Charter/Spectrum Speed Test

Speed Test From Charter, Spectrum, and Time Warner Cable

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on February 2, 2023

The Charter Speed Test is an internet speed test provided, and recommended, by Charter, a major US ISP.

Testing your internet connection with the Charter Speed Test is free and, while available to everyone, is probably best reserved for Charter customers (more on this at the bottom of the page).

This is the same internet speed test for Spectrum and Time Warner Cable.

How to Test Your Bandwidth With the Charter Speed Test

Like most speed tests out there, Charter's test requires only a click or tap to get started:

  1. Head to spectrum.com and wait for that to load.

  2. Select GO in the middle of the screen.

    Go button on Spectrum Charter speed test

  3. Wait while both parts of the test complete. The whole process should take less than a minute.

    Spectrum Charter speed test in prograss

Reading the Charter Speed Test Results

When it's all done, you'll see a summary screen, showing your download and upload bandwidth (written in Mbps), along with graphical representations of your internet speed over the time it took to test.

Summary screen for Spectrum Charter speed test

Below that, you'll see your IP address and ISP, plus the server used during the testing. If you plan on testing your Charter connection on a regular basis, logging each test somewhere is a smart idea, especially if you plan on making an argument to Charter about your too-slow high-speed connection.

How the Charter Speed Test Works

Like most internet speed tests out there, Charter's works by downloading and uploading specifically sized pieces of data and logging how long that takes. Some simple math gets you those Mbps numbers that the test reports.

Charter's speed test uses OOKLA software, the same software that most ISPs use, as well as major test providers like Speedtest.net.

The difference between a random OOKLA-powered test and the Charter Speed Test is that Charter's auto-connects to the closest test server hosted on Charter's network. In some ways that means the test isn't very accurate, but accuracy with internet speed tests is somewhat subjective anyway.

The Accuracy of the Charter Speed Test

If you're using the Charter Speed Test to see how well your connection between your home computer setup and Charter's servers that provide your internet service are, then this test is "accurate" for that.

The internet is a complex network of servers, routers, and other devices. Every website or service you use online uses a different path from you to there and back again. How fast each path can move information depends on a lot of factors.

See how to test your internet speed for help deciding what kind of speed test is best based on what you're after.

Using the Charter Speed Test When You're Not a Charter Customer

Some ISPs limit their speed tests to customers on their own network, but Charter doesn't do this, essentially offering a public speed test at their own cost.

So, while you're certainly welcome to use this speed test to benchmark your internet connection, it's probably less helpful than testing with your own ISP's speed test.

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