Is Steam download slow? Here’s how you can fix it for Windows

If downloading video games is taking several hours on your Windows PC due to slow download speed, we have awesome tips and tricks to handle that situation. While there isn’t much a person can do when the internet speed is staggering, a few tweaks within Steam settings and Windows can improve the speed of the download process if you feel that it was slower than usual.

Know easy ways to increase download speed on Steam for Windows:

Detect internet issue

Before changing anything in Steam settings, it is important to detect any issue with your internet connection which is ultimately causing a decrease in download speed. The best way to do that is by testing your connection speed.

Check Steam’s bandwidth

Even without any issues, it is important to allocate maximum bandwidth to the Steam application on Windows. However, it can be temporarily achieved by pausing all other downloads which might be running alongside your video game. Other ways to increase Steam’s bandwidth are by closing certain browsers, ensuring that any streaming website is not open, and shutting down other apps that use the internet. You can also do that by deleting running apps on Task Manager.

Reset metered connection on Windows

You need to ensure that Windows metered connection option is disabled as it limits bandwidth usage. Here’s how you can do it;

Click on ‘Start’
Go to ‘Settings’
Select ‘Network & Internet
Click on WiFi Connection
Turn Off ‘Metered Connection’
Disable VPN as its encryption and protocol along with the distance to the server can significantly impact speed

Check if Steam is not limiting its own bandwidth. Go to the app’s ‘Settings’ and then select ‘Downloads’. You can then untick the box for ‘Limit bandwidth to’.

Clear Download Cache in Steam, the option can be found by following the above steps but the last step should be to click ‘Clear Download Cache’.

FAQs:

1. What is Steam?
   Steam is a video game digital distribution service and store to download new games developed by Valve. In September 2003, Steam was launched as a software client with which, Valve used to provide automatic updates for its games.
2. What is Valve Corporation?
   Valve Corporation is an American video game developer.