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How To Change The Download Bandwidth Limit On Steam

It is possible to improve your bandwidth from the Steam settings

4 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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While using Steam, sometimes you may struggle with the Internet speed for other tasks. In such a case you can change the download bandwidth limit on Steam.

This usually occurs when Steam uses up most of your Internet speed for downloading.

Steam allows you to download games at full speed most times, on high-speed Internet. But if the connection is not so good, you may not be able to use it for other tasks at the same time.

But if you are facing an issue like theSteam download keeps restarting, you can refer to our detailed post for solutions.

Does Steam have a cap on download speed?

Does Steam have a cap on download speed?

While the Steam download rate does not have a limit, it does get confined by the bandwidth of the server you are downloading from and the speed of your hard drive.

So, while your download speed will not exceed the sender’s upload speed, Steam also limits your download speed based on your hard drive’s write speed.

You can check the average download speed per country on theSteam Download Statspage along with the amount of bandwidth used by each country.

So, how do you change the download bandwidth limit on Steam? Here we have a quick guide to help you cap the download speed on Steam.

Quick tip:

Opera GX is a specially tuned version of the Opera Browser with new and distinctive features and design meant for people who like playing computer games. This browser version can let you limit the network bandwidth used by your browser to speed up your gaming and streaming experience.

Streaming music while playing a game or streaming the gameplay in parallel can require a lot of bandwidth. The network limiter solves that issue by allowing you to set maximum limits on how much of your network’s bandwidth you would like to allocate to your browser.

Opera GX sticks to that limit, which signifies that your game or streaming service outside of the browser will run more smoothly.

Opera GX

How do I change the bandwidth limit on Steam?

How do I change the bandwidth limit on Steam?

  1. Launch the Steam application.

  2. Go to the top left and selectSettingsfrom theSteamdrop-down menu.

3.Next, click on theDownloadstab on the left of theSettingswindow.

4.Now, go to the right side of the screen and underDownload restrictions, make sure that theThrottle downloads while streamingoption is checked.

  1. Check the box next to theLimit bandwidth to:option.

  2. You can now set the limit you would want. Under theEnter a new value belowbox, set the bandwidth value.

7.This value is inKB/s, so, if you want to set it toMB/s, remember that1000 KB/s = 1 MB/s. For example,8000kbps=8Mbpsand so on.

  1. Press theApplybutton below. Once done, clickOkto save changes and exit.

You can modify Steam’s bandwidth limit via its built-in Settings menu. From there, you can manually input a desired value to be the download limit. However, do keep in mind that the value you input needs to be in KB/s format.

Why is Steam not using my full download speed?

There can be two possibilities why Steam is not hitting full download speed as below:

In this case, clearing the download cache, or changing the download region may help fix theslow Steam download speed.

But if it does not work, you can also try the below solutions to make sure Steam uses full download speed:

1. Remove the bandwidth limit

You can now resume your download and Steam will utilize the full download speed.

2. Add an exclusion

You have successfully added the Steam folder to the exceptions list and you should experience the full download speed now.

Downloading and playing games on Steam is usually a pleasure, but it’s also known to utilize all your Internet bandwidth to download files.

While downloading the files on Steam becomes easier, it can affect your network speed for other online tasks.

Therefore, the above guide can help you to throttle the Steam download speed so that you can make the most of the Internet speed and multi-task at the same time.

But if yourSteam download is stuck at 100%, you can find some effective troubleshooting methods in our detailed guide here.

For any other queries related to Steam errors or any download issues, do let us know in the comments box below.

More about the topics:bandwidth,download

Madhuparna Roy

A diploma holder in computers and with a keen interest in technology, Madhuparna is passionate about writing How-to guides and helping people solve the most intricate Windows issues.

It all started with the evolution of mobile phones and Google, and that has now settled with Windows.

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