Microsoft is a multi-trillion-dollar company, and you’d expect a startup tech giant to build a native feature for something as basic as an internet speed test, right? Well, unfortunately, not. Microsoft is rolling out a new Internet speed test tool for Windows 11 that literally sends you to Bing.com.

On March 10, 2026, Microsoft begins rolling out this year’s third Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 and Windows 10.

While Windows 10 gets nothing in terms of functionality, Windows 11 is getting a couple of new features, including Emoji 16 support in the Emoji panel and a brand-new, shiny “Internet Speed test” tool, which is a shortcut to Bing.com.

This feature has been making headlines for a while now because it originally began rolling out in the last week of February with the Windows 11 KB5077241 optional update. Now, it rolls out to everyone in stages with a security update. But the claim that Windows 11 is getting a built-in tool to check your internet speed is far-fetched.

The truth is, Microsoft is adding a new toggle, “Perform speed test,” that sends people to Bing.com.

Once the feature rolls out to your PC, you’ll notice a new “Perform speed test” button when you right-click the Ethernet or Wi-Fi icon on the taskbar.

When you click “Perform speed test,” it opens your default browser and sends you to Bing.com with the query ‘internet speed test.’

There are two good things about the implementation. First, it respects your default browser settings because the shortcut calls the https/html URL type (Settings > Apps > Default apps > Choose default by link types).

Second, Bing’s Internet speed tool does work. It downloads a random chunk of the file and uploads it to the SpeedTest servers.

For those unaware, Microsoft has a partnership with SpeedTest, owned by Ookla, which was recently acquired by Accenture. When Microsoft entered into a partnership with Ookla, it dumped its own homegrown Azure-based Internet speed test tool on Bing and replaced it with SpeedTest.

Microsoft really needs to build native features for Windows 11 and stop pushing web crap

Some of you might argue that it makes more sense to send people to the web if they just want to test their internet connection. It may be a fair point, and I don’t completely disagree, but Microsoft really needs to stop pushing half-baked web crap, especially to places like the taskbar that we use daily.

What makes this even more frustrating is that Microsoft has already built the kind of experience people would reasonably expect here.

Years ago, Microsoft offered a proper Network Speed Test app for Windows, built on XAML (a native framework for Windows 8+), instead of a shortcut to a search page. It had a clean, touch-friendly interface and fit nicely into the Metro design language Microsoft was pushing at the time.

Windows 8’s native Internet speed test tool also showed useful details about the current network, including connection type, network name, internet status, and other technical information for those who wanted more context. It even kept a history of results, which made it more useful than a Bing.com shortcut.

Microsoft has more resources than ever to hire actual engineers and build native features for Windows. In fact, the company’s valuation has increased by almost eleven times since 2013, when it built a native internet speed tool. The only thing that has been on a downtrend is Microsoft’s intent to make Windows a better OS.

At the moment, you cannot remove “Perform speed test” shortcut from right-click menu on the taskbar, and it’s also not possible to redirect to other apps or websites.

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