02 · Understand
Understand your internet results
What does 35 ms ping mean? Is 8 ms jitter good? This guide explains every number in your Health Check, what counts as good, and what it means for calls, gaming and streaming.
Your Internet Health score
Your score from 0 to 10 combines five measurements into one easy number. Each score comes with a level name, so you never have to rely on colour alone.
| Score | Level | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0 – 10 | Excellent | Fast, responsive and steady. Handles almost anything, even when shared. |
| 7.5 – 8.9 | Good | Works well for most homes. You may notice small slowdowns when it is busy. |
| 5.5 – 7.4 | Fair | Fine for everyday use, but calls, gaming or several users may struggle. |
| 3.0 – 5.4 | Poor | You will probably notice problems. At least one area needs attention. |
| 0 – 2.9 | Critical | Serious problems with speed, response or stability. |
| No score | Incomplete | An important measurement could not be taken reliably. Test again. |
Why is my score lower than my speed suggests? One very weak area limits the overall score, even if everything else is great. For example, a very high delay while busy keeps the score at 5.0 or below. Your result explains when this happens. See how the score is calculated.
Each measurement explained
These ranges are a rough guide based on Hyndr's scoring rules. Every home is different, and individual apps and services can need more or less.
| Measurement | Great | OK | May cause problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download speed | 50 Mbps or more | 10 – 49 Mbps | Below 10 Mbps |
| Upload speed | 20 Mbps or more | 5 – 19 Mbps | Below 5 Mbps |
| Ping | 40 ms or less | 41 – 100 ms | Above 100 ms |
| Jitter | 5 ms or less | 6 – 20 ms | Above 20 ms |
| Delay while busy | 25 ms or less | 26 – 100 ms | Above 100 ms |
Download speed
How fast data reaches you, in megabits per second (Mbps). It affects loading websites, streaming video and downloading files. If several people share your connection, you need more. Learn more
Upload speed
How fast data leaves your device. Your camera and voice in a video call, photo backups and live streaming all use upload. Many plans have much less upload than download, so this is a common weak spot. Learn more
Ping
How long a reply takes to come back from the server when your connection is quiet, in milliseconds (ms). Lower ping means things react faster when you click, talk or play. Learn more
Jitter
How much your ping changes from one moment to the next. Low jitter means a steady connection. High jitter causes choppy calls and sudden lag spikes, even when the average ping looks fine. Learn more
Delay while busy
How much extra ping appears while your connection is downloading or uploading. Hyndr shows the bigger of the two. This is the number that explains why a call breaks up when someone else starts a download. Learn more
What your result means for everyday activities
Different activities need different things. Your result shows whether each activity should work well, may have problems, or could not be checked.
| Activity | What matters most | Starting guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Browsing | Download, ping | 5 Mbps download and ping up to 150 ms |
| Video calls | Upload, ping, jitter | 5 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, ping up to 100 ms, jitter up to 30 ms |
| Streaming | Download | 5 Mbps for SD, 10 Mbps for Full HD, 25 Mbps for 4K |
| Gaming | Ping, jitter, delay while busy | Ping up to 60 ms, jitter up to 15 ms, added delay up to 100 ms |
| Work from home | Upload, calls, delay while busy | 10 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, plus good call measurements |
| Uploading and live streaming | Upload, stability | 10 Mbps up for regular uploads, 20 Mbps or more for large ones |
These are starting guides. Each service, game or platform has its own needs, and a game server far away will add ping that Hyndr cannot see.
Common result patterns, and what they mean
"My speed is fast, but games and calls still lag"
Look at delay while busy and jitter. If ping jumps a lot during download or upload, the connection is fast but struggles when it is shared. This is often bufferbloat.
"Netflix works fine, but my video calls freeze"
Streaming mostly uses download. Calls also need upload. A low upload speed or high delay during upload is the usual cause.
"Ping is good, but jitter is high"
Responses are usually quick but sometimes slow. Wi-Fi interference, a weak signal or other devices on the network are common causes. Try a cable or move closer to the router.
"Ping is high everywhere"
Check which test server was used. A distant server adds ping. If ping stays high on a nearby server and on a wired connection, the delay may be on the route to your provider.
"My result is much lower than my plan speed"
Plans are sold as "up to" a speed. Wi-Fi, the device and other users often lower the result. Test over Ethernet with other devices paused before comparing with your plan.
For step-by-step fixes, see how to improve your connection.
Result confidence
Every result shows how much you can trust it:
- High: every stage finished with steady measurements.
- Medium: every stage finished, but some values changed a lot. Testing again can help.
- Low: important measurements may be unreliable. Do not draw firm conclusions.
- Incomplete: an important stage failed or was cancelled, so there is no score.
"Not available" means a measurement could not be taken reliably. Hyndr never shows a fake zero in its place.
What to do next
- Good or Excellent: nothing to fix. Test again if problems come back, to compare.
- Fair, Poor or Critical: follow the recommendations in your result, then see the troubleshooting guide.
- Low confidence or Incomplete: pause other activity, keep the tab open and run the check again.
One result is a snapshot. Running a few checks at different times gives a clearer picture. See the test accuracy and limitations.