This internet packet loss test checks whether data is going missing on its way across your connection. Packet loss is the headline result above, with download, upload, ping and jitter alongside it. If the test can’t measure packet loss on your network, it says so instead of showing a number.
What is packet loss?
Everything you send or receive online is broken into small chunks called packets. Packet loss happens when some of those packets never arrive. It is usually shown as a percentage:
packets lost ÷ packets sent × 100
For example (illustrative numbers, not your result): if 100 packets are sent and 2 never come back, packet loss is 2%. If 1,000 are sent and 2 go missing, it is 0.2%. Different tools send different numbers and kinds of packets, so their percentages aren’t always directly comparable.
How this packet loss test works
Most of a speed test uses ordinary web requests (TCP), which automatically resend anything that goes missing. That hides packet loss. To see it, this test uses WebRTC to open a UDP connection through a TURN relay on Cloudflare’s network, the same kind of connection video calls use.
- After the download and upload tests, your browser connects to the relay using short-lived credentials issued for this test.
- It sends 1,000 numbered packets in batches of 10 through the relay and back to itself.
- It waits three seconds after the last reply for any stragglers.
- Packets that never returned are counted as lost, and the share is shown as a percentage.
The test measures loss on this one round trip through the relay. It doesn’t watch all the traffic on your connection or check each network hop along the way. Full details are on our methodology page.
What is a good packet loss result?
Lower is better. 0% means no packets went missing during this measurement, not that loss can never happen. This is general guidance, not a universal standard:
| Packet loss | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| 0% | No loss observed during the test. |
| Under 1% | Usually unnoticeable for browsing and streaming. Calls and games may glitch occasionally. |
| 1% to under 3% | Often noticeable in calls (dropped syllables) and games (rubber-banding). |
| 3% and above | A real problem. Real-time apps are likely to struggle, and downloads can slow too. |
Microsoft’s guidance for Teams calls targets packet loss under 1% over any 15-second period. The activity summary in this tester uses its own guidelines: loss of 1% or more flags video calls as possibly limited (3% or more as likely to struggle), and online gaming needs under 1% for a “should work well” verdict. These are our guidelines, not industry rules.
How often loss happens matters as much as the number. An isolated lost packet is very different from loss that keeps coming back.
Packet loss for gaming
Games send a constant stream of small updates about where you are and what you’re doing. When some go missing, the game has to guess or wait, which can show up as rubber-banding, freezing, delayed or missing actions, hits that don’t register, stutter, choppy voice chat and, in bad cases, disconnects. Packet loss is a separate problem from ping: a game can lag from high ping with no loss, or from loss with a low ping.
No packet loss figure guarantees a good or bad game, and game makers don’t publish common limits. See our gaming guide for how loss fits with ping and jitter.
Packet loss for video calls and voice chat
Calls, voice chat and live video send audio and video in real time, so there is no time to resend what goes missing. Loss can cause broken audio and missing words, frozen or blocky video, sudden drops in quality and, if it gets bad enough, a call that disconnects. Cloud gaming is similar, since it streams the game as live video. See internet speed for video calls.
What causes packet loss?
Loss can happen at any point between your device and the destination, and no single cause is always responsible. Common sources:
- WiFi: weak signal, interference, crowded channels and distance from the router are common sources in homes.
- Congestion: when a link is full, queues overflow and packets are dropped. That can happen in your home or on your provider’s network.
- Heavy uploads and downloads on your own connection, which can fill queues in the router or modem.
- Overloaded or faulty equipment: an old router or one running too hot can drop packets under load.
- Faulty cables and connectors on Ethernet, coax or phone lines.
- Your provider’s network: line faults, congestion or routing problems upstream.
- A VPN, which changes the path your traffic takes.
Packet loss spikes
Two patterns are worth telling apart:
- Consistently elevated loss shows up test after test and often points to a weak WiFi link, a faulty cable or equipment, or a persistent problem upstream.
- A mostly clean connection with occasional bursts often points to interference, congestion at busy times, or another device starting a big upload or download.
Bursts matter more than an average suggests. Ten packets lost in one second can freeze a call or game even if the average over a longer period looks small, and a short test may miss a burst entirely. Run several tests over a day if you suspect intermittent loss.
Packet loss vs. ping, jitter and speed
| Metric | What it measures | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Ping / latency | Round-trip delay | How quickly actions and replies arrive |
| Jitter | How much that delay varies | Smoothness of calls and games |
| Packet loss | Share of packets that never arrive | Gaps, glitches and disconnects |
| Download speed | How fast data reaches you | Streaming, downloads, page loads |
| Upload speed | How fast data leaves your device | Your video on calls, backups, sending files |
A connection can have any combination of these. High bandwidth doesn’t mean zero packet loss, and neither does a low ping or low jitter. Loss and jitter often appear together, though, because the same congestion or WiFi trouble can delay some packets and drop others.
WiFi vs. Ethernet and packet loss
WiFi drops and resends frames all the time as conditions change: distance, walls, interference from nearby networks and devices, crowded channels and many devices sharing the airtime all play a part. Most of this is hidden, but when the wireless link is poor, some loss can get through. Which band works best depends on your router, devices and home.
Testing over a cable is the quickest comparison. If loss disappears on Ethernet, the problem is likely in your home network; a cable doesn’t remove loss further upstream. WiFi speed, signal strength, latency, jitter and packet loss are separate measurements, so a strong signal doesn’t guarantee zero loss. Test your WiFi connection or see how to test WiFi around your home.
Router, modem and your home network
- Check whether all devices are affected. Loss on one device only points to that device or its connection.
- Check cables and connections, including the line into the modem. Reseat or swap a cable you suspect.
- Restart the modem and router if they have been running a long time or are acting up.
- Update the router’s firmware if an update is available.
- Reduce heavy traffic from other devices while you test.
Replace equipment only when testing points to it, for example loss on every device and connection that disappears with a different router.
ISP, routing, congestion and server distance
Beyond your home, packets cross your provider’s network and often other networks it connects to through transit and peering. Loss can occur at any of these points, especially where links are congested at busy times. Longer paths to distant servers cross more links, so they have more chances for trouble.
One test doesn’t prove a fault at your provider. If you see loss on a cable, across devices and at several times of day, that is the evidence worth sharing with them.
VPNs and packet loss
A VPN sends your traffic through its own server, which changes the path. Depending on that server and route, it can make loss, latency or jitter worse, or occasionally better if it avoids a congested route. Testing with and without the VPN is a simple way to see whether it is involved.
Bufferbloat and packet loss
Bufferbloat isn’t packet loss. It is excessive queueing: when a big upload or download fills your connection, packets wait in long queues in the router or modem, which adds delay. Under heavy load, queues can also overflow and drop packets, so delay, jitter and loss can all rise together. Compare ping while downloading and uploading with your idle ping in “Test details”, use the bufferbloat test, or read what bufferbloat is.
How to reduce packet loss
Retest after each step. Not every step will help every connection.
- Compare WiFi with Ethernet. Tells you whether the problem is wireless.
- Move closer to the router when testing on WiFi, to rule out weak signal.
- Stop background uploads and downloads, which can fill queues.
- Check what other devices are doing, such as backups, updates and streaming.
- Restart the router and modem if they have been running a long time.
- Check cables and connections if loss appears on a wired connection.
- Try another device to see whether one device is the problem.
- Test with and without a VPN.
- Note whether it only happens at busy times, which points toward congestion.
- Check for bufferbloat if loss appears during heavy traffic.
- Contact your provider if loss persists across devices and on a wired connection.
The step-by-step method is in how to fix packet loss. Related guides cover reducing ping and reducing jitter.
Troubleshooting packet loss by pattern
These patterns may indicate where to look; they are not certain diagnoses:
- 0% on Ethernet, loss on WiFi: wireless or local network conditions.
- 0% when idle, loss during heavy traffic: congestion, queueing, bufferbloat or overloaded equipment.
- Loss on several devices, on both WiFi and Ethernet: the router or modem, your provider, or the upstream path.
- 0% here, but a game reports loss: a different game server, route, peering or protocol.
- Loss that comes and goes: interference, congestion, an unstable route, overloaded hardware or an intermittent fault.
What your packet loss result means
- 0%: no packet loss was observed during this test.
- A small non-zero result: some packets were lost. Repeat the test to see whether it is persistent.
- High packet loss: more noticeable problems are possible, especially for gaming, calls and other real-time use.
- Not available: the test couldn’t measure loss on your network this time. It tells you nothing either way.
Why this test can differ from a game
Limitations of a browser-based packet loss test
- It measures one specific path, and that path can change.
- Results vary over time, and loss can be intermittent; a short test may miss it.
- WiFi conditions and your provider’s routing can change from minute to minute.
- Applications may use different servers and routes.
- It doesn’t inspect every network hop or diagnose your provider automatically.
- One test is a snapshot, not a permanent diagnosis.
About this test
This website uses Cloudflare’s open-source speed test engine and Cloudflare’s Realtime TURN relay for the packet loss check. It is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cloudflare. Relay credentials are requested by a small server function on this site, so no secret keys are exposed in the page. Every figure comes from your own test, and we never show a packet loss number that wasn’t measured. Read our methodology, learn who runs this site, or see what data the test sends.