ms). Jitter can be caused by a number of factors, including:

• Network congestion: When there is a lot of traffic on a network, packets can be delayed or dropped. This can lead to jitter.
• Poor quality of service (QoS): If the network does not have good QoS, packets can be delayed or dropped, which can lead to jitter.
• Physical distance: The further a packet has to travel, the more likely it is to be delayed. This can lead to jitter.

Jitter can have a number of negative effects on network performance, including:

• Reduced throughput: Jitter can cause packets to be delayed or dropped, which can reduce the throughput of the network.
• Increased latency: Jitter can increase the latency of the network, which can make it feel sluggish.
• Increased packet loss: Jitter can increase the packet loss of the network, which can lead to errors and dropped connections.

What causes jitter?

A valid question you may ask is what causes jitter, and there are several reasons. We will use the example above to go through the reasons why jitter occurs.

Hopefully, this gives you an understanding of why there is a jitter in your network and some pointers on how to fix them.

Low Bandwidth

If a road is too small, it cannot handle a lot of traffic right? In the same way, if your bandwidth is too low it takes longer for packages to reach their destination. If this is the reason for your jitter, you may want to consider upgrading your internet bandwidth to solve this problem.

Busy Network

Just like when a road is too busy and slows you down from reaching your destination, the same way it is with networks. This also slows down packages being sent and received in time and causes jitter. If this is the case, you may want to check what keeps your network busy and try to minimize that as much as possible.

Poor hardware performance

Using old and unreliable cars with issues can be very challenging when you need to reach your destination.

So does use old hardware or hardware with issues. It could be an outdated driver, a router, a switch, or a cable.

All of that will make a difference when we talk about jitter. If this is the case, make sure that you check your devices frequently and make sure they perform to the best of their capabilities.

WiFi Connection

Using a WiFi connection can be a challenging factor to troubleshoot but could also cause jitter in your network.

There are many factors for a healthy connection and sometimes the position of your router or even a wall in your house could make a great difference in jitter. 

A tip to simply know if you get jitter because of your wifi connection or your network itself is to switch to using a cable and testing again.

If that solves the problem you may want to consider relocating your router or your device to get the best possible WiFi connection.

If there is no way you can change that, you may consider using a cable connection instead of a WiFi connection.

Test your jitter | Jitter speed tester

How do I check my Internet jitter?

With all of this information about jitter, I know you got very curious and would like to know how you can test if you have jitter on your network. Here are some ways to test your network jitter.

Using a speed test service like www.speedtestgo.com will not only tell you what your download and upload speed is but will also tell you what your ping speed and jitter speed is. This is an easy way to know what your jitter speed is.

Another way of knowing what your jitter speed it is to calculate the average time difference between your ping speed after 24 ping speed tests in a sequence.

The ping speed of the second ping minus the ping speed of the first ping gives a difference, as does the ping speed of the third ping minus the ping speed of the second, and so on.

After you have calculated all of these time differences you calculate the average and that is called your jitter speed.

What is wifi jitter?

In networking, wifi jitter is the variation in the delay between data packets sent over a Wi-Fi network. It is often measured in milliseconds (ms).

What is a good jitter speed for gaming?

A good and acceptable jitter speed is below 30 ms. The lower the jitter speed is, the better your connection is and the better your gaming experience will be.

Higher jitter speeds may cause your video games to lag and decrease your gaming experience. If your jitter is too high, the game server may disconnect you from playing the game.

What is the difference between jitter and ping?

Ping is used to measure the quality of your network. The difference between ping and jitter is that jitter measures the variation or inconsistency in ping over a certain amount of time while ping measures the time it takes for a package to be sent and received from one device to another.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have learned today that jitter is the variation or inconsistency between ping and is a measurement to determine the quality of your internet connection.

We have also learned why jitter happens and some basic steps to undertake to solve those issues. We have also learned how to calculate or measure jitter in your network.

An acceptable measure for jitter is below 30ms and we have also explained the difference between jitter and ping.

We hope that this gives a better understanding of what jitter is.

Shawn Stolting

The visionary founder behind SpeedtestGo, an innovative platform dedicated to helping users measure and optimize their internet speed. With a deep-rooted love for technology and a mission to empower individuals with reliable internet connections, Shawn has created a remarkable space where users can test their internet speed and gain valuable insights and information through engaging blog content.

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