How To Speed Up Torrent Downloads

Speed Up Torrent Downloads

To share the files over the web sing torrent clients is one of the most popular ways. There are some tweaks for more advanced users while there are just minimal basic settings needed to run these clients.

You can always find plenty of good ways online to increase the torrent download speed. We’re trying to provide you all those tips and methods at a single place.

Install a Lightweight Torrent Client

The very first step you need to follow to increase the torrent downloading speed is to install a lightweight torrent client. Nevertheless, BitTorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients around. On Concord, it comes with lots of bloated apps and other features. I prefer uTorrent most for faster and hassle-free torrent downloading. Also, you can install qBittorent since it’s another lightweight torrent client.

The reason for using a lightweight torrent client is that it only focuses on downloading torrents and speeds up the transfer rate. qBittorent and uTorrent are available for Mac, Linux and Windows.

Choose a Healthy Torrent

Firstly, you need to understand the concept of leecher and seeder for choosing a healthy torrent. These two terms always confuse the new torrent enthusiast. So, here I will try to clear your doubts in simple language. A seeder is one who has the complete copy of the file shared across the network which you intend to download. Nevertheless, a leecher is one who does not have the complete copy of the file. It has joined the network to download the file. He / She becomes a seeder once a leecher downloads the file completely.

The number of seeders should be higher than the number of leechers for a high torrent download speed. The healthier your torrent will be if there is a number of seeders. So, confirm that the seeder-leecher ration is high while choosing a torrent.

Add an Exception to Windows Firewall

Windows firewall blocks your torrent client or you can say your incoming BitTorrent connections. So, adding an exception to Windows firewall will be a good option to boost torrent downloading speed. Firstly navigate to Options -> Preferences -> Connections. Now check Add Windows Firewall exception and then tap Apply. Check Enable UPnP port mapping if it’s unchecked.

Warning: Don’t shut down Windows Firewall permanently as it leaves your PC open to attack.

Change General Settings to Optimize uTorrent

Confirm all the three options that are shown in the figure below are checked to increase the speed of your torrent. Navigate to Options -> Preferences -> General to find these options then check Append. Incomplete files and Pre-allocate all files. Usually, the third option is already checked but if it does not, check that too.

Limit Your Global Upload and Download Rate

You can speed up your torrent downloading by limiting the upload and download rate. On Concord, first, you should understand the fact that torrents breathe the uploading done by users. Setting it as 1 kB/s or turning it completely off may not be a wise option. You don’t want your upload rate to set it as the maximum at the same time. ‘O’ stands for unlimited as it can choke down your own connection.

Setting upload rate to about 70-80% of your maximum upload speed would be a great option. You can keep the download rate 0, as it is considered as maximum. To configure these options navigate to Properties -> Bandwidth. Then set the Global Upload Rate Limit as 80% your maximum upload.

Change the Number of Connections

You can now change the number of connections to avoid any overload once you have set the upload/download rate. You might get a better result if you do hit and trail with the settings. I suggest you some rough numbers which might increase torrent downloading speed for those who aren’t very much sure.

Goto properties -> Bandwidth. Then set Global maximum count of connections to 150 and maximum count of connected peers per torrent to 100. Leave the upload slot as it is.

Add More Trackers

To optimize the torrent download speed, trackers are a good way. Adding faster and new trackers to your existing torrents can increase the download speed by adding new seeds and peers to your connection. The method of adding trackers to your torrent is not so complicated as you only have to add these links to your existing trackers. Confirm that you are not erasing the existing ones and don’t worry about duplication while pasting the new tracker.

Firstly, right tap on the torrent you are downloading to add new trackers and then select Properties. You’ll find the trackers list under the General tab. Scroll to the bottom and paste trackers from the list given below.