Testing Wi-Fi Latency

Modified on Fri, 6 Feb at 9:21 AM

Testing Wi-Fi Latency

If your cabled ping test is fine but devices on Wi-Fi feel slow or laggy, this test checks how your Wi-Fi itself is performing by measuring response time (latency) between your device and your router.

By running a continuous ping to your router and moving around your home, you can identify rooms with weak signal or high interference.

How to Use This Test Properly

1. Start near the router (baseline)

Stand in the same room as the router.
This shows the best possible Wi-Fi latency.

2. Move to problem rooms

Leave the test running.
Walk to rooms where Wi-Fi feels slow or unstable.
Watch the results change in real time.

What to look for

Higher times (for example, 50ms > 200ms+) = weaker Wi-Fi signal
Request timed out = packet loss (Wi-Fi dropping packets)
Big swings in time = interference or unstable signal

Windows Test

Press Windows Key + R
Type cmd and press Enter
At the prompt, type:
- ping 192.168.0.1 -t
  (or try 192.168.1.1 depending on your router)
Press Enter

You will see lines like:

Reply from 192.168.0.1: time=12ms

Leave this running while you move around the property.

macOS Test

Open Terminal
(Applications > Utilities > Terminal, or search “Terminal” with Spotlight)
Type:
- ping 192.168.0.1
  (or 192.168.1.1 depending on your router)
Press Enter

Terminal will keep sending pings continuously.

Leave this running while you move around the property.

Interpreting Results (Wi-Fi to Router)

0–10 ms = Excellent
10–30 ms = Normal
30–100 ms = Weak signal or interference
Timeouts / no replies = Packet loss (Wi-Fi is dropping data)

This test only checks Wi-Fi quality inside your home.

It does not test your broadband line or external network.

What to Do If Results Are Poor

If latency increases or timeouts appear in certain rooms, see:

These guides explain how to:

Reposition your router
Reduce interference
Use wired connections or mesh units where needed