How-To

Epic Games Download is Slow: How to Fix

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If your downloads on Epic Games are too slow, you’ll need to troubleshoot the problem. This guide has some suggestions you can try.

Epic Games has a lot of fun games to choose from, whether it’s a classic indie or a much-hyped AAA release. As long as your internet connection (and your budget) is good enough, you can download any game you like from the Epic Games store.

What happens if your connection isn’t good enough? You might need to look at what’s causing your download to slow down.

If your Epic Games download is slow, you can try these fixes to help you resolve the problem.

How to Check if Your Connection is Working (and Switch if Necessary)

The biggest culprit behind slow download speeds on Epic Games is your connection. You need to check that it’s working properly and, if necessary, switch to another connection.

We’re not just talking about your internet connection here. Your local connection, meaning the connection between your PC and your local network router, is just as important. The speeds might be great for your router, but if you can’t get them on your WiFi connection, you’ll see slow download speeds.

A good way to test this is to use a tool like Speedtest by Ookla, Cloudflare, or Fast.com. Using these tools, you can test the likely download and upload speeds on your connection. If there’s a slowdown or instability, you’ll need to look at why.

Running on WiFi? For larger downloads, you might find it easier to borrow an ethernet cable and plug your device into your local network on a wired connection. You’ll gain better speeds and stability, allowing you to finish your downloads quickly.

If your local network connection is working fine, you’ll need to look at why your internet connection is causing you problems. Consult with your ISP and, if necessary, see if you can borrow a friend or family member’s connection to download a really big download before heading home.

How to Check That Epic Games Isn’t Throttling Your Downloads

A slow connection might not cause your slow Epic Game downloads. Another issue could be the settings in Epic Games itself, which allow you to throttle downloads.

This is useful for slower connections, especially if you share them with others. Rather than hog all the bandwidth, throttling limits the speeds to ensure the download doesn’t saturate the connection.

However, if you need a fast download on Epic Games, you’ll want to switch this off (at least temporarily).

To stop Epic Games from throttling your downloads:

1. Open the Epic Games launcher on your PC or Mac.
2. Click the account icon in the top-right and select Settings from the drop-down menu.
   
3. In the Settings menu, make sure to uncheck Throttle Downloads.
   
4. Exit the Settings menu and restart Epic Games to ensure the settings take effect.

With the Throttle Downloads option disabled, you should be able to see Epic Games take full advantage of your internet connection.

How to Change Your DNS Settings

The Domain Name System is an important part of the internet. For instance, it allows your web browser to convert geekrumor.com to the IP addresses of the servers used to host this website.

DNS plays an important role for tools like Epic Games, too. If the Epic Games launcher can’t properly look up the servers, it believes hold the data for game downloads, your game downloads might slow or stop entirely.

A good way around this is to switch to another DNS provider on your internet connection. Good public alternatives exist, hosted by companies like Google and Cloudflare.

Our sister site, groovyPost, has several articles that you can use to help you do this. For instance, you can change your DNS settings on Windows 11, Windows 10, and even your local network router for all devices on your network.

How to Configure the Epic Games Engine.ini File

If you’re on Windows 10 or 11, you can make changes to a file called Engine.ini to help improve slow downloads on Epic Games. This file has several hidden settings that you can alter to improve bandwidth usage and boost speeds during downloads.

How to Configure the Epic Games Engine.ini File on Windows

To change the Epic Games Engine.ini file on Windows:

1. Exit the Epic Games launcher and make sure it isn’t running.
2. Next, right-click the Start menu and select Run. Alternatively, press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard.
   
3. In Run, type %localappdata% and click OK.
   
4. In the File Explorer window that opens, navigate to the EpicGamesLauncher\Saved\Config\Windows folder.
5. Right-click the Engine.ini folder and select Open or Open with > Notepad.
   
6. Copy and paste the following into the empty file:

   [HTTP]
   HttpTimeout=10
   HttpConnectionTimeout=10
   HttpReceiveTimeout=10
   HttpSendTimeout=10
   
   [Portal.BuildPatch]
   ChunkDownloads=3
   ChunkRetries=20
   RetryTime=0.5

7. Save the file by going to File > Save.
   
8. Restart the Epic Games launcher and resume your download.

These settings should offer improved speeds during downloads.

How to Configure the Epic Games Engine.ini File on macOS

The Engine.ini file is available on macOS. However, Epic Games only officially supports the change for Windows users.

It’s still worth trying for yourself, however, to see if the change resolves your slow Epic Games downloads on a Mac.

To change the Epic Games Engine.ini file on a Mac:

1. Exit the Epic Games launcher and make sure it isn’t running.
2. Open the Finder app.
3. Open the Go menu and select Go to Folder.
   
4. In the Go box, type: ~/Library/Preferences/Unreal Engine/EpicGamesLauncher/Mac and press Enter.
5. Right-click the Engine.ini file and select Open With > TextEdit.
6. Copy and paste the following into the empty file:

   [HTTP]
   HttpTimeout=10
   HttpConnectionTimeout=10
   HttpReceiveTimeout=10
   HttpSendTimeout=10
   
   [Portal.BuildPatch]
   ChunkDownloads=3
   ChunkRetries=20
   RetryTime=0.5

7. Save the file by going to File > Save. Ensure that TextEdit doesn’t change the file extension and saves the file as Engine.ini.
   
8. Restart the Epic Games launcher and resume your download.

Downloading Your Favorite Games on Epic Games

Don’t let a slow download spoil the fun. If your Epic Games download is slow, the fixes above should help resolve the problem.

Remember—a wired connection is usually better than WiFi, especially for larger downloads. If all else fails, you may need to consider more drastic options, such as upgrading your connection (or borrowing a better one by visiting friends or family).

Running out of disk space? Don’t forget to change your installation location for Epic Games downloads before you start. You might want to consider adding money to your Epic Games wallet to make it easier to grab games when they go on sale.

Having trouble with other users? You can always appear offline on Epic Games, or if things get tough, you can start blocking users on Epic Games to hide them entirely.