The easiest way to display network speed in the taskbar on Windows

 

Very few enjoy having a high-speed or stable internet connection! Some of us still have to face internet problems every day where connection drops or speed drops due to reasons beyond our control. So, whether you're downloading some files, watching a movie, or just surfing the Internet, it's important to be aware of the real-time performance of your Internet connection so that if you notice an unusual slowdown in downloading and an error message appears, you can determine the cause of the problem if it's from the software or the network. itself. Although there are many tools to test the Internet speed, displaying the speed indicator in the taskbar on Windows will certainly make it easier to know the performance of the connection greatly. Here's how to add this indicator in the easiest way, tested by us.

 

Displaying the network speed in the Windows taskbar is a great and sometimes important addition so that you know when the device is idle, i.e. not performing activities that consume the Internet, and when it is using the network connection regardless of whether you are connected to a Wi-Fi network or using an ethernet cable, also you will need For this indicator to see how fast the Internet is in real-time when downloading a program, file or watching a video. So, this article will guide you through two ways to activate the network speed indicator on Windows 10 or 11 using third-party tools.

 

In fact, when we searched, it turned out that these tools are many, but according to our experience, TrafficMonitor and Net Speed ​​Meter are the best for this task, so let's explain how to use them.

 

Method 1: Track Internet Speed with TrafficMonitor

 

There are several reasons why we chose TrafficMonitor first because it is open source and completely free in addition to its light size and work without the need to install (Portable), secondly because it does several other things other than accurately displaying the network speed in real-time within the taskbar, you can also use it to monitor the consumption of device resources such as The processor, RAM, graphics card, hard disk, and the temperature of the device...etc.

 

In fact, the program was originally intended to track resource activity via a floating window on the screen, but adding the cursor to the taskbar is just a secondary function that it performs. The most prominent feature of "TrafficMonitor" is the provision of a report that includes resource consumption statistics over the course of a month or several weeks, for example, with a quick look, you can know the days when your Internet consumption was higher than other days, and so on.

 

The program is light and does not take up space, and the developer also provides a "Lite" version of it for devices with very limited capabilities. You can download the program from GitHub, and after running directly, a floating window will appear on the screen showing network activity. You can easily hide it by right-clicking on the TrafficMonitor miniature icon next to the clock, then deactivating the “Show Main Window” option from the menu that appears, either to install the indicator on the bar Tasks, then activate the "Show Taskbar Windows" option from the same menu — as shown in the image above.

 

A speedometer now appears on the taskbar, which shows the upload speed (in front of the up arrow) and download speed (in front of the down arrow).

 

It doesn't stop here! TrafficMonitor offers plenty of customization options to set the indicator to your preferences, which you can access by clicking on the “Options” option from the menu and heading to the “Taskbar Window Settings” section. For example, you can make the indicator display the download or upload speed only, or both, with the ability to change the position of the indicator on the bar below, or change the color of the text, and change the speed unit so that it displays it in kilobits or megabits only, or according to the speed difference, and other modifications.

 

That is all there is to it! TrafficMonitor works great to help you easily monitor your network speed while you are using your computer to perform various tasks. However, if you are looking for a more simple tool that does nothing but displays the network indicator in the taskbar only then this is what you find in Net Speed ​​Meter.

 

Method 2: Monitor network activity with Net Speed Meter

 

Net Speed Meter performs only one function: displaying the network meter in the taskbar, this is the task of this free application, but it includes options and settings that may help you to diagnose and solve common problems with the Internet. The app is available on the Microsoft Store so you can easily install it on your device running Windows 10 or 11. When you run it for the first time, you will see the Internet activity counter in the top right corner of your desktop, you can move the counter and change its position to any other place, but if you want to display it permanently on the taskbar, right-click on the cursor and select "Keep in Taskbar".

 

As shown in the attached image above, a counter will appear on the taskbar and display the download and upload speed in real-time so that you can know when your internet is being consumed and the current speed when downloading anything. You can be satisfied with that or if you want to modify the appearance of the cursor, there are many customization options available, you can access them by right-clicking on the application icon next to the clock and then pressing "Setting" from the menu.

 

From the window that appears in front of you, you can change the speed unit from bits per second to bytes per second. In addition, it is possible to change the appearance of the counter, which is black by default, to make the background transparent, change the font used, or modify the colors of the counter, etc. In the end, Net Speed ​​Meter does the job perfectly with a simple way to track your network speed in real-time through the taskbar.