This wikiHow teaches you how to increase the download speed of items downloaded through Internet Download Manager (IDM), which is a download accelerator for Windows computers. While IDM already has the potential to speed up your downloads, you can further increase download speed by increasing the number of available connections, disabling the speed limiter, clearing downloaded items, and scheduling downloads for low-traffic times.

Part 1
Part 1 of 5:

Increasing Connections

  1. 1
    Open Internet Download Manager. If you don't have IDM yet, download it from https://www.internetdownloadmanager.com and install it before continuing.
  2. 2
    Click Options. This is a gear-shaped icon at the top of the IDM window.
    Advertisement
  3. 3
    Click the Connection tab. It's on the right side of the Internet Download Manager Configuration page.
  4. 4
  5. 5
    Change the number of connections. Click the drop-down box to the right of the "Default max. conn. number" item, then click 16, 24, or 32.
    • Only perform this step if your computer, router, and connection type are all high-performance models. Otherwise, increasing connections will actually decrease download speed.
    • Using the maximum number of connections available may get your IP address blacklisted on some download sites if you download more than one file at a time.
  6. 6
    Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. This will save your connection settings.
  7. Advertisement
Part 2
Part 2 of 5:

Disabling the Speed Limiter

  1. 1
    Click the Downloads tab. It's in the upper-left side of the Internet Download Manager window.
  2. 2
    Select Speed Limiter. This option is near the bottom of the drop-down menu.
  3. 3
    Click Turn Off. Doing so prevents IDM from capping your download speed.
  4. Advertisement
Part 3
Part 3 of 5:

Decreasing Simultaneous Downloads

  1. 1
    Click Scheduler. This clock-shaped icon is at the top of the IDM window.
  2. 2
    Click the Files in the queue tab. It's near the top of the Scheduler window.
  3. 3
  4. 4
    Click Apply. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so saves your settings.
  5. Advertisement
Part 4
Part 4 of 5:

Scheduling Downloads

  1. 1
    Click the Schedule tab. It's to the left of the Files in the queue tab. If you have pending downloads in your queue, you can schedule them to download during a lower-traffic time (e.g., midnight).
  2. 2
    Check the "Start download at" box. It's near the top of the page.
  3. 3
    Select a download start time. Change the time in the box to the right of the "Start download at" heading to the time at which you want to start the download.
  4. 4
    Make sure the "Stop download at" box is unchecked. If you want to ensure that your files are completely downloaded, don't set a mandatory cut-off.
    • If your network requires you to download for less than a certain amount of time or you're downloading while away from the computer, you might want to set a download time.
  5. 5
    Click Apply. This will schedule any downloads in your queue for your specified time.
  6. 6
  7. Advertisement
Part 5
Part 5 of 5:

Clearing Downloaded Items

  1. 1
    Click the Downloads tab. This feature is only available if you have registered IDM.
  2. 2
    Click Delete All Completed. It's near the top of the drop-down window.
  3. 3
    Click OK when prompted. This will delete all downloaded items from IDM's history, which will free up RAM (memory) space for current downloads.
  4. 4
    Restart Internet Download Manager. If you've cleared the downloads but your current files aren't downloading any faster, try closing and re-opening IDM.
  5. Advertisement

Community Q&A

  • Question
    Is this program free? Does it really work?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Yes, it's totally legit and it really works. There was a constant speed between 800KB/sec to 2MB/sec. I could download 42GB within a day and a half.
  • Question
    Will this work when downloading stuff from Google Chrome?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    If you have IDM, it will automatically download through IDM, not through Google Chrome.
  • Question
    Where is the open option in point number five?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Just press ctrl+alt+delete, and select Open Task Manager. Or simply search for it in the Windows menu.
Advertisement

Warnings


Advertisement

About This Article

Jack Lloyd
Written by:
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 413,010 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 13
Updated: December 7, 2022
Views: 413,010
Categories: Downloading
Article SummaryX

1. Open IDM.
2. Click Options.
3. Click Connection.
4. Change your connection type and speed.
5. Select a larger number from the "Max. Connections" menu.
6. Click OK.
7. Click the Downloads menu.
8. Select the Speed Limiter menu.
9. Click Turn off.

Did this summary help you?
Advertisement