Wifi, Internet and Cellular Speeds on Koh Tao

Internet speeds on Koh Tao are generally very fast - as of August, 2025 the main service is from a underwater fiber line to Koh Phangan with a backup Microwave relay to Koh Phangan. Speeds get up to 700mbps down, 450ish up. These will vary depending on the service package, router/modem where you are at, how close you are to the Access Point or router etc. 

Getting an AIS SIM with a large data pool or unlimited data is a good backup plan for weak areas or if there is a power outage. You can purchase AIS SIMs on the island at:
 5G cell service is available on Koh Tao.

Wifi speeds at good Cafes and Restaurants are usually 100-400mbps up/down

Speed & Connection Testing Tools

Tips and tricks for diagnosing internet speed or connections issues:

  • Set your DNS: Generally use Cloudflare DNS - a lot of countries try to route DNS through their own servers for whatever reason and some of them suck badly (been seeing this in Vietnam)            
  • DNS Part 2: Check your devices DNS entries, if you see a bunch of weird crap there, and you are not sure it's needed - copy them to a doc and save them, then delete them, if things break you can always re-add them from your list you saved
  • Test with Cloudflare Warp service on/off - sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't - speed or connection reliability wise (use the Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 app for this)
  • Apple users: check if you have iCloud Private Relay turned on - if so try turning it off. Sometimes the relay times are really long to their servers
  • Travel Router: Carry some type of quality Wi-fi router/extender - like a GL-iNet Beryl AX - you can use these to extend weak networks in hotels/apartments, or replace/create a wifi network from an old crappy router.  I probably end up using mine about 50% of the time in hotels, apartments, airbnb's etc.  
  • Short VPN Hop: If you are in a country with some kind of "country firewall/filtering" try using a VPN to connect to a nearby country that has great infistructure.  Just to try and tunnel to a better connection point.  IE from Laos - try to tunnel to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong etc

TaoHub Coworking space in Mae Haad is reliable and has a 600/400 fiber connection.

Speedtest results - Jan 20, 2023 - mid-day at Taohub - Macbook Air M2 over shared wifi connection.






















Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Power Reliability on Koh Tao for Digital Nomads - Where has generators?

Where to work from on Koh Tao as a Digital Nomad - Coworking & Cafes

Places to stay on Koh Tao - Finding accomodation as a Digital Nomad On Koh Tao