We don’t know what speed we are traveling at on the network card in use? Let’s see how to find out in a simple and immediate way
The network card can provide different transmission speeds based on the type of technology used and based on the protocol provided by the modem or router to which we connect our PC. Simply connecting the computer via cable or Wi-Fi will not give us the mathematical security of use the fastest connection possibleregardless of the type of fixed line used (FTTH or FTTC).
Yes it can check network card speed on Windows 11, using the information that Windows itself collects on the speed of the connection active at that precise moment. The guide is valid for both connected computers via Ethernet cable to the modem/router and for PCs connected via wireless card (which in turn can be integrated or PCI-Express type).
READ ALSO -> How Much Internet Speed Do You Really Need Nowadays?
1) Check network card speed from Settings
To see the speed of the network card used at that moment on Windows 11 all we have to do is press WIN+I on the keyboard to quickly open the system settings, click on the menu Network and Internetpress up on the item Propertyand check the reference values next to the items Link speed (receive/transmit)normally expressed in Mbps.
The value can change in real time based on the type of technology in use: using a cable connection the value will be constant over time (usually 1000/1000 Mbpsalthough you can also find 100/100 Mbps o 2500/1000 Mbps); if we use a Wi-Fi network card the value will depend on the type of Wi-Fi technology used (such as Wi-Fi 4, Wi-Fi 5 o Wi-Fi 6) and the distance from the modem and router.
In the case of a wireless network, it may be useful to read the information next to the entries Protocol e Network bandwidthso as to understand what technology we are using at that moment.
2) Check network card speed from Control Panel
In addition to the verification system present in the Windows settings we can see the speed of the network card on Windows 11 using the good old Control Panel, often snubbed but still very useful for carrying out this type of checks.
To proceed we press WIN+E on the keyboard, click on the address bar at the top and type Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center.
In the new window, click on the item at the top left Show tab settingsright-click on the network connection currently in use and finally press on State. Next to the voice Speed we will find the reference to the current connection speed.
The value in this case only shows the downlink speed (i.e. from the modem/router to the PC), therefore being less precise than the previous method (which also showed the uplink speed, from the PC to the modem/router).
3) Check network card speed from command prompt or PowerShell
True Windows power users do not have to open any interface to obtain the value of the network speed, since it is possible to obtain this information using the dear and faithful command prompt or using the new Windows PowerShell.
If we also want to try this method, all we have to do is open the Start menu and type cmd and open Command Prompt; inside it we insert the following command:
netsh wlan show interfaces
All information about the network card in use will be shown, including the transmission speed (which can be found next to the entries Reception speed e Transmission speed).
If we want to use Windows PowerShell to see the speed of the network card on Windows 11 we open the Start menu, search Windows PowerShellopen the tool and type the following command:
Get-NetAdapter | select interfaceDescription, name, status, linkSpeed
We will find all the cards present on the computer and, next to the name of the network card in use at that moment, we will have an indication of the download speed (LinkSpeed).
Conclusions
Getting the speed of the network card on Windows 11 will allow us to understand if we are using our Internet connection properly, particularly if we are under FTTH coverage. The use of obsolete technologies (with values lower than 1000 Mbps) risks slowing down Internet access on the PC.
This problem does not arise if we have an FTTC connection or an ADSL connection, given that speeds above 100 Mbps are unlikely to be used; different matter if we often transfer files between one device and another on the network: in this case it is necessary to exploit the full speed of our modem and our network card.
For further information we suggest you read our guides on How to check connection speed in real time on Windows come on how to get strong Wi-Fi reception in every room.