If you are browsing the web on a slow internet connection, you know how frustrating it can get. You start to download a file and the download manager shows “3 days remaining”. Downloading large movie files seems like a distant dream but even small files like word documents, PDF or an MP3 may take a long time to finish.

Webmail clients like Gmail takes a long time to load and you can neither see your inbox nor download any of the important attachments.

Recently one of my non geeky friends asked me this question” My ISP’s connection is slow and it gets worse during the peak hours or in the middle of the day. How can I increase the file download speed on a slow internet connection? Can you offer any advice , tips or tricks ?

Honestly, you really can’t do much if your internet connection is slow. However, you can follow these simple techniques to boost your download speed, even if by a bit.

Tip #1: Do not Download Multiple Files Simultaneously

If you start downloading multiple files, the download speed will get distributed which in turn will reduce the total download time to a great extent. Hence on a dial up connection or a connection with less speed, it is not recommended to initiate parallel file downloads.

Tip #2: Download Files You Really Want

Prioritize your file downloads and only download those things which you need immediately. You can resume the movie downloads later, if you are using a good download manager

Tip #3: Download Files When you Are Away From Computer

If the file downloads take a long time to finish, use a download manager and turn on file downloads when you are away from the computer. You may be taking your shower, having lunch or taking a short nap – just turn the downloads on and start doing other works.

At the end of the day you will see that major portion of the download is complete because you were busy with other tasks and the download continued in the mean time.

Tip #4: Measure the Speed of Your Internet Connection

If you are not very sure regarding the upload/ download speed or the bandwidth usage of your ISP, use a free program to find the speed of your internet connection. If you find that the speed is very low and not pertaining to the assigned quota, it’s time to ring your ISP’s number. Talk to them and ask why you are not getting the usual internet browsing speed.

Tip #5: Do Not Install Windows Updates

Do not turn on Windows updates when you are downloading something. This will heavily reduce the download speed and you may encounter broken downloads in the worst case. You may read this trick to install Windows updates offline

Tip #6: Try Downloading at Different Times of the day

The internet connection speed may vary during the course of the day so you can skip the peak hours and try downloading the same file at late night hours. A good idea would be to turn on file downloads after dinner and go to bed – come back next morning and see whether the download has finished or not.

Got any tip for faster file downloads on a slow internet connection? Share them in the comments.

Tip: Turn any file download into a Torrent