Microsoft is finally giving us a handy network diagnostics tool, but not in the way you want

Sorry folks, but this one's my bad. I made a wish that Windows had a way to monitor network speeds, so you can tell if your network traffic is slow or not. However, I had no idea that my wish was passed onto a monkey's paw, which instantly curled and added a stipulation to what I wanted.

As such, we now have proof that, yes, Windows is getting an option that lets you quickly bring up your network speeds. However, there is something that I, personally, would call a "catch," and whether or not you do too wholly depends on your feelings toward Bing.

Windows will now let you check your network speeds, with a catch

This discovery comes to us via PhantomOfEarth, who's been doing their research on the latest testing builds. If this is the first you've heard of them, PhantomOfEarth has a knack for cracking open Windows 11 preview builds and looking at all the stuff buried within. Sometimes they unearth hidden, work-in-progress features that give us insights as to what Microsoft is planning in the background.

This time, they popped open the latest Dev and Beta builds and found a ton of these hidden features. There's a revamp to the mobile settings and more stuff being moved over from the Control Panel to the Settings page. However, one of my personal highlights is a new feature that adds a "Perform speed test" button to the network indicator. If you're wondering if your ISP is giving you the speeds you think you're getting, you can just click this and see what's up.

There are just two issues. First, it seems that the check isn't made within Windows itself; instead, it looks like the operating system will load up a speed tester via your browser. Second, it's done by Bing, which will likely be a deal breaker for some, and knowing Microsoft, you won't be able to change which speed-checking service you want to use.

Still, it's a cool idea, and I hope Microsoft does allow you to pick your favorite website instead of pushing you to use Bing. After all, the feature is still in a work-in-progress state, so there's every chance that Microsoft will add the feature eventually, even if that chance is pretty slim. In the meantime, if you want something you can use without opening up a browser, we've covered an internet speed and uptime tracker that helps keep your ISP honest.