Struggling with the slow download speed on your browser? You’re not alone! Tons of people like you are suffering from slow download speeds. The good new is that if you’re using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, you should be able to boost the download speed easily using the experimental feature called parallel downloading.
What is parallel downloading
Parallel downloading is an experimental feature in Chrome and Edge that helps accelerate download speed. When you download a large file, the browser with the parallel downloading feature enabled will divide the large file into small packets and download those small packets simultaneously. Because of this, the download speed will increase.
Currently, the parallel downloading feature is still in beta status, and you need to enable it manually.
How to enable parallel downloading in Google Chrome
If you’re using Google Chrome, just follow the steps below to enable the parallel downloading feature:
- Launch Google Chrome.
- Copy the path below and paste it into the address bar of the browser. Then press the Enter key on your keyboard to open the parallel downloading setting page.
chrome://flags/#enable-parallel-downloading
- Set the parallel downloading feature to Enabled and click Relaunch.
Note: if you didn’t find the parallel downloading feature in Google Chrome, you may need to update Google Chrome to the latest version and try again.
That’s it! After relaunching, you’ll be able to use the parallel downloading feature in Google Chrome.
How to enable parallel downloading in Microsoft Edge
The new Microsoft Edge browser based on Chromium open-source project also supports the parallel downloading feature. If you’re using the new Edge browser, just follow the steps below to enable parallel downloading:
- Launch the new Microsoft Edge browser.
- Copy the path below and paste it into the address bar of the browser. Then press the Enter key on your keyboard to open the parallel downloading setting page.
edge://flags/#enable-parallel-downloading
- Set the parallel downloading feature to Enabled and click Restart.
Note: if you didn’t find the parallel downloading option in Microsoft Edge, you may need to update Microsoft Edge to the latest version.
After restarting Microsoft Edge, you should be able to use the parallel downloading feature.
The download speed still didn’t increase?
If you find the download speed still doesn’t improve at all after enabling the parallel downloading feature in your browser, this may be caused by the restrictions on the server side of the website.
The parallel downloading feature would be unavailable if:
- the website doesn’t provide the total file size when downloading (so the file cannot be divided in packets)
- the website restricts that the same IP address can only establish one connection at the same time (so the file cannot be download in packets at the same time)
To sum up
Parallel downloading is a free and handy feature in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. If you’d like to boost the download speed in your browser, you should give it a shot. You only need to modify the browser settings with one click, then you can increase the download speed without installing any additional third-party software, extensions, or add-ins.
The download speed in your browser is affected by lots of factors, such as the server policy restrictions, network bandwidth, the performance of your device, and so on. If conditions permit, we can download at full speed with the parallel downloading feature enabled.