NetSpeed – Display Download / Upload Speed in Ubuntu 20.04 Panel

Need an indicator applet to display internet download and upload speed in the top panel of Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome Shell?

NetSpeed used to be an old Gnome applet, then an indicator for Unity desktop. Now it’s a Gnome Shell extension that displays real time internet speed for all network interfaces.

How to Install NetSpeed in Ubuntu 20.04:

In your web browser, simply go to extensions.gnome.org/extension/104/netspeed/

If you don’t see the toggle icon, do:

Click the link text “click here to install browser extension” and follow the pop-ups to install the browser extension:
Then open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T and run command:
```
sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell
```

Finally refresh the extension page, toggle on and click ‘install’ in the confirm pop-up.

To manage the Gnome Shell extension, either use ‘Extensions‘ utility or Gnome Tweak Tool, both are available in Ubuntu Software.

How to Uninstall the applet:

To remove the extension, you may either re-open the web-page via the previous link and turn off the toggle icon.

Or, open terminal and run command to install “Gnome Extensions” app:

sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-prefs

After that, search for and launch the tool, which allows to manage all extensions installed on your system.

App to Manage your extensions

Ji m

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I'm a freelance blogger who started using Ubuntu in 2007 and wishes to share my experiences and some useful tips with Ubuntu beginners and lovers. Please comment to remind me outdated tutorial! And, notify me if you find any typo/grammar/language mistakes. English is not my native language. Contact me via [email protected] Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/ubuntuhandbook1

10 responses to NetSpeed – Display Download / Upload Speed in Ubuntu 20.04 Panel

Jerry September 22, 2020 at 12:41 pm

Hello Jim,

Anyway to get NetSpeed Monitor for “Ubuntu-unity-desktop” 20.04 LTS?

Thanks in advance!

Jerry

Reply
- Ji m September 22, 2020 at 2:38 pm
  
  I don’t use Unity Desktop, but you can try the Ubuntu 19.10 eoan package from this PPA:
  
  https://launchpad.net/~fixnix/+archive/ubuntu/netspeed/+packages
  
  Reply
grek December 29, 2020 at 11:48 pm

thx its work fine !

Reply
Mohan S January 9, 2021 at 4:21 pm

how to change the unit from bit to bytes
For eg; it shows in kilobit, not showing in kilobyte

Reply
- Ji m January 9, 2021 at 4:42 pm
  
  No setting for this unless hack in the source code. You may request this feature in the project page:
  
  https://github.com/hedayaty/NetSpeed/pulls
  
  Reply
Sudhirkumar October 24, 2021 at 7:46 pm

hey… i am using kali linux.. and i need a internet speed monitor. gnome shell extensions are not for kali linux.. can you please suggest me how to install a internet speed monitor for kali linux

Reply
- Ji m October 25, 2021 at 1:31 pm
  
  It depends on which DE you use. Kali Linux has XFCE4, KDE Plasma, and GNOME. For KDE, there’s a Netspeed Widget available in KDE Store.
  
  For XFCE4, use either xfce4-netload-plugin (sudo apt install xfce4-netload-plugin) or Network monitor applet. By adding the applet to panel, it will work after selecting network device. And use “ip addr” to list available network interfaces, they are usually eth0, eth1. wlan0, wlan1, wlo1, etc.
  
  Reply
elinotes April 9, 2022 at 12:39 am

thanks, Thank you very much, I’ve been looking for this tutorial for a long time. Previously I used Windows OS using the Netspeed Monitor application, I finally found the alternative

Reply
Henil April 23, 2022 at 9:38 pm

Hey How to Remove it After Installing. As In my Laptop it has been showing 6 Speedmeters.

Reply
- Ji m April 24, 2022 at 8:35 am
  
  Hi, thanks for your comment. I’ve added the section about how to uninstall the applet.
  
  Reply