Is your browser taking time to download large files?If so, you can enable the parallel download feature, which allows the browser to download files in multiple streams, ultimately increasing download speeds.But what exactly is the parallel download feature, and how do you enable it in different browsers?
We'll discuss parallel downloading, its advantages, limitations, and how to enable it in different browsers.
What is parallel download?
Most browsers usually use the traditional download technique, which downloads the file in a single stream.While this method usually works well, it can struggle with large files, causing the browser to take a long time to download the file.This is where parallel downloads come into play.
Parallel downloading is a download optimization technique that allows browsers to download files in multiple streams.Browsers will break large files into smaller pieces and download each piece in a separate stream, greatly increasing download speeds.
For example, suppose you are downloading a 200MB file and your browser supports five parallel downloads.In this case, the 200 MB file will be split into five different parts of approximately 40MB each.Each 40MB section will then download simultaneously in a separate stream, up to five times faster than downloading the file in a single stream.
How to Enable Parallel Downloads in Google Chrome
Google Chrome is the default web browser on most devices.If you would like to use the parallel download feature in the Chrome browser, please follow the instructions below.
on the desktop
1. Start the Google Chrome browser, type chrome://flags in the search bar, and press Enter.
2. Type parallel download in the search bar and press Enter.
3. Click the drop-down icon next to Parallel Download and select Enabled from the context menu.
4. Click the Restart button.
Afterwards, Google Chrome will restart the parallel download feature.If you want to turn off the parallel download feature in Chrome, select Disabled from the drop-down menu and restart Chrome.
on a mobile device
1. Open the Chrome browser, enter chrome://flags in the address bar, and click Enter.
2. Type Parallel downloading into the search and hit Enter.
3. Select Enabled from the Parallel Download drop-down menu.
4. Press the Restart button that appears.
After restarting, Google Chrome will use the parallel download feature every time it downloads a file from the Internet.
How to enable parallel download feature in Microsoft Edge
Similar to Google Chrome, to activate the parallel download feature in Edge, the Microsoft Edge flags page must also be used.Here's how to do it step by step.
on the desktop
1. Open Edge on your computer.
2. Type edge://flags in the search bar and press Enter.
3. Type Parallel downloading in the Flags page search bar and press Enter.
4. Select Enabled from the Parallel Download drop-down menu.
Then, click the Restart button that appears.To disable parallel downloads in Edge, select Disable from the Parallel Downloads drop-down menu and restart the browser.
on a mobile device
To enable parallel downloads in Edge for Android, type edge://flags into the search bar and hit Enter.Then, select Enabled from the Parallel download drop-down menu and click the Restart button.
How to enable parallel downloads in Mozilla Firefox
Turning on the parallel download feature in Mozilla Firefox is very simple.Please follow the instructions below:
1. Open Mozilla Firefox, type about:config in the search bar, and press Enter.
2. Click the "Accept the Risk and Continue" button.
3. Type this command in the search box and press Enter.This preference controls the number of concurrent connections allowed per server in Firefox: network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server
4. Click the pen icon next to a preference to modify its value.By default, this value is set to 6, but you can increase it to 20 to increase the number of parallel downloads allowed and ultimately increase download speed.
5. Click the "Check" icon.Then, restart Firefox to save the changes.
Unlike Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers, Firefox's parallel download feature is not available on Android.
How to enable parallel download feature in Brave
If you prefer privacy, you must use Brave as your default web browser.However, if you want better download speeds in addition to privacy, you must enable parallel downloads in Brave.
on the desktop
1. Start Brave, type brave://flags in the search bar, and press Enter.
2. Type Parallel Download in the search bar, select Enabled from the Parallel Download drop-down menu, and click the Restart button.
To disable parallel downloads in Brave, select Disable from the drop-down menu, then restart Brave.
on a mobile device
To enable parallel downloads in Brave for Android, type brave://flags into the address bar and press Enter.Then, select Enabled from the Parallel Downloads drop-down menu and click the Restart button.
Advantages of Parallel Downloads
As mentioned earlier, one of the main advantages of parallel downloading is that it can significantly increase download speed, especially when downloading large files.However, there are more benefits to parallel downloading.
Because your downloads are split into several different sources, it means you won't be putting "all your eggs in one basket" when downloading large files.If you download a large file from one source and that source goes down, your download will be interrupted.Grab files from multiple sources and keep them up and running even if one fails.
Parallel downloading also maximizes bandwidth usage.If your broadband connection can download files at 1Mbps, and you're downloading from a host that can only upload at 100Kbps, then 90% of the available bandwidth is unused.Parallel downloads can use this extra space to download from more hosts, "filling up" more bandwidth.
By default, parallel downloads are disabled in web browsers.However, enabling the parallel download feature is relatively simple.Let's take a look at how to enable parallel downloads in different browsers.
Disadvantages of Parallel Downloads
While parallel downloads have many benefits, there are some limitations that must be noted:
1. Some servers may limit the number of concurrent connections, which may reduce the effect of parallel downloads.
2. Some servers may not be able to handle multiple concurrent connections, causing performance issues.
3. Parallel downloads consume more bandwidth and saturate available network resources, thereby affecting other network-related activities running in the background or devices connected to the same network.
4. When downloading small files, establishing multiple connections may have negligible impact on the download speed, and in some cases it may even slow down the download speed.
Despite these drawbacks, parallel downloading is still an effective download optimization technique that can improve user experience and increase download speeds.
Use Parallel Downloads to Improve Download Speeds
Since browsers are the primary means of downloading content from the internet, it's more important than ever to get the fastest possible download speeds on your browser.But that doesn't always happen.
Fortunately, you can improve download speeds by enabling parallel downloads in your browser.
Copyright Notice:The article only represents the author's point of view, the copyright belongs to the original author, welcome to share this article, please keep the source for reprinting!
