How to test a proxy: IP, speed and connection stability
How to check your IP address, measure speed and confirm that your proxy connection is stable. Instructions and links to testing tools.
A proxy should open the sites you need, transfer data at a suitable speed and keep you connected while you work. Check the IP address, speed and stability separately to make any problems easier to diagnose.
1. Prepare the connection for testing
- Before enabling the proxy, record your external IP address and run a baseline speed test.
- Enable the proxy in the browser or application you will use. Check the server address, port, protocol and authentication details.
- Open testing sites in the same browser and profile. A proxy configured in one application does not mean the others use it.
- Pause background downloads and automatic IP rotation, if enabled, while comparing results. Record the test time and chosen location.
2. Which sites to use
| Service | What to check |
|---|---|
| IPinfo | External IP address, country, region and carrier network (ASN). |
| BrowserLeaks | External IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, WebRTC addresses and the DNS servers used by the browser. |
| Cloudflare Speed Test | Download and upload speed, latency and jitter, and packet loss if the test can measure it. |
| FAST.com | Download speed. “Show more info” reveals upload speed and unloaded and loaded latency. |
3. Make sure your external IP has changed
Compare your address before and after enabling the proxy on IPinfo. Check that the country and carrier network match your rental terms. For a US proxy, the service should report the United States. If the address has not changed, check the settings in that browser and make sure the testing site is not excluded from proxy use.
IP-based city detection is approximate. On mobile networks, the result depends partly on the carrier nodes that route the traffic. For more details, see IPinfo's geolocation help. If two services show different cities, compare results and confirm the location with support.
4. Assess speed and latency
On Cloudflare Speed Test look at several metrics:
- Download — the speed of receiving data. Important for loading pages and files.
- Upload — the speed of sending data. Useful when uploading content and transferring files.
- Latency — response time. Compare latency when the connection is idle and while downloading or uploading data.
- Jitter — variation in latency. The more the measurements differ, the less consistent the response time.
Run three tests with short breaks and use the median: the middle value when the three results are sorted from lowest to highest. Repeat the test at your usual working time. Use the same testing service for comparisons, as different services use different routes and calculation methods. For more details, see Cloudflare's methodology description.
For an additional comparison, run FAST.com. Speed tests transfer data and consume bandwidth. If a metric could not be measured, that does not mean it is zero.
5. Check WebRTC and DNS
In WebRTC Leak Test compare the public IP address with the one you recorded before connecting. If your usual external IP is visible while the proxy is active, check the WebRTC and routing settings in the application you are using.
DNS Leak Test shows the DNS servers your browser uses to resolve domain names. Compare them with your expected settings. A DNS server address does not have to match the proxy IP address.
6. Test the proxy in your actual workflow
After the technical tests, perform your usual work tasks: open the site, navigate through the pages you need and upload a test file. For example, load a page ten times and record the loading time, errors and number of retries.
Check whether the speed is sufficient, operations finish and the connection stays active for as long as you need. A single high Mbps result is not enough. If you plan to rotate IPs, repeat the test after changing the address. For more details, see our article on IP and session management.
If the result is not satisfactory
Repeat the test without the proxy, then with it, keeping all other conditions the same. If the problem occurs on only one website, mention that: a high speed-test result does not guarantee the same speed on every site.
Your message to AMP support should include the location, protocol, application, and test date and time with the time zone. Attach your measurements and the exact error message to help us find the cause faster.