Test Wi-Fi networks with Apple Network Responsiveness

The Apple Network Responsiveness test measures the responsiveness of a network, or its ability to multitask when multiple devices and apps are sharing the network at the same time.

How to test responsiveness

You can run the Apple Network Responsiveness test on iOS, iPadOS, or macOS.

On your iOS or iPadOS device

1. Make sure that your device is using iOS or iPadOS 15 or later.

2. Join the Wi-Fi network that you want to test.

3. Go to the Wi-Fi Profiles and Logs page on Apple's developer website. You might need to log in to your Apple Developer account.

4. Tap Profile to download the Wi-Fi profile. Open the Settings app, then tap Profile Downloaded. Tap Install to begin installing the "WiFi Performance Diagnostics" profile. Follow the onscreen instructions to finish installing the profile.

5. Once the profile is installed, go to Settings > Wi-Fi.

6. Tap the Info icon next to your network, then tap Diagnostics.

7. Next to Responsiveness, tap Test.

Or, if you're a registered Apple Developer and have enabled your device for development through Xcode, you can go to Settings > Developer Settings and find the Responsiveness test under the Networking section.

On your Mac

1. Make sure that your computer is using macOS Monterey or later.

2. Join the Wi-Fi network that you want to test.

3. Enter networkQuality in Terminal.

4. For more information about this command, enter man networkQuality.

You can also test against your own server on your own network.Read the Network Quality Server documentation on GitHub.

Understanding your results

The Apple Network Responsiveness test reports its results using a measure called Round-trips Per Minute (RPM). The RPM is the number of sequential round-trips, or transactions, a network can do in one minute under normal working conditions.

To understand what you can expect based on your network's RPM, the Apple Network Responsiveness test classifies your network's responsiveness into one of these three categories:

• Low: If any device on the same network is, for example, downloading a movie or backing up photos to iCloud, the connection in some apps or services might be unreliable, like during FaceTime video calls or gaming.

• Medium: When multiple devices or apps are sharing the network, you might see momentary pauses or freezes, like during FaceTime audio or video calls.

• High: Regardless of the number of devices and apps sharing the network, apps and services should maintain good connection.

What to do if your network has low responsiveness

If you're using a Wi-Fi or wired network connection, some routers offer Smart Queue Management (SQM) to provide consistent high responsiveness, though these high-end home gateways generally require some expert manual configuration. The Apple Network Responsiveness test can be a useful tool for evaluating and comparing these home gateways, and it can be especially useful as a repeatable test when experimenting with different configuration settings and comparing the effects.