Run iperf3 from an Android phone
Both halves ship: the phone can be the client or the server.
Pingo runs the real iperf3 protocol against any standard iperf3 -s server, and it can also be the server so another machine points at the phone. It measures true LAN, VLAN or VPN throughput, not the internet, so there is nothing to test against until you run a server of your own somewhere.
The feature is marked beta in the app: it has been tested against standard iperf3 servers, so verify it on your own network. It reports only measured throughput and never an estimate.
Steps in Pingo
- On the machine at the far end, such as a NAS, a router or a laptop, install iperf3 and run
iperf3 -s. - In Pingo open the Tools tab, then the Analyze group, then iperf3 throughput. It carries a SENDS TRAFFIC badge and a beta chip.
- Leave the page switch on Client. The card headed YOU SUPPLY THE SERVER shows the command to run at the far end.
- Type the machine’s address into the Target field, hinted server host or IP, and leave PORT at 5201 unless you changed it.
- Choose Download or Upload, pick a DURATION of 5s, 10s or 30s, then tap Start test.
- Read throughput in Mb/s, with data moved and duration beside it, and server-confirmed and retransmits shown only when the server reported them.
- Switch the page control to Server. The card Point the other device here shows the bound address and the
iperf3 -ccommand to run on the other machine.
What happens while the phone is the server
Hosting means other devices can open a connection to the phone, so the app states the rule above the fold and enforces it rather than only promising it: Pingo closes the port when you leave the screen or switch away from the app, and keeps the screen awake until then so it cannot close mid test. The LISTENING chip appears only when a socket is genuinely bound, and the live states name themselves, including WAITING FOR A PEER and OPENING THE PORT.
What Pingo can and cannot tell you here
What it can tell you
- Speak the real iperf3 protocol as a client against any standard iperf3 server.
- Act as the server so another machine runs iperf3 -c against the phone.
- Measure LAN, VLAN or VPN throughput in Mb/s, with data moved and duration.
- Report the server’s own confirmation and retransmit count, but only when the server sent them.
What it cannot
- Measure your internet speed. This is throughput to a server you run yourself.
- Work with no server. There is nothing to test against until you start one.
- Show a figure it did not measure. An update with no figure is dropped, and the readout hatches with its reason instead of showing zero.
- Promise more than beta. The app says to verify the result on your own network.
Related tools
iperf3 throughput sits beside Speed test, Bufferbloat test and Phone-to-phone speed on the tools page.