Tips to Optimize uTorrent Download Speeds

April 02, 2008 by sharky

Many torrenters aren’t aware of this, but by default µTorrent functions on some very uncharitable out-of-the-box settings. This is to accommodate users who have a slow Internet connection (dialup) or have a small TCP limit. Or perhaps they’re just an evil crew that wants to download faster than you! Whatever the motives, here’s how to get µTorrent running in tip-top shape.

Before we begin, you’ll need the latest stable version of µTorrent. Most private trackers are moving away from allowing any version that is not 1.7.7 or 1.8.x (but be sure to check their FAQ for more info), and most likely beta versions are also banned. Got it? Great!

1. LLVLord TCP/IP Patch

This isn’t a µTorrent tip, but you’ll first need to do this for most of the other tips to work well. Aside from Microsoft.com, this tip can be found everywhere. WinXP limits the number of max. half-open TCP connections to just ten. Use the Llvlord patch to change your limit to 50, perhaps even 100 (but no higher).

2. Use a Good Port number

Another tip that’s been done to death (but is ever-so important) is to use a port from the good port range - somewhere between 49152 through 65535. These are dynamic and/or private ports - great for keeping your ISP out of your BitTorrent traffic. Go to Options -> Preferences -> Connection and enter in number from the above range (i.e. 57000). Save your changes.

To test your port number, go to Options -> Speed Guide… and click on the button “Test if port is forwarded properly”. This will launch the µTorrent port checker webpage that will tell you if the port is open or not.

If you get an “OK” message - great - move on to Step 3.

If not, keep reading. If you run into problems with the port test, it could be for a few reasons. For the sake of these tests, we chose port 57000.

2a. Personal Firewall - If you are running firewall software such as ZoneAlarm, Norton Internet Security, Norton Personal Firewall, CounterSpy, McAfee, etc., then you’ll configure your firewall such that µTorrent has access to port 57000. This is normally accomplished by starting up µTorrent, and the firewall should spring up an access alert. Simply select the option to “Always Allow” the program to access the Internet. If you use Windows Firewall, µTorrent is configured (by default) for it, so there’s little to do.

2b. Home Router - If you are running a router (also called a wireless access point), you may have to configure it to direct all TCP/UDP BitTorrent traffic to port 57000 to be routed to your computer. If so, visit - http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm. Click the router you are using. Click the application, which is µTorrent, and follow the instructions.

3. Proper Upload Speed

Set this to about 80% of your overall upload line capacity. To find this out, visit speedtest.net and conduct the exam. After the test, change the results to show the output in kilobytes (see the ‘Speed Measure’ dropdown box to the right).

Multiply this by 0.8 and you have your magic number. Go to Preferences -> Connection and enter in the new number for the Maximum Upload rate. Leave your download rate at “0″ (maximum).

4. BitTorrent Settings

In Options -> Preferences -> BitTorrent you’ll need to make some recommended modifications. In the first section - “Number of Connections”, change these settings to:

Global Max. number of connections:	800
Maximum number of connected peers per torrent:	125
Number of upload slots per torrent:	80

In the next section, “Additional BitTorrent Features”, put checkmarks in all of these boxes:

Enable DHT network

Enable Local Peer Discovery

Ask Tracker for Scrape Information

Enable Peer Exchange

Lastly, make sure that “Protocol Encryption” is set to Enable, and there’s a tick in “Allow incoming legacy connections”. Here’s what the BitTorrent tab should now look like:

5. Enable Encryption

In Options -> Speed Guide… be sure there’s a tick in the “Enable Encryption” box. This may assist those users whose download speeds are suffering at the hands of ISPs that throttle P2P traffic.

6. Advanced Settings

In Options -> Preferences -> Advanced you’ll need to make a few adjustments, as well. Scroll down to where it says “net.max_halfopen” and change this from 8 to 50. (If you’re on a dialup Internet connection, don’t do this). Now, scroll up to “bt.connect_speed” and change the value from 20 to 50. Last, go to “diskio.flush_files” and be sure this is set to true. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

After making these changes, you’ll need to stop & restart all of your active torrents. Or, just quit µTorrent and fire it back up. There should be a green checkmark at the bottom of the µTorrent window - this means you are reachable (the port is properly forwarded and other settings are optimal). Note that it sometimes takes a few minutes to turn green.

Final Notes

If these modifications didn’t increase your download rates, and you’re still suffering from miserable speeds, it’s completely reasonable to assume that your ISP is blocking or throttling your P2P traffic. An SSH account or a free VPN service may be able to help.

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