How to Troubleshoot Connectivity Issues with Browser-Based Labs
If you're experiencing issues connecting to or using our browser-based labs, follow these steps to identify and resolve common connectivity problems:
Step 1: Perform Basic Connectivity Checks
Choose the Closest Lab Region: Select a lab region nearest to your geographical location to minimize latency and improve performance.
Use an Incognito/Private Browser Window: Open the lab in a private/incognito browsing window with all extensions, including ad blockers, disabled. This eliminates potential interference caused by browser add-ons.
Try a Different Browser: If the issue persists, switch to a different browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Edge) to rule out browser-specific problems.
Check Your Network Connection: Use a different network (e.g., switch from Wi-Fi to a mobile hotspot or another Wi-Fi connection) to bypass possible firewall restrictions on corporate or educational networks.
Disable VPN or Proxy: Disconnect from any VPN or proxy servers and check if this improves lab connectivity.
Limit Bandwidth Usage: Avoid running bandwidth-heavy applications (e.g., downloads, streaming) on your network or device during your lab session.
Step 2: Test Your Network Speed and Stability
If the above steps do not resolve the issue, perform the following tests to check your network connection quality:
Run a Speed Test:
Visit Cloudflare Speed Test and note the results.
Run an AWS Latency Test:
Visit AWS Speed Test.
Select the following regions:
UAE
N. Virginia
Frankfurt
Singapore
Scroll down to the final sections of the page and note the results.
Step 3: Analyze the Test Results
High Latency or Poor Connection Quality:
If your network speed/stability appears to be bad with higher than average packet loss or if your lowest AWS latency for the 4 regions exceeds 150 ms, this highly indicate network issues.Solution:
Switch to a more stable and faster network connection.
If possible, switch to a wired Ethernet connection for better reliability.
Still Need Help?
If you've gone through these troubleshooting steps and still face issues with lab connectivity, we're here to help. Please refer to our "Contacting CyberDefenders Support" article to contact us, and don't forget to provide the following information:
A brief description of the issue.
Any error messages or codes you've encountered.
The region you selected for your lab session.