How to Make Steam Download Faster

Are you a Steam user who’s constantly frustrated by steam slow download speeds? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Slow steam downloads are a common issue for many users of this popular gaming platform, leaving them wondering, ‘why is my steam download so slow?‘ or ‘how to make my steam download faster‘

The good news is that there are several methods you can try to increase steam download speed. This comprehensive guide will walk you through them all, providing a step-by-step breakdown of how to speed up steam downloads. How to make steam download faster.

Check your Internet Connection

Before we start tweaking Steam settings, it’s essential to ensure that your internet speed isn’t the problem. You can confirm this by running a download speed test.

How to check your Internet Connection:

• Run a speed test using a tool like Speedtest or Fast.com. This will give you a clear idea of your upload and download speeds.
• Compare your test results with the speeds your internet service provider (ISP) has promised. If they’re significantly lower, you may need to contact your ISP.
• Check whether other devices or applications are using your internet connection. If so, try to limit their usage while you’re downloading on Steam.

Change your download region

Steam servers are located all over the world. If you are downloading from a steam server location that is far away from you, then your download speeds will be slower. To change your download region, go to Steam > Settings > Downloadsand select the region that is closest to you.

Configure Steam’s Download Settings

Steam allows users to adjust their steam download settings, which can have a significant impact on download speeds. Let’s look at how to make these adjustments.

How to Configure Steam’s Download Settings:

1. Open your Steam client and navigate to Steam > Settings > Downloads.
2. Under ‘Download Region’, select the server closest to your location. If this doesn’t improve download speeds, try selecting a server in a different region where internet traffic may be lower.
3. Under ‘Limit Bandwidth to’, ensure that it’s set to ‘No limit’.
4. Click ‘OK’ to apply the changes.

Prioritize Steam in Task Manager

Windows Task Manager allows you to prioritize certain applications over others. By giving Steam higher priority, you can ensure it gets more resources, which could speed up downloads. This is an effective task manager usage.

How to Prioritize Steam in Task Manager:

1. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. Find the Steam Client in the list of processes, right-click it, and select ‘Go to details’.
3. In the ‘Details’ window, right-click the SteamService.exe process and set its priority to high.

Terminate Unnecessary Processes

Closing unnecessary applications and services can free up resources, potentially resulting in faster downloads.

How to Terminate Unnecessary Processes:

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
2. Right-click on unnecessary processes and select ‘End Task’.
3. Open the ‘Resource Monitor’ to see if any applications are hogging your bandwidth. If so, end those tasks too.

Disable Antivirus and Firewall Temporarily

Sometimes, antivirus software and firewalls may interfere with your downloads. While it’s not recommended to leave these security measures disabled for long, temporarily disabling them can help improve download speeds.

Steam Cleaner Tools

Several third-party applications are designed to optimize Steam’s performance. Explore popular Steam cleaner tools that can help remove unnecessary files and improve download speed.

Check for Software Conflicts

Conflicts with other software can hinder Steam’s performance. We’ll guide you through the process of identifying and resolving these conflicts.

Optimize your Internet Connection

If you’re using Wi-Fi, consider switching to a wired Ethernet connection. Wired connections, in the wifi vs ethernet debate, are typically faster and more reliable than wireless ones.

How to Optimize your Internet Connection:

1. Connect your PC to your router using an Ethernet cable.
2. Update your LAN drivers.
3. Consider using tools like DriverEasy to keep your drivers up-to-date.

Use a VPN

Sometimes, using a VPN can help increase download speeds, especially if your ISP is throttling your connection. A VPN can also be beneficial if the server you’re downloading from is located in a different country.

Change Steam’s Download Cache

Clearing Steam’s download cache can sometimes help increase download speeds.

How to Clear Steam’s Download Cache:

1. Open your Steam client and navigate to Steam > Settings > Downloads.
2. Click ‘Clear Download Cache’ and confirm the action.

Updating Steam

Ensure that your Steam client is updated to the latest version. Older versions might not be optimized for speed, leading to slower download speeds.

Try a Different Connection

If all else fails, you might want to consider using a faster internet connection. This could be a different Wi-Fi network or even a mobile hotspot.

Contact Steam support

If you have tried all of the above tips and your Steam download speeds are still slow, then you can contact Steam support for help.

Additional tips:

• Avoid downloading games during peak hours. Steam is most congested during peak hours, such as evenings and weekends. Try downloading games during off-peak hours if possible.
• If you are downloading a large game, try splitting it into smaller downloads. You can do this by right-clicking on the game in your Steam library and selecting Properties > Updates and then unchecking the Allow download during gameplay box.
• If you are still having problems with Steam downloads, you can try using a VPN. A VPN can sometimes help to improve download speeds by routing your traffic through a different server.

There are some terminal commands to potentially improve your Steam download speed on a Linux system

Adjusting TCP Window Size

You can also adjust the TCP window size for Steam downloads. Open a terminal and enter the following command:

sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.tcp_window_scaling=1

This command enables TCP window scaling, which can help with faster downloads. Keep in mind that you might need administrative privileges for this command.

Limiting Steam’s Throttle

If Steam is consuming too much bandwidth and causing other activities to slow down, you can limit its download speed in the terminal for better network traffic management and steam download throttle. This is a part of bandwidth management and helps in setting a steam download limit to manage steam download traffic.

steam -tcp -limit 50000

This command limits the download speed to 50,000 KB/s (adjust the value as needed).

Clearing Steam Cache

To clear the Steam cache from the terminal, you can use the following commands:

steam --clear beta
steam --reset

These commands will clear the Steam cache and reset some settings that might be affecting download speed.

Another method is to use the steam-validate-runtime command to validate your Steam runtime. This can sometimes help to fix problems with Steam downloads. To do this, open a terminal window and navigate to your Steam installation directory. Then, run the following command:

./steam-validate-runtime

You can also try using the steam-cmdline command to launch Steam with specific command-line options. One option that may help to improve download speeds is the -maxdownloadspeed option. This option allows you to specify the maximum download speed in KB/s. To use this option, open a terminal window and navigate to your Steam installation directory. Then, run the following command:

./steam-cmdline -maxdownloadspeed 10000

This will limit your Steam download speed to 10 MB/s to fix slow download speed. You can adjust the value for better network optimization and optimize download speed.-maxdownloadspeed option to match your internet connection speed.

Conclusion

Remember, the goal is to make Steam download faster. You might need to experiment with different methods to find what works best for you. Keep in mind that several factors could affect your download speeds, including your ISP, the server you’re downloading from, and the settings on your PC. So, take your time and test out different strategies to find the perfect solution for your needs.