Is Google Chrome taking forever to complete your downloads on Android? That can be frustrating, especially when you have subscribed to a high-speed internet plan. However, the good news is that you don’t have to settle for such slow download speeds. This guide will walk you through some effective tips to increase download speed in Google Chrome for Android. So, let’s take a look.
Table of Contents
1. Close Unused Tabs
Having too many tabs open in Chrome can adversely affect the browser’s performance and result in slower download speeds. Hence, the first thing you should do is close unwanted tabs in Chrome using these steps:
1. In Chrome, tap the square icon at the top to view your open tabs. Tap the X icon in the top right corner of a tab to close it.
2. If you want to close all tabs at once, tap the kebab menu (three-dot icon) in the top right corner and select Close all tabs.
2. Enable Parallel Downloading
Chrome for Android lets you access various experimental features via Flags. One of these flags is parallel downloading, which can help boost the download speed in Chrome for Android. It essentially allows the browser to establish multiple connections to the server and download different parts of a file simultaneously.
To enable parallel downloading in Chrome:
1. Type chrome://flags in the address bar at the top and select the first result that appears.
2. Type parallel downloading in the search box. Tap Default and select the Enabled option.
3. Tap the Relaunch button to restart the browser and apply the changes.
3. Allow Unrestricted Battery Usage to Chrome
Have you imposed any battery restrictions on Chrome? If so, you are likely to experience slow download speeds or even download failures in Chrome for Android. To avoid such issues, it’s best to allow unrestricted battery usage to Chrome.
1. Long press the Google Chrome app icon and tap the info icon from the menu that appears.
2. Go to Battery and select Unrestricted from the following screen.
4. Change DNS Server
By default, apps on your device, including Chrome, utilize the DNS server provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). However, if there are any problems with the server, it can lead to sluggish download speeds. You can try switching to a different DNS provider to see if that makes a difference.
1. In Google Chrome, tap the kebab menu (three dots) in the top right corner and select Settings.
2. Tap on Privacy and security and select Use secure DNS from the following menu.
3. Select the Choose another provider option and then use the drop-down menu to select a different DNS service from the list.
5. Turn Off VPN
When you use a VPN connection, your internet traffic is routed through a remote server, allowing you to maintain privacy. However, this can sometimes negatively impact download speeds in Chrome and cause problems.
To check for this possibility, you can temporarily disable your VPN connection and see if that helps.
6. Clear Browsing Data
Just like its desktop counterpart, Google Chrome on Android also accumulates cache data to enhance your browsing experience. However, once this data becomes corrupted, it hurts more than it helps. This can lead to all kinds of issues, including the one discussed here.
You can try clearing the existing browsing data in Chrome to see if that speeds up your downloads on Android.
1. In Google Chrome, tap the menu icon in the top right corner and select Settings.
2. Go to Privacy and security and select Clear browsing data.
3. Use the drop-down menu to select the All time option. Tick the Cookies and site data and Cached images and files checkboxes and tap the Clear data button.
7. Update Google Chrome
When was the last time you updated Google Chrome on your phone? If you can’t remember, it’s likely that you are using an outdated version of the browser. You can try updating Chrome via Play Store to benefit from the latest improvements and see if that fixes the issue.
Accelerate Your Downloads in Chrome
It can be frustrating when Chrome takes longer than usual to complete your downloads. Hopefully, that’s no longer the case, and one of the above tips has helped you increase the download speed in Google Chrome for Android.
Tired of such issues with Chrome? Fret not. There are several Chrome alternatives for Android that are worth trying out.
