There are 4 public test networks on Ethereum blockchain: Ropsten, Kovan, Rinkeby and Görli.
Each of the four test networks has its own characteristics:
Ropsten is a blockchain launched to solve the Morden difficulty bomb problem, using the POW mechanism. Users can build their own nodes to mine test ETH, but the stability of the network is poor, and many experimental tests, such as “block blocking attack” experiments, will be carried out on this test network;
Kovan, Rinkeby and Görli are using POA mechanism. These test networks cannot obtain test ETH with mining, but can only be obtained through faucets.
The website for receiving test tokens is called faucet, and the test tokens are usually called water, so the process of receiving test tokens is also called territorial water. Usually, we recommend that you receive some water from each test network, so that other operations can be used directly in the future, such as: functional testing, project experience, and airdrop conditions.
In this article, we take Rinkeby as an example to explain the receiving process. Kovan is similar to Görli, but the collection conditions are stricter, and you can collect it according to your needs.
First of all, please open MetaMask, and “Settings” — ”Advanced” — open “Show test networks” button. Then you can see the test network list.
If you don’t see the test networks, you can add the network manually:
Steps to add a network: Open the ChainList
https://www.tokenbb.com/en/lists/chainlist, search for the chain name, such as “Rinkeby”, and click “Add to Wallet”.
Then, open the list of Faucets h
ttps://www.tokenbb.com/lists/faucets, find Rinkeby, click the faucet link, and follow the instructions displayed on the page to post a Tweet or publish a new public post on Facebook.
You can directly click “tweet” on the page, the tweet will be generated directly for you, you only need to replace the default address with your own wallet address.
After tweeting, copy the link of the tweet and fill in the tap website, then click “Giver me Ether”. Human-machine verification may occur during the receiving process, just follow the prompts to verify.
Then, you can receive the water(test ETH) in about a few minutes, and you can directly switch to the Rinkeby network to view it.
The test ETH of other test networks are selected in a similar way. Find the target blockchain in the faucet list, click the faucet link, and then follow the requirements of the faucet site to receive it. Usually, the faucet site will limit the wallet address or IP to only receive it once in a certain period of time.
For more blockchain’s faucet sites (such as BSC, xDai, Polygon, etc.), please check in the faucet list:
https://www.tokenbb.com/lists/faucets
