In this article, we will discuss why uTorrent isn’t downloading files or is having trouble connecting to peers and how to fix it.
Why Is the uTorrent Client Not Downloading Files or Stuck on Connecting to Peers?
uTorrent often fails to download files and gets stuck on connecting to peers due to interference from your antivirus, your ISP blocking torrent downloads, incorrect uTorrent client settings, or the torrent file itself is dead. What should you do to fix this issue?
To fix uTorrent not downloading files or getting stuck on connecting to peers, you can whitelist uTorrent in Windows Firewall or your antivirus settings, unblock restrictions set by your ISP, fix issues with trackers, enable a VPN, or tweak the uTorrent client settings. When everything else fails, switching to another torrent client is always possible.
Below, we have explained how to apply the above fixes to fix this uTorrent issue.
First, Apply Preliminary Checks
First, apply the following preliminary checks to rule out minor issues that may have contributed to the error:
Make sure your internet is connected and working correctly. Fix any internet issues if they exist. Restart your router and run a speed test to ensure your internet connection is stable. Some VPNs also block the peer connection when downloading torrent files, so it’s best to disable your VPN if you have one running on your device. Alternatively, if you are experiencing this issue when you aren’t using a VPN, you can enable one and see if that fixes it. Often, the seeds or peers aren’t immediately available. So, allow the download to run in the background for a couple of hours and check whether the process starts after some time.
If the above preliminary checks fail to resolve the issue, apply the following fixes.
1. Check for Issues Specific to a Torrent File
Perhaps the problem may not lie with your uTorrent client but with the torrent file itself, preventing your torrent client from starting the download process. To rule out this possibility, download another torrent file and see if it works this time.
If it does, the problem lies with the torrent file. For this reason, you should search for another torrent file on torrent websites to download the content you want. Once you have found the working torrent file, you should be able to download files using uTorrent successfully.
In contrast, if the issue persists with every torrent file you try to download using uTorrent, it is a more serious issue that should be investigated further.
2. Check for Interference From Your ISP
Does your Internet service provider allow you to download BitTorrent files? Sadly, most ISPs do not. Perhaps that’s also the case with you, resulting in the peer’s connection being blocked and stopping your download. If you’re using an internet connection at school or work, where such downloading is prohibited, you’re more likely to experience this.
While changing your ISP provider is the best solution, especially if you download torrent files frequently, hiding BitTorrent traffic is a quick fix if you don’t want to use that route. Thanks to uTorrent, you can easily do that with just one click.
Launch the uTorrent client, go to the Options tab in the top left, and select Preferences.
Then, click the BitTorrent tab in the left sidebar of the Preferences window. Finally, select Forced in the Outgoing dropdown menu in the Protocol Encryption section.
Afterward, enable port forwarding or mapping to ensure your network firewall doesn’t interfere with the connection. For that, go to the Connection tab in the left panel, and tick the Enable UPnP port mapping and Enable NAT-PMP port mapping boxes.
3. Rule Out Interference From Your Windows Firewall or Antivirus
The Windows Defender firewall or antivirus program can also block uTorrent traffic. Thus, it’s imperative to rule out this possibility. The following fixes will help you do that:
Whitelist the uTorrent client from your Windows Defender firewall to prevent it from blocking the connection. Disable your antivirus temporarily if you are using one. If you can’t do that, you should at least whitelist the uTorrent client through your antivirus settings. Navigate to Options > Preferences and select the Connection tab in the left panel. On that page, check the box for Add Windows Firewall exception.
4. Fix Issues With Trackers
There may be a problem with some torrent tracker servers that cannot keep track of available seeds and peers, resulting in peers getting stuck on connecting. Therefore, you should rule out tracker issues. To do this, select the file that is stuck on downloading and go to the Trackers tab.
After that, apply the following fixes:
If specific trackers are having connection issues, update them so that they can find better peers. Simply right-click the tracker having problems and select Update Tracker. If a few trackers remain stuck after updating them, right-click on them and select Remove Tracker from the menu. The next step is to add torrent trackers with high uptime in the uTorrent client. So, find and copy the torrent trackers from any trusted website (such as FossBytes). Then, right-click the file stuck on downloading in the uTorrent client and select Properties. After that, paste the copied list of torrent trackers at the end of the Trackers box in the Properties window.
5. Try the Network Configuration Test
If none of the fixes above resolve the issue, you should run the uTorrent network configuration test, which will configure the uTorrent client to provide the best performance. In most cases, it increases the download speed but may also resolve stuck downloading problems.
Follow these steps to run the configuration test:
Open the uTorrent client. Go to the Options tab and select Setup Guide. (You can also open the Setup Guide window by pressing CTRL + G) Select the test location closest to you in the dropdown menu next to Bandwidth. Click the Run tests button. Click Save and Close once the test has ended.
uTorrent Client Still Stuck on Peer Connection? Try SomeAlternatives
Hopefully, applying the above fixes will resolve the halted download or peers stuck on connecting issues on uTorrent. If these fixes do not work and uTorrent fails to download a particular file, you can switch to another torrent client. You can try qBittorrent, Tixati, and Transmission, some of the best alternatives to uTorrent.
