ISP Watchdog: Internet Connection Monitor for Windows
Your internet cuts out at 9 pm, and support says everything looks fine on their end. Without proof, that's where the call ends.
ISP Watchdog keeps the proof for you. It logs every outage, slowdown and lag spike around the clock, compares them with what you pay for, and writes the letter asking for a credit.
The download opens straight away on an example month, with no setup. Watching your own connection needs Computer Info Bits Pro, from US$5 a month.
It runs on Windows, so send yourself the link and open it on your PC.
- Part of Computer Info Bits Pro
- Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit)
- Your data stays on your PC
What ISP Watchdog Tracks
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Every outage, to the minute
Every five seconds it checks your router and the internet. Two failed checks in a row start an outage, and the log keeps when it began and ended.
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Their fault or yours
If your router keeps answering while the internet doesn't, the problem is past your home. Router and Wi-Fi drops are listed, but they don't count against your provider.
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Speed against your label
Tests through the day are compared with the typical speeds on your plan's broadband label, not the speed in the plan's name.
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Evening slowdowns
Every schedule tests between 7 and 11 pm, the busy hours the FCC uses in its own broadband tests. Evenings get their own result.
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Lag, quiet and busy
Lag is measured while the line is quiet and again while it's busy. A big jump, called bufferbloat, makes calls and games stutter.
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Light and silent
The background monitor runs in Windows efficiency mode on about 6 MB of memory, with no window or tray icon. Tests wait while you're busy, on a VPN or away from home.
Your Monthly Report and Evidence Pack
At the start of each month, a Windows notification tells you last month's report is ready. It opens with a plain verdict, such as "Your internet was well below what you pay for", and the numbers behind it.
It also works out a fair credit to ask for. That's a day's share of your bill for each day with half an hour or more of outages, plus the share of speed you didn't get.
One click saves an evidence pack with the report, every reading as a spreadsheet, and a letter to send. Open an example report to see exactly what your provider would get.
- Ask for a bill credit. For outages and slow speeds you paid for but didn't get.
- Ask for a technician visit. For problems that keep coming back, checked at no charge.
- Ask to leave your contract. For service that's been below the label for months, without the early termination fee.
Find Your Plan's Broadband Label
US internet providers must show a broadband label for every plan, a bit like a food nutrition label. It lists the monthly price and the typical speeds and latency you should get.
- Sign in to your provider's website or app. Look in your plan or account details for a link called Broadband Facts or broadband label.
- Copy four numbers into ISP Watchdog. The monthly price, typical download speed, typical upload speed and typical latency.
- Use the typical speeds, not the plan's name. The speed in a plan's name isn't always the typical speed on its label. The typical speed is what a fair comparison uses.
When Your Provider Won't Help
Send the letter through your provider's chat, email or account messages, with the evidence pack attached. Keep a copy of their reply.
If they still won't fix it, you can file a complaint with the FCC. The FCC takes complaints when a provider posts inaccurate information about its plans, and your evidence pack shows the numbers.
Rule out your own setup first. Your router and the devices on it can slow a test, so a PC on an Ethernet cable gives the strongest evidence. Each test notes how the PC was connected.
Pro Included in your subscription
What Pro Unlocks
Pro swaps the example month for your own connection. One credit from your provider can cover months of the subscription.
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Always watching
Outages, speed and lag, logged in the background while you get on with your day.
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13 months of history
Show a problem that's gone on for months, not just one bad night.
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Alerts after long outages
An optional notification whenever your provider is down for 10 minutes or more.
How to Get Started
- Sign in with your Pro license key. Open the download, select Sign in, then paste the key from your receipt email.
- Say yes to installing. It installs for your Windows user only, so there's no admin prompt. You'll find it in your Start menu, and it starts with Windows so it never misses an outage after a restart.
- Add your plan and leave it running. Saving your plan starts the silent monitor. Your first full report arrives at the start of next month.
Download Help and Release Notes
Windows SmartScreen prompt for the EXE
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warns about new apps that aren't downloaded often yet. If you got ISP Watchdog from this page, select More info, then Run anyway.
Verify the EXE with its SHA-256 checksum
The EXE is 68.0 MB. Open PowerShell in your Downloads folder and run Get-FileHash on the file. The hash it prints should match this one exactly.
Get-FileHash "ISP Watchdog.exe"
E76C8EE4E7EB6C33A3F424800DCE3F11AD013AA964EFBC55CC4ECE155FD9721D
How much data the speed tests use
Each test stops as soon as the speed holds steady. On a 300 Mbps plan, the default six tests a day use about 29 GB a month.
If your plan has a data cap, pick Light in Settings for three tests a day.
What ISP Watchdog sends
Your readings, reports and details stay on your PC. Speed tests send test data to and from computerinfobits.com, which doesn't store anything from them.
Our privacy policy has the details.
Removing ISP Watchdog
Uninstall it like any other app, from Settings > Apps > Installed apps in Windows. It stops the monitor, takes it out of Windows startup and deletes it. You choose whether to keep your readings.
A copy you never installed has Remove ISP Watchdog from this PC in its own Settings instead.
What's in version 1.0.0
The first release, with the silent monitor, speed tests, outage log, monthly report, evidence pack, three letters and a built-in installer.