01 · Measure
How the Internet Health Check works
Most speed tests give you one number. Hyndr checks how fast, how quick to respond and how steady your connection is, then turns the results into one clear score. Here is what happens from the moment you press start.
The six stages of a Health Check
You can watch each stage on the Health Check as it happens.
- Get ready
Hyndr checks that the service is available and finds the test server that responds fastest to you.
- Ping
Your browser sends many small requests to the server while the connection is quiet and times each reply. This shows how quickly your connection responds. What is ping?
- Jitter
Hyndr compares those reply times with each other. If they jump around a lot, your connection is unsteady. What is jitter?
- Download speed
The server sends test data to your browser for a few seconds. Hyndr measures how much arrives each second, and keeps checking ping at the same time.
- Upload speed
Your browser sends generated test data to the server, again checking ping while the upload is running.
- Analysis
Hyndr checks every measurement is reliable, calculates your score and explains what the results mean for everyday activities.
Good to know: Hyndr measures ping using secure web requests, the same way websites and apps talk to servers. It is not the same as the "ping" command on a computer, so the numbers can differ slightly from other tools.
How the test server is chosen
A test server is the computer your browser talks to during the check. Hyndr tests the available servers and picks the one that answers fastest.
That is not always the nearest city. Internet traffic follows cables and agreements between networks, so data to a city 200 km away can sometimes travel a longer route than data to a city 800 km away.
You can choose a different server from the list. A server further away will usually show a higher ping, and the result always shows which server was used.
Test data, data usage and privacy
- Hyndr only sends generated test data. It never reads, scans or uploads your personal files.
- A full check uses up to 200 MB of data, and usually less. Each stage stops early once it has enough reliable measurements.
- Uploaded test data is thrown away by the server straight after it is measured.
- You can cancel at any time, and the transfer stops as quickly as possible.
If you are on mobile data, the check counts towards your allowance. Read what Hyndr saves for the full privacy details.
Why Hyndr tests ping while the connection is busy
Many speed tests only measure ping when the connection is quiet. Real life is rarely quiet: someone is streaming, a phone is backing up photos, a game is updating.
So Hyndr also measures ping during the download and upload. If ping jumps from 20 ms to 200 ms when the connection is busy, video calls and games will struggle, even with a fast download speed. This is called loaded latency, and a big jump is often caused by bufferbloat.
| Measurement | Result |
|---|---|
| Ping when quiet | 18 ms |
| Ping during upload | 82 ms |
| Added delay while busy | 64 ms |
How the score is calculated
Each of the five areas gets its own score from 0 to 10. Hyndr then combines them using fixed weights to give your overall Internet Health score out of 10.
| Area | Weight | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Ping | 25% | How quickly everything reacts |
| Download speed | 20% | Loading, streaming and downloading |
| Upload speed | 20% | Video calls, sending files and backups |
| Delay while busy | 20% | How well the connection copes when shared |
| Jitter | 15% | How steady the connection feels |
One weak area cannot hide behind a fast speed. If any main area scores very low (0–2), your overall score cannot go above 5.0. If one scores low (3–4), it cannot go above 6.5. When this happens, the result tells you why.
The rules are fixed and published. The same measurements always give the same score, and every result shows the version of the rules that produced it. What does my score mean?
Confidence and missing measurements
Before a measurement can affect your score, Hyndr checks that it is trustworthy. A stage may not be used if:
- The browser tab was hidden or the device went to sleep.
- Your connection changed during the test, for example from Wi-Fi to mobile data.
- The test server became too busy.
- There were too few samples, or the values varied too much to be meaningful.
When a measurement is missing, Hyndr shows Not available. It never fills the gap with a zero. If an important measurement is missing, you get an Incomplete result instead of a misleading score, and a suggestion to test again.
How to get the most accurate result
- Pause downloads, streaming, game updates and cloud backups on all devices.
- Keep the Health Check tab open and on screen until it finishes.
- Turn off any VPN unless you want to test through it.
- To test your internet line itself, use a device connected to the router with an Ethernet cable.
- To test your Wi-Fi, run the check from the room where you usually have problems.
- Run two or three checks at different times of day to see the real pattern.
What the Health Check cannot measure
A Health Check measures the route between your device and one test server, at one moment. It cannot measure every website, game server or app, and a browser cannot see everything a dedicated network tool can, such as true packet loss.
One result can help you spot a pattern, but it is not legal proof that your internet provider is at fault. Wi-Fi conditions, your device, background activity, the selected server and the route between them can all affect a result. Repeat the check at different times and, when possible, compare Wi-Fi with Ethernet before drawing a conclusion.
Read the full accuracy and limitations page for details.