How to Run a Latency Test With GlobeLatency, Step by Step
To run a test, choose destinations (a template, a category, a region or your own list), pick how many passes per destination, and press Start. Results fill in live, you can stop at any time, and a finished test is saved with a shareable link. This guide explains every control and what to expect from start to finish.
On this page
Quick answer: open GlobeLatency, make sure Test is selected, choose destinations, choose the number of passes (default 3), and press Start. Results appear tile by tile as each destination finishes. When the run is complete, the report is saved and a link you can copy or share appears. The whole flow takes under a minute for a typical selection.
Step 1: pick your destinations
Destinations are the servers you measure against. The selection area offers several ways to choose, and they work together:
- Templates: ready-made lists such as a general internet check, gaming, CDNs or cloud regions. One click selects the whole set. A default template is preselected for first-time visitors.
- Categories and regions: filter to a type of service or a part of the world, then select the visible destinations.
- Search: type a name to find a specific server quickly.
- Select all and Uncheck all: two buttons to tick or clear everything at once. "Uncheck all" is the fast way to start a custom list from nothing.
- Your own destinations: add any URL or hostname. These stay separate from the shared list and are stored only in your browser. See Destinations and custom hosts.
A counter shows how many destinations are selected. The tool remembers your selection in your browser, so next time you start where you finished.
Step 2: choose passes
A pass is one timed request to one destination. The passes setting (1 to 20, default 3) is how many times each destination is measured. The trade-off is simple:
| Passes | Best for | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A very fast sanity check | One sample, no sense of spread; average, best and worst are identical |
| 3 | Default, everyday check | A usable average plus best and worst |
| 5 to 10 | Finding unstable connections | A steadier average, clearer spikes |
| 20 | Detailed analysis | Meaningful p95 and p99 values |
Read percentiles explained for why more passes matter when you care about the slow tail.
Step 3: press Start
When you press Start, the page prepares one tile for every selected destination before any measurement begins, so the layout never jumps around while results arrive. The live Map and Monitor engine pauses during a test so it cannot disturb the numbers. The page does not scroll by itself; you stay where you are.
A progress dock appears at the bottom of the screen with a progress bar and the Stop button. The dock stays in place while you scroll, so you can always stop a run.
What happens during the run
- Up to three destinations are measured at the same time. Each destination is measured pass after pass, never two passes of the same destination in parallel.
- As soon as a destination finishes, its tile fills in with your average, best and worst, the world average, low and high, and the colour and difference against the world average.
- If a pass does not complete within 10 seconds it counts as failed. A destination with no successful pass shows No reply and the Down flag.
- When every destination is done, the summary cards fill in and the verdict appears.
The summary after a test
The summary cards show your overall average, your best and worst pass, how many destinations replied (for example 18 of 20), how you compare with the world average in percent, and how many destinations looked unstable. The headline verdict is one of Excellent, Good, A little slower than usual, Laggy, or No replies. Details are in Reading your results.
Stopping a test
Press Stop at any time. Requests in flight are abandoned, the dock closes and the tiles keep whatever was measured so far. A stopped test is not saved, so it has no report link and does not appear as a finished report. If you stopped by accident, simply run it again.
After the run: report link and history
A completed test is saved to the server and a link of the form /results.php?session=… is shown. Copy it to share the exact results with a colleague, an ISP support agent or a friend. Only destinations from the shared list are saved; your own custom destinations appear on screen but are never stored. Your recent tests are also kept in your browser as a history list. See Saved reports and sharing.
Tips for the cleanest result
- Keep the tab in the foreground. Browsers slow down timers in background tabs.
- Pause large downloads, cloud backups and video streams on your network. They add queueing delay (see bufferbloat).
- For a Wi-Fi versus cable comparison, run the same template on both, back to back.
- Test at different times of day. Evening congestion can double latency on some networks.
- Disable a VPN for a baseline, then enable it for comparison. See VPNs and latency.
Worked example: before and after a router restart
You suspect the router. Run the default template with 5 passes and note the overall average, say 74 ms against a world average of 55 ms (+35%). Restart the router, wait two minutes, and run the identical selection again. If the average falls to 56 ms, the router or its link was the problem. If it stays near 74 ms, the cause is further away. Because both reports are saved, you can compare the two links side by side.
Common mistakes and myths
- Comparing runs with different selections. Averages depend on which destinations are included; compare like with like.
- Using only one pass. One sample cannot show spikes or the typical value.
- Judging a single red tile. One distant or busy destination can be red while everything else is green. Look at the overall picture.
- Testing during a download. This measures your own congestion, not the internet.
What to do next
If the run is finished, continue with Reading your results. If you want continuous measurement instead of a single run, open the live map or the monitor. If something looked wrong, check Troubleshooting GlobeLatency.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a latency test take?
It depends on how many destinations and passes you choose. With 3 passes and about 20 destinations, most tests finish in well under a minute on a normal connection, because up to three destinations are measured at once. Destinations that never answer wait for the 10 second timeout, which can add time.
How many passes should I use?
Three passes is a quick check. Five to ten passes give a steadier average and a more honest worst value. Twenty passes make p95 and p99 meaningful. More passes take longer, so increase them only when you need precision or want to see instability.
Can I stop a test halfway?
Yes. The Stop button stays reachable in the bottom dock while a test runs. Stopping ends the run immediately. A stopped test is not saved as a report and has no shareable link, so let a run finish if you want to keep it.
Why is my test result different every time?
Latency changes with network load, Wi-Fi conditions, background downloads and routing. Small differences are normal. Large differences between runs point to an unstable connection, which is worth investigating with more passes or the Monitor mode.
Should I close other apps and tabs first?
For the cleanest result, pause downloads, streaming and cloud backups, and keep the GlobeLatency tab in the foreground. Background tabs are throttled by browsers, and a busy connection adds queueing delay to every request.