Steam is a widely used platform for downloading games. Instead of following the usual method of downloading and installing the games to your computer, Steam provides an easy way of directly downloading the games to your computer without having to spend any extra time installing or unpacking them. So, Steam definitely improves the process of downloading and installing several games, especially for those who frequently download new titles.
Apart from just downloading the new games, most of the games get regular updates every once in a while which need to be downloaded, all through Steam. Steam will automatically identify the updates to the games and notify you to download them. What happens if the download speed is not good enough even with an extremely fast internet connection?
Even though the downloads in the browser run at full speed if Steam still lags, it can be a headache at times. Especially when you have a new title out on Steam, you purchased it, and you are anxious to try it out. And, the download speed is extremely slow. There is nothing else needed to make you angry at that moment.
In this article, we are going to explore the possible reasons for the slow download speed on Steam and the fixes that will ensure that your Steam downloads run at maximum potential. Without further due, let’s have a look at the ways to fix Steam download speed slow issue.
1. Check your Internet Connection
The first thing you should do is checking your internet connection. I am pretty sure that you already did that. If you didn’t, run a speed test using one of the online tools to ensure your internet connectivity speeds. You can also confirm with your ISP to see if there is any network outage in the area. If you confirmed that there are some issues with your internet connection, try fixing them first. If you didn’t, also make sure that no other connected devices on the network are consuming data without you noticing it. Disconnect all the connected devices such as your Smartphones, Tablets, etc. from the network and retry the download again.
2. Change DNS Server
Choosing the best DNS server can be important at times. Even though the ISP will automatically set the best DNS for you, you can do that manually by assigning the DNS server yourself. Choose the best DNS that fits for you to see changes in the download speeds of your Steam games. Experiment using different DNS servers and monitor the speed differences in each one of them. Finally, go for the best one that fits your needs. Personally, I recommend going for the popular Google DNS which is 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
3. Clear Steam Download Cache
When you download something using Steam, it stores the download files cache on your PC. This may conflict with the new downloads in some rare cases. So, clearing the Steam cache may solve the issue. To do that, follow these steps.
- Open Steam.
- Navigate to Steam > Settings.
- Go to the Downloads tab.
- Click on the CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE button.
- Click OK when prompted.
That’s it, your Steam download cache will be cleared by now and you can try downloading the game once again to see if it solves the issue.
4. Pause/Resume the Download
This may sound silly, but sometimes it works for some reason. Just try pausing the download on Steam and resuming them. It will be the simplest fix if it works. If not, just move on to the next method. Pausing the Steam download will reset the connection from the Steam server to your computer and resuming it will re-assign the connection making it faster. So, just give it a try.
5. Change Steam Download Server
Steam downloads the files from the best server that it decides to suit your location. Sometimes, a certain server may face some difficulties serving content to you. In that case, you can try switching to a different server location to get a much faster Steam download speed. To change the Steam server location, follow these steps.
- Open Steam.
- Go to Settings.
- Go to the Downloads tab.
- Choose a different location in the Download Region section.
- Click OK at the bottom.
Make sure you choose a server near your location in order to make sure that you get the best download speeds.
6. Try Disabling your Firewall
An Internet firewall is a great option to get rid of any potential threats that might leak your data and get you in trouble while using the Internet. But, at times, this can also create problems with secure connections identified as potential threats. So, if you are facing a download lag on Steam, you can also try disabling your firewall from your Antivirus or Internet security applications. The steps to do that will differ based on the program you are using on your computer. Just Google it and you will find the way to do that.
7. Reinstall Steam Software
This is the last thing you can do. If none of the above things work, you can try reinstalling the Steam client on your computer. Just uninstall it and download the latest version of Steam from their website. Install it on your computer and restart the download. The possibility of this method fixing your issue is very low. However, still worth a try as none of the other methods worked.
Before uninstalling Steam from your computer, as your download speeds are slow, you should back up the already downloaded Steam games so that you do not have to download them again.
8. Change Steam Download Location
Here I am again with another possible fix for download speed issues in Steam. If your hard drive has some issues in the selected drive or the download location doesn’t have enough storage, your download may stop completely or start slowing down as the storage capacity approaches. In such situations, try changing your Steam download location. You can change it by following these steps.
- Open Steam.
- Navigate to Steam > Settings.
- Go to the Downloads tab.
- Click on the STEAM LIBRARY FOLDERS button.
- Click on the ADD LIBRARY FOLDER button.
- After adding the folder, right-click on it and make it the default Steam download location by clicking on the Make Default Folder option.
9. Disable Download Throttling
If you’ve enabled the Steam app to throttle downloads while streaming, you will be able to stream at the fastest possible pace but your download speed will suffer. This might explain the issue if your downloads are becoming too slow.
Here’s how to disable download throttling:
- Launch Steam on your PC.
- In the top-left corner of your screen, click on the Steam menu button and then go to Settings.
- Go to the left-sidebar and click on Downloads.
- Unselect the Throttle downloads while streaming checkbox and you’re good to go!
10. Check Steam’s download settings
Your download speeds can be increased and your slow download speed suffering minimized by making a few quick adjustments to some basic settings that may be keeping your download speed back.
- Launch Steam on your PC.
- From the top-left corner of your screen, click on the Steam menu button and then go to Settings.
- From there go to Downloads.
- Unselect the Limit bandwidth checkbox.
- Additionally, unselect Only auto-update games between.
11. Repair corrupted system files
It’s likely that your corrupted system files are to fault if you’re having recurring issues and none of the previously mentioned fixes worked for you. Repairing the system files is critical for making this right. You may use the System File Checker (SFC) program to help you with this. The sfc/scannow command may be used to launch a scan that finds issues and fixes missing or corrupted system files.
It’s crucial to remember that the SFC program primarily focuses on scanning large files and could miss more minor problems. When the SFC program is inadequate, a more potent and specialized Windows repair tool is advised. You can easily find many trusted automated Windows repair tools that will save you the trouble of manually doing it every time.
12. Check if your system has enough free space
Sometimes, when downloading large games, there is a chance of unknowingly overflowing the available disk space. Especially if you have a lot of games installed on your system, make sure that you are not running out of space. In most cases, you may face not enough disk space available error on Steam if this happens.
Maybe the problem is not on your Side
Now you have gone through different methods trying to solve the slow downloading speed of Steam games. Even after all these efforts, if you are not able to fix the issue with your download, the problem may be on the Steam side. But it is extremely unlikely this to happen. Especially, if you are facing the issue all the time, you cannot suspect the Steam servers as they try to keep it performing at its best almost all of the time. So, you should go on with diagnosing the issue further.