How to Check a Hotel WiFi Hotspot With a Mobile Speed Test

Almost all modern hotels have a WiFi hotspot. The problem is finding it, connecting to it, and using it (safely of course). Plus, hotel Internet is notorious for being bad (and not very secure). So, a mobile speed test on a laptop, smartphone, or tablet can save some time and frustration — and even some money.

What’s a Mobile Speed Test?

A mobile speed test is a handy tool to check the Internet connection speed of your phone, laptop, or tablet. You can use a speed test to analyze WiFi at any hotel, airport, or university. Not only will it analyze your WiFi signal, it will also check the amount of bandwidth your hotel provides. This information can be highly valuable before downloading, using VoIP, or streaming video. The higher the download results, the better. Look for a few Mbps (1-3 Mbps, at least), and don’t worry too much about upload results.

Because of HTML5 technology, the speed test works on any device (with no download requirements). Plus, the Internet speed test is ideal for devices that do not support Flash and Java applets. Not only will the speed test work on any device, it’s responsive, meaning it will configure automatically to any screen size (for example, the iPhone, iPad Mini, Kindle, Surface, and Nexus).

How Do I Check My Hotel WiFi Hotspot?

Here a few steps to follow when checking Internet performance at a hotel WiFi hotspot:

1. Get the WiFi password.
2. Open the WiFi connection on your laptop, tablet, or phone and log in.
3. Once you have a connection, open a browser window on your device.
4. Go to www.bandwidthplace.com.
5. Perform a speed test.
6. Use the Internet.

Remember, your signal could be lousy in your room, but that might not be the case with the lobby WiFi. The speed test can check performance anywhere, so give it a try, and compare your previous results.