Help

If you get a measurement result that you are not satisfied with, it is important that you contact your operator directly. Alternatively, you can contact Telecom Advice (Telekområdgivarna) that give impartial and free help to consumers.

There can be many reasons that your measurement results are not the same as the speed you are paying your operator for. A good measurement result is also not a guarantee that you will not experience any problems.

If you have a question not listed here you, please send it in an email so we can add it here. The address can be found under the Other questions section.

Test results

  • Why does it show “Stockholm”, “Göteborg” etcetera in the test result?

    Bredbandskollen is using multiple servers to measure against in Sweden and one in Norway. You can manually select which one to use in “Advanced measure”. If you don’t make any choice we will select the closest server (closest from a networking perspective).

  • Who do I contact if I have issues with my internet connection?

    If you get a test result you are not happy with or if you experience other issues you should start by contacting your ISP.

    If this does not help you may contact Telekområdgivarna who are impartial and provides advisory services free of charge to consumers.

  • Why does it say “Närmaste mätserver” in my measurement result?

    If you measure against the server we call “Närmaste mätserver”, you will always be connected to the server that is nearest to you in terms of network proximity. Currently, in the web measurement, we cannot show you which server you were measuring against, and it always displays “Närmaste mätserver” as the server. In the future, you will be able to see which server you were measuring against.

  • How is the measurement server one tests against chosen?

    If you measure against the server we call “Närmaste mätserver”, you will always end up on the server that is closest to you in network terms. It’s not always the server that is geographically closest to you but depends on how your internet provider’s network is built. For example, if you live in Bollnäs, the test server in Sundsvall is closest geographically, but it may be that your internet provider still routes all traffic meant for us via Stockholm, and then the measurement is made against the server in Stockholm.

    If you still want to test against the geographically nearest server, you can choose the server yourself under “Advanced Measurement”, but in this example, the traffic will still go through Stockholm.

General

  • I have problems running Bredbandskollen, who should I contact?

    If you have problems running Bredbandskollen, please contact us using the contact form you can find on the web page after you have completed a test. Please specify which version of operating system and which web browser you are using.

    If running the app we need to know which mobile device model you are using and what kind of subscription you have.

    Describe your problem as thorough as possible. That will help us to help you.

  • Which Internet Service Provider should I choose?

    Bredbandskollen does not recommend any specific ISP. There are other independent services assisting you, i.e. bredbandsval.se and bredband.se.

  • Can I measure from the terminal?

    To measure connection speed in an environment that is missing a web browser, for example, in a server, you can use our command line interface bbk_cli, which is available for some of the most common operating systems. Read more here Bredbandskollen CLI.

The App

Factors that can influence your surfing speed

  • Where should I place my wireless router?

    Wireless internet is practical but can provide a slower connection than if you use a cable. Make sure that you have a modern router and place it centrally in your home. Try turning the router in different directions and, if possible, change the direction of the antennas during measurements.

  • How do I get a good mobile connection?

    The speed of mobile surfing can vary depending on whether you are surfing indoors, outdoors, or in a car. If you are in the basement, you may get a lower speed than if you are sitting in a room with windows. Other factors that may play a part are the number of users that are surfing in the same area and the distance to base stations.

  • What impact does the number of users have on my surfing speed?

    When you use multiple machines (computer, tablet, mobile phone, broadband tv) on the same connection it is not surprising if some of them have worse speed. All share the same connection, therefore results are not as good as with just one computer.

  • Do I need to update my software?

    Check that you have the latest version of your web browser and uninstall any plugins that might affect the speed. Also check that you have installed the latest updates for your operating system on your computer, tablet or smart phone.

  • What impact may my security settings have?

    Try temporarily disabling any anti-virus software and internal firewalls in your computer. Some browsers are more affected by firewalls and antivirus programs, try using another browser on the same computer.

About Bredbandskollen

  • How much data does a test run use?

    With a stable connection, the test consumes approximately half the amount in megabyte as the measured bandwidth in Mbps. E.g. if the measured bandwidth was 20 Mbps the test used approximately 10 MB of data. With a less stable connection as much as 20 MB may be used in the test.

    N.B. if you are measuring over 5G you may reach speeds above 1000 Mbps. The data transferred will then exceed 1000 MB which will impact your available data volume if you don’t have a subscription with unlimited data.

  • Can I perform tests over IPv6?

    If you have access to IPv6 you can start the test over IPv6 by selecting it in the “Advanced measure” section.

    Please note that you will receive an error message if you enable IPv6 and run the test without having access to IPv6.

  • How is my test result evaluated?

    When you have performed a test with Bredbandskollen you will in addition to the measurement get a grading of how well your internet connection performs relative the speed your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has committed to. To get a pass for the measurement it needs to be over the lower limit stated in the subscription from your ISP. An acceptable result is 80-85% of the maximum committed bandwidth.

    If we can’t automatically get the speed of your subscription from your ISP you may manually enter data about it to be able to evaluate it.

  • Who’s the owner of Bredbandskollen?

    Bredbandskollen is a free tool for internet users and is run by The Swedish Internet Foundation which is an independent, private foundation that works for the positive development of the internet. Read more here.

  • What is Surfkartan and how is it working?

    All measurements done from a mobile phone using the app are saved in a database. The results are displayed in Surfkartan which is a map that’s supposed to give an overview of the actual bandwidth in the cellular networks.

    You can choose yourself if you like to share your location with us, in the privacy settings in your mobile device. You will of course still be able to run the test no matter what option you select.

  • How is a measurement performed?

    Measurements in Bredbandskollen are performed by sending random data between your internet browser and the test server over the web sockets protocol (ws://). The available bandwidth is calculated by dividing the amount of transmitted data by the duration of the test in seconds. A measurement takes 20 seconds (both download and upload).

    If you encounter any problems during the test you might get a result that is lower than the actual bandwidth.

    We have test servers located in Sundsvall, Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö and Oslo. The selection of which test server your test will be performed against is automatically done to the closest one from a network perspective.

    You can manually select a test server in the “Advanced measure” section.

  • Does Bredbandskollen cooperate with ISPs or other parties?

    Some Internet Service Providers provides us with characteristics about your internet connection and we share the result of your test with them. If you get an automatic evaluation, it implies that this is the case.

    Authorities, regions and municipalities may purchase anonymised measurement data from Bredbandskollen. The purpose is that they will use this data to make mobile operators improve their coverage and speed where our data indicates that it is necessary.

    Upon request from research institutes, studying the development of internet infrastructure, we share anonymized measurement data.

    Read more in our Privacy Policy.

  • How is a measurement conducted?

    Measurements in Bredbandskollen are carried out by sending messages consisting of meaningless data between the browser and the measurement server via websockets (the ws:// protocol). The speed is then calculated by dividing the amount of data sent by the number of seconds the measurement lasted. The measurement lasts for 20 seconds (10 seconds for the uplink test and 10 seconds for the downlink test). If you happen to have a temporary problem when the measurement is taking place, your actual speed may be higher than what Bredbandskollen shows.

    The measurement in Sweden is done against the network-wise nearest of our measurement servers (which are located in Gothenburg, Malmö, Oslo, Stockholm, and Sundsvall).

    You can choose to use a different measurement server than the one Bredbandskollen has chosen for you, which can be done in the Advanced measurement menu.

Security and Integrity

  • Is it safe to use Bredbandskollen?

    Yes, due to the use of javascript in bredbandskollen.se we can’t use encrypted communication (https) between the web browser and server. However, no sensitive information are transmitted during the test as we are using random data to transmit.

    Read more about our privacy policy here.

  • Do I need to share my location data?

    If you allow the app to use your location, your position will be stored in the database. The accuracy of the position may vary between a few meters and a few hundred meters. If you do not want your location stored, you can choose to not allow this in the settings on your phone. You can then continue to do the measurement on the app, but you will not be able to see other measurements near you.

Other questions