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Use this page to find (and record) the best public wifi spots in the Ann Arbor - Ypsilanti - Chelsea - Dexter - Saline area.

Public Wi-Fi Connections Are Not Equal!

Washtenaw County has a large population of roaming students, academics and professionals who work from their laptop. A solid internet connection can be essential to working on the go, and not all public wifi connections are created equal. Nearly all places have wifi, but there's nothing more frustrating than showing up to work and realize the internet connection is nearly unusable.

Contribute

Use this page to record real-world speed tests of coffee-shop and other public wifi locations.  Please edit this page and add your own entries! Instructions below.

Wifi Speeds

Business or Location (include wiki link)

 City Wifi Hotspot (SSID) Password? Ping Speed Download Speed Upload Speed Date Tested Notes
Ann Arbor City Hall Ann Arbor A2-Guest   18ms 33.21 Mbps 22.72 Mbps June 15, 2014 Acceptance of user agreement required. Significant speed improvements since Feb 2014.
Ann Arbor District Library (Downtown) Ann Arbor AADL   21ms 27.35 Mbps 40.43 Mbps June 24, 2014  
Ann Arbor District Library (Mallets Creek) Ann Arbor     20ms 34.3 Mbps 21.3 Mbps September 29, 2017 Super duper fast. On Merit Net (Internet2).
Ann Arbor District Library (West) Ann Arbor AADL   6ms 9.65 Mbps 20.1 Mbps October 3, 2017

On Merit Net (Internet2). Limited power outlets.

October 3, 2017: Wired download 223.7 Mbps, upload 122 Mbps, ping 9 ms
Ann Arbor District Library (Pittsfield) Ann Arbor AADL   17ms 31.8 Mbps 22 Mbps September 29.2017 On Merit Net (Internet2). During closed hours outside.
Bagel Fragel Ann Arbor 2WIRE270   17 14.68 3.63 February 6, 2014 Pretty snappy! Also, friendly staff, and comfortable table height for laptops.
Biggby Coffee (W Stadium) Ann Arbor     238ms 3.85 Mbps 0.79 Mbps December 10, 2013 Despite the ping times, the network is usable.
Biggby Coffee (Washtenaw) Ann Arbor     86ms 2.28 Mbps 0.42 Mbps December 17, 2013 The Plymouth road Biggby is appreciably faster.
Bruegger's Bagels (S Main) Ann Arbor Brueggers_Free_Wifi   63ms 1.01 Mbps 0.21 Mbps January 22, 2014 Slow upstream speeds are an issue for some applications

Cafe Verde (N Fourth Ave) 

 Ann Arbor   fairtrade          
The Common Cup (Washtenaw) Ann Arbor     63ms 6.26 Mbps 10.02 Mbps December 16, 2013

 
Crazy Wisdom Tearoom Ann Arbor Crazy Wisdom Guest Network   24ms 17.97 Mbps 3.78 Mbps June 24, 2014 Comcast, 5 GHz available
Detroit Metro Airport Romulus ? ? 35ms 19.65 Mbps 19.38 Mbps July 10, 2014 Free wifi.
Elixir Vitae (Maynard) Ann Arbor ELIXIRVITAE elixirvitae

38ms

 

20ms

3.18 Mbps

 

18.10 Mbps

1.15 Mbps

3.65 Mbps

January 9, 2014

Nov 1, 2014

 The cafe formerly known as Cafe Ambrosia.
Glassbox Coffee & Juice Ann Arbor The Glass Box   10ms 56.14 Mbps 11.49 Mbps June 22, 2014 Comcast 50/10
Great Lakes Chocolate & Coffee   Ann Arbor GLCC GLCC1983 12ms 18.42 Mbps 3.53 Mbps June 2, 2014 Comcast
McDonald's (Lohr Road) Ann Arbor attwifi   94ms 1.03 Mbps 0.26 Mbps December 30, 2013 No power outlets in main dining area.
Mighty Good Coffee (N Main St) Ann Arbor Mighty Good billygoat 37ms 13.6 Mbps 3 Mbps April 19, 2016 Slow time, about half full
Morgan and York Ann Arbor Morgan   21ms 11.15 Mbps 5.07 Mbps January 10, 2014 No power outlets to speak of, but there's a full deli or coffee.
Panera Plymouth Road Ann Arbor       18.8 Mbps 23.2 Mbps October 23, 2017  
Peet's Coffee and Tea (E Stadium) Ann Arbor PEETS   78ms 0.79 Mbps 1.29 Mbps December 31, 2013 At busy times so slow as to be unusable.
Roos Roast (Rosewood) Ann Arbor roos roast letsgocamping 26ms 13.2 mbps 7.2 Mbps

June 9th

2019

 test take all the way out by the sidewalk. Not bad. 

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital

Administration Bldg lobby

 Ann Arbor iguest     4.14 Mbps 0.8 Mbps November 14, 2017  
Sweetwaters (Kerrytown) Ann Arbor Sweetwaters   13ms 17.12 Mbps 3.43 Mbps November 20, 2017  
Sweetwaters (Plymouth) Ann Arbor Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea gingerlemon 27ms 4.60 Mbps 0.39 Mbps January 30, 2014 Slow upload speed might be problem for some, but for web browsing WiFi is pretty snappy
Songbird Cafe Ann Arbor thesongbirdcafe   34ms 6.48 Mbps 10.67 Mbps November 12, 2015 XFinity/Comcast cable internet. No wifi allowed before 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays for their brunch crowd.
Starbucks (AA-Saline Rd)

Ann

Arbor

 Starbucks Wifi   159ms 11.1 Mbps 7.05 Mbps Oct 29, 2015  
Starbucks (Arborland) Ann Arbor Google Starbucks   13ms 55.35 Mbps 11.37 Mbps January 23, 2013  
Starbucks (Plymouth Mall) Ann Arbor attwifi   70ms 8.1 Mbps 18.5 Mbps October 16, 2017  
Starbucks (S. University) Ann Arbor Google Starbucks   11ms 27.71 Mbps 10.97 Mbps August 14, 2014  
T-Mobile (tethered) Ann Arbor     115ms 5.51 Mbps 1.18 Mbps February 10, 2014 Tethered via a Nexus 4.
Tim Horton's South State Ann Arbor       13 Mbps 24 Mbps October 7, 2017 Average of 3 runs
University Cafe (Korean) Ann Arbor University Cafe Varies daily 16ms 10.09 Mbps 14.84 Mbps February 19, 2014  
Whole Foods (Washtenaw) Ann Arbor WholeFoodsMarket   67ms 1.44 Mbps 0.15 Mbps February 10, 2014 Average of two runs. I could not believe how slow the measured upload speed was.
Zingerman's Coffee Company (Plaza Dr) Ann Arbor     61ms 2.85 Mbps 2.75 Mbps December 16, 2013  
 

 

     159ms        
Mighty Good Coffee Ann Arbor MightyGood   33 ms 1,5 Mbps 1.89 Mbps September 25, 2017 Average of two runs
 Ann Arbor Coffee Roasting Company Ann Arbor A2CRC Public WiFi coolbeans          

 

How to do a Speed Test

  1. Make sure you're connected to the hotspot you want to test.
  2. Go to http://www.speedtest.net
  3. Begin the Test
  4. Record the result
  5. (If you're ambitious) For better accuracy, do it twice and average the results

Add Your Entry to the Table Above

  1. Use Edit button at the top of this page
  2. The table does not auto-sort. Please put your entry in A-Z order.
  3. To add a new row, put the cursor in the table, right-click, and insert a new row above or below.
  4. Record your results in the table.
  5. Be sure to link your place name to the corresponding Arborwiki page, even if it doesn't exist yet. If you have time, you can create a new one using the Restaurant or Business templates. 
  6. If the download speed is lower than 1 Mbps, you can mark the row in red. Select the row, choose Cell -> Cell Properties -> Cell Background.
  7. Thanks for helping others out!

 

Notes on Accuracy

Wifi speed can be affected by a lot of factors, and simple things like the number of people using the single connection and where someone sits in the coffee shop will have an effect. So while the numbers on the chart aren't exact and could vary if tested again, the resulting chart may still be useful to identify generally the best and worst relative to other locations.

Acknowledgements

This page copied shamelessly from CUWiki ! Previous attempt was on the Speedtest page which now redirects here.

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September 29, 2017

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