"No internet access" is practically a death sentence to computers in 2025. Whether you're streaming games through NVIDIA GeForce Now or just trying to sync files, you need a rock-solid, high-speed connection. Windows 11 will soon feature a new "built-in" internet speed test tool, but rather than being the native utility we all hoped for, it's a secret promotion for Bing. The feature adds two shortcuts to the Windows 11 Taskbar that simply pop open a browser to take you to Bing's web-based network speed test tool.
The feature was spotted by phantomofearth on X, and it is hidden within the latest Windows 11 preview builds.
Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden already covered the new speed test feature in Windows 11. He also highlighted that it will likely be several months before we see the feature roll out to general users.
In that time, Microsoft could change how the tool works, though I don't have high hopes for a native interface.
Microsoft has a long history of jamming ads and promotions into Windows 11. Everything from File Explorer to the Start menu has shown an ad at some point. The new network speed test tool isn't as agregious, but it still feels like a forced way to promote Bing.
Bing's network speed test tool is perfectly adequate. It does exactly what you'd expect, listing your connection's latency, download speed, and upload speed after performing a quick check. The functionality is very similar to popular tools such as Speedtest by Ookla and Fast.com.
My concern isn't whether the feature will work. The Bing Dashboard has several tools that function well, including its speed tester. What I'm worried about is that the current implementation will be similar to the final product.
The network icon in the system tray's context menu and the Wi-Fi quick settings page in Windows 11 are getting buttons to let you quickly run a network speed test. (Takes you to Bing to do the speed test.) pic.twitter.com/ZXcQvs5BP8September 13, 2025
The ability to run a network speed test directly from the Taskbar on Windows 11 would be a nice addition. Having the shortcut appear through the context menu of the system tray's network icon or through the Wi-Fi quick settings panel also makes sense.
But do people really want "features" in Windows 11 that are just shortcuts to a website? Honestly, I'm not sure. Some would consider a tool like this bloat. Others would say that people may not know about websites like Speedtest by Ookla and Fast.com, so a "built-in" network speed test tool makes sense.
I think a more elegant solution would be an embedded version of Bing's speed test tool that appears within a small window you can access through the Taskbar. Though perhaps that would also be considered bloat by users who don't need such a tool.
A comment by "Longman" on Bowden's post proposes an interesting solution, creating a Taskbar widget.
Considering the network speed tester is still a hidden feature, Microsoft has plenty of time to receive feedback and play around with different solutions. Will the tech giant listen to calls for a native tool? My expections are low.
