The number to plan around is your console's own measured speed — not your phone's speed test and not your plan's advertised rate. Consoles routinely download at 50–85% of what a phone shows on the same network.
How to test on each console
PS5: Settings → Network → Connection Status → Test Internet Connection. Read the download figure.
Xbox: Settings → General → Network settings → Test network speed & statistics.
Why phones lie
Phone speed tests hit the nearest test server over a favorable route and measure a burst. Store downloads run for hours from CDN nodes under load, over your console's (often worse) Wi-Fi position. The gap is routinely 2x.
Then do the math once
Take the console's number, feed it to our Preload Calculator, and you get your personal latest-safe-start time for the estimated 150–200 GB. Retest in the evening too — congested hours are what launch week feels like.
Testing wired vs Wi-Fi takes five minutes and often "finds" 100+ Mbps you already pay for.
Want the exact hour to start your download? The Preload Calculator does the math for your connection speed. Open the calculator →