Internet Connection
Recommended download and upload speeds per exam configuration, what the exam actually uploads (monitoring photos, video chunks, recorded answers), and why connection stability matters more than peak speed.
The exam itself is light on bandwidth — questions load once and answers are tiny. What actually drives a candidate's connection requirement is the monitoring uploads running continuously in the background for the entire exam, plus any recorded answers.
What the exam uploads
| Source | Format and frequency | Approximate upload load |
|---|---|---|
| Webcam photo monitoring | One JPEG photo every 20 seconds | ~0.1 Mbps average, in short bursts |
| Webcam video monitoring | Continuous video with audio, uploaded as 60-second chunks (~1.5–2 MB each) | ~0.25 Mbps sustained |
| Screen recording — screenshots | One JPEG per configured interval | ~0.05–0.2 Mbps depending on interval |
| Screen recording — video | Continuous video (no audio), 60-second chunks | ~0.1 Mbps sustained |
| Audio / video answers | Recorded file uploaded after each answer | Burst of a few MB per answer |
| Answers and progress saves | Small data writes | Negligible |
Recommended minimum speeds
The raw technical requirements are lower than these figures — the recommendations include headroom for shared household connections, Wi-Fi variance, and the fact that uploads must keep pace for the entire exam without falling behind:
| Exam configuration | Download | Upload |
|---|---|---|
| No monitoring | 2 Mbps | 0.5 Mbps |
| Webcam photo monitoring (± periodic screenshots) | 2 Mbps | 1 Mbps |
| Webcam video monitoring | 4 Mbps | 2 Mbps |
| Webcam video + continuous screen recording | 4 Mbps | 3 Mbps |
| Exams with audio / video answer questions | 4 Mbps | 3 Mbps |
| Media-rich test content (video or audio in questions) | 5–10 Mbps | per monitoring config above |
Stability matters more than speed
A modest but steady connection beats a fast but flaky one. Video monitoring uploads a chunk every 60 seconds for the whole exam — a connection that drops for minutes at a time creates gaps in the proctoring material even if its peak speed is high. Practical guidance for candidates:
- Prefer a wired connection or strong, stable Wi-Fi over a mobile hotspot.
- Avoid VPNs and pause large downloads, cloud syncs, and video streaming on the same connection during the exam.
- On a shared connection, ask others to avoid video calls and streaming while the exam runs.
TestInvite is built to tolerate brief interruptions: the pre-start network check verifies upload connectivity before the exam begins, session start retries automatically with a countdown if the connection hiccups, answers are saved to the server with retry logic, and if the webcam or screen share drops mid-exam the candidate is guided through a recovery flow to restore it rather than losing the session.