4 Ways to Make Steam Download Faster

In recent years, Steam has established its presence as the top video game distributor for PC gamers. The all-in-one gaming software, allows users to buy, download and organize their games while even safely backing up their data. However, regular users of Steam have reported downloads slowing down and taking much longer than expected. If your Steam account is undergoing similar issues, here’s a guide that will help you figure out how to make Steam download faster.

Why is my download speed so slow on Steam?

Slow download speeds on Steam can be attributed to various factors ranging from faulty network connections to unfavourable settings on the application. Unless the issue is caused by your network provider, all other slow download speed issues can be fixed through your PC itself. Read ahead to find out how to boost your Steam download speed.

How to Make Steam Download Faster

Method 1: Clear the Download Cache in Steam

For every game you download on Steam, some additional files are stored in the form of cached storage. These files serve no purpose other than to slow down your steam downloads. Here’s how you can clear the download cache in Steam:

1. Open the Steam application on your PC and click on the ‘Steam’ option in the top left corner of the screen.

2. From the options that drop down, click on ‘Settings’ to proceed.

3. In the Settings window navigate to the ‘Downloads’ menu.

4. At the bottom of the Downloads page, click on ‘Clear Download Cache.’

5. This will clear the unnecessary cache storage and speed up your Steam downloads.

Method 2: Change the Download Region

Steam has various servers across the world, that facilitate proper functioning in different regions. A basic rule while changing the download region in steam, is that the closer the region is to your actual location, the faster the download speed.

1. Following the steps mentioned above, open the ‘Download’ Settings on your Steam application.

2. Click on the section titled ‘Download Region’ to reveal the list of servers that Steam has across the world.

3. From the list of regions, select the area closest to your location.

4. While you are at it, observe the download restrictions panel, below the download region. Here, make sure the ‘Limit bandwidth’ option is unchecked and the ‘Throttle downloads while streaming’ option is enabled.

5. Once all these changes have been made, click on OK. The download speed on your steam account should be much faster.

Also Read: 12 Ways to Fix Steam Won’t Open Issue

Method 3: Allocate more Resources to Steam

There are hundreds of applications and software operating in the background of your PC all the time. These applications tend to slow down your system and hog the internet connection causing apps such as Steam to have slow downloads. However, you can adjust these settings, by giving Steam a higher priority and allocating more of your computer’s resources to facilitate its download speed.

1. Right-click on the start menu in the bottom left corner of your Windows device.

2. From the list of options, click on ‘Task Manager’ to proceed.

3. On the Task Manager, click on the ‘Details’ option in the panel at the top.

4. Click on the ‘Name’ option on top of the list to sort all the processes in alphabetical order, then scroll down and find all the options pertaining to the Steam application.

5. Right-click on the ‘steam.exe’ option and drag your cursor to the ‘Set priority’ option.

6. From the list, click on ‘High’ to let Steam use more RAM.

7. A warning window will pop up. Click on ‘Change priority’ to continue.

8. Your Steam application should be faster and more efficient regarding downloads.

Method 4: Disable Firewall and other third-party applications

Antivirus applications and firewalls mean well when they try to protect our system but, in the process, they often restrict the internet usage and make your PC slow. If you have a powerful antivirus that has unrestricted access to your PC, then chances are it has caused Steam to download files at a much slower rate. Here’s how you can disable the firewall and antivirus to speed up Steam:

1. On your PC, open the Settings app and navigate to the option titled ‘Update and Security.’

2. Head to the windows Security’ in the panel on the left side.

3. Click on ‘Virus and Threat Actions’ to proceed.

4. Scroll down to find the Virus and threat protection settings and click on ‘Manage settings.’

5. On the next page, click on the toggle switch next to the ‘Real-time protection’ feature to turn it off. If you are using a third-party antivirus, you will have to disable it manually.

6. Once done, Steam will no longer be affected by firewalls and antiviruses slowing down its download speed. Make sure that once you have downloaded a certain game, you re-enable all the disabled security settings.

With that, you have managed to increase the download speed on Steam. The next time the app slows down and downloads take longer than anticipated, just follow the steps mentioned above to fix the issue.

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We hope this article helped you figure out how to make steam download faster. However, if the speed remains unchanged despite all necessary steps, reach out to us through the comments section and we might be of assistance.