Downloading torrents is one of the fastest ways to get large files in a reasonable time, thanks to sharing the file between multiple people at the same time.
Compared to other P2P technologies, the BitTorrent protocol is decidedly fast and allows (if the number of sources is sufficient) to download at the maximum speed allowed by your ADSL or optical fiber line. In some cases, however, it is necessary to wait hours or even days to see the download of a file finished, especially if it exceeds 15 GB.
Leaving all this time on the PC can be expensive from the point of view of electricity consumption, not to mention the wear and tear of the computer hardware components left on for too long.
Fortunately, there are alternatives that you can use to download torrents without leaving your PC on all night or whole days and I have enclosed them in this guide.
By following one of the recommended methods below you can download torrent files, even large ones, without leaving the PC on, saving on the electricity bill and also making the PC less busy.
READ ALSO: How Torrent download works, how it is downloaded and how many problems
Android smartphone or tablet
The first method is also the simplest to apply, because at zero cost if you have an old smartphone or tablet Android abandoned in a drawer.
There are many apps that can manage the download of torrents even from mobile devices, the only real limit is given by the space necessary to host the largest files.
If the space of the internal memory of your smartphone or tablet is limited you can think of buying an additional microSD or connect an external hard drive via OTG. For micro SD you can read the dedicated guide on the site, while if you are interested in external disks to be connected in OTG you can view two types of products:
- External USB disks, which can be purchased online starting from the guide on external USB Hard Disks (from 51 € and up)
- Case for 2.5-inch hard drives, so you can recycle an old laptop hard drive and reuse it as an external USB drive. You can find the best models here -> Hard disk case (from 10 € upwards)
Once the disk is found, simply connect it via an OTG cable to the USB socket of the smartphone or tablet to be recognized as an external memory unit. If you don't have the OTG cable, you can get it by spending very little from here -> OTG cables (from € 2 and up)
Now that you have all the space you need to download torrents, it's time to see which apps you can download on your mobile device to turn it into a sort of "download center".
The best apps to download torrents on Android are the following, I ordered them from the most convincing app to the least convincing app and most loaded with advertising (so if possible to avoid).
- Flud - Torrent Downloader
- tTorrent Lite
- µTorrent
- BitTorrent
Personally I use Flud to download torrents on Android devices and I feel very comfortable, download any type of torrent quickly and also on a graphic level it is very convincing given the use of Material Design.
Downloading torrents is very simple, whatever the client used: download the torrent file or get the Magnet URI link via the device's web browser, then open the app to download the torrents you have chosen and click on the shaped button plus (or an Add button on other types of apps) or use the magnet-shaped button to open the magnetic links.
Once the torrent has started you can also turn off the screen, the download will proceed in the background consuming very little battery (it is still convenient to keep it charged if the download will take many hours or days).
Obviously if the file is too large for the internal memory of the device try to point the torrent download folder on the capacious microSD or inside the hard disk connected via OTG.
These devices connect to the TV via HDMI cable and consume very little (less than 15 W), so they are ideal for downloading torrents without leaving your PC turned on.
Being based on Android you can use the same tips seen for smartphones: you can connect an external disk via the USB ports present and use Android apps to download torrents.
NAS
Another method you can use to download torrents without leaving your PC on is to take advantage of NAS, network devices that can store large amounts of data and make them available to any other device connected to the modem / router.
Owning a NAS goes far beyond the need to download torrents (they serve more as a data warehouse), but if you are lucky enough to own one you can use it to download torrents without having to leave the PC turned on due to their low impact on electricity consumption (they barely reach 20-25 W on the smaller models).
If you want to deepen the discussion on NAS, find out what they are and how to use them, you can read the dedicated guide on the site -> Buy a network NAS Storage: what is it for and how much does it cost
Raspberry Pi 3 (for experts)
If you don't have an old smartphone to use as a download center, you can get a cheap and low-energy mini PC like the Raspberry Pi 3.
Once purchased and mounted this device (a minimum knowledge of electronics and Linux systems in general is required) you just need to use an HDMI cable and a monitor (or a TV), insert the microSD and choose which operating system to install on the inside the system.
The basic Raspberry uses Linux systems, perfectly compatible with torrents and external disks (which you can connect to one of the free USB sockets) but perhaps a little difficult to use, especially if it is the first time you have heard of it.
The most popular client on Linux systems is Transmission, light and very effective for downloading torrents. On Raspian (the most used Linux distribution on Raspberry Pi) you can download Transmission using the following terminal commands:
- sudo apt-get install transmission-daemon
- sudo service transmission-daemons stop
- sudo nano /etc/transmission-daemon/settings.json
- "download-dir": "/ media / download_folder"
- sudo service transmission-daemons start
Once Transmission is started on the Raspberry you can access it from any PC or system with a web browser using as address one of the following:
localhost: 9091 if you want to access from your own Raspberry Pi 3
192.168.1.X: 9091 if you want to log in using one of the other computers connected to your network
Below you can find the interface of the program as it is presented in the web version.
Port forwarding for proposed methods
As for the programs to download torrents on PC, also the apps and software recommended in this guide need to find the service port forwarded on the router / modem, otherwise the download will proceed slowly.
You can find out how to open the ports of your router by reading the following guide -> Configure port forwarding on a router easily to open communication ports .
Compared to other P2P technologies, the BitTorrent protocol is decidedly fast and allows (if the number of sources is sufficient) to download at the maximum speed allowed by your ADSL or optical fiber line. In some cases, however, it is necessary to wait hours or even days to see the download of a file finished, especially if it exceeds 15 GB.
Leaving all this time on the PC can be expensive from the point of view of electricity consumption, not to mention the wear and tear of the computer hardware components left on for too long.
Fortunately, there are alternatives that you can use to download torrents without leaving your PC on all night or whole days and I have enclosed them in this guide.
By following one of the recommended methods below you can download torrent files, even large ones, without leaving the PC on, saving on the electricity bill and also making the PC less busy.
READ ALSO: How Torrent download works, how it is downloaded and how many problems
Android smartphone or tablet
The first method is also the simplest to apply, because at zero cost if you have an old smartphone or tablet Android abandoned in a drawer.
There are many apps that can manage the download of torrents even from mobile devices, the only real limit is given by the space necessary to host the largest files.
If the space of the internal memory of your smartphone or tablet is limited you can think of buying an additional microSD or connect an external hard drive via OTG. For micro SD you can read the dedicated guide on the site, while if you are interested in external disks to be connected in OTG you can view two types of products:
- External USB disks, which can be purchased online starting from the guide on external USB Hard Disks (from 51 € and up)
- Case for 2.5-inch hard drives, so you can recycle an old laptop hard drive and reuse it as an external USB drive. You can find the best models here -> Hard disk case (from 10 € upwards)
Once the disk is found, simply connect it via an OTG cable to the USB socket of the smartphone or tablet to be recognized as an external memory unit. If you don't have the OTG cable, you can get it by spending very little from here -> OTG cables (from € 2 and up)
Now that you have all the space you need to download torrents, it's time to see which apps you can download on your mobile device to turn it into a sort of "download center".
The best apps to download torrents on Android are the following, I ordered them from the most convincing app to the least convincing app and most loaded with advertising (so if possible to avoid).
- Flud - Torrent Downloader
- tTorrent Lite
- µTorrent
- BitTorrent
Personally I use Flud to download torrents on Android devices and I feel very comfortable, download any type of torrent quickly and also on a graphic level it is very convincing given the use of Material Design.
Downloading torrents is very simple, whatever the client used: download the torrent file or get the Magnet URI link via the device's web browser, then open the app to download the torrents you have chosen and click on the shaped button plus (or an Add button on other types of apps) or use the magnet-shaped button to open the magnetic links.
Once the torrent has started you can also turn off the screen, the download will proceed in the background consuming very little battery (it is still convenient to keep it charged if the download will take many hours or days).
Obviously if the file is too large for the internal memory of the device try to point the torrent download folder on the capacious microSD or inside the hard disk connected via OTG.
TV Box
You don't have a smartphone to dedicate to the purpose "> TV Box on offer (from 38 € up)
These devices connect to the TV via HDMI cable and consume very little (less than 15 W), so they are ideal for downloading torrents without leaving your PC turned on.
Being based on Android you can use the same tips seen for smartphones: you can connect an external disk via the USB ports present and use Android apps to download torrents.
NAS
Another method you can use to download torrents without leaving your PC on is to take advantage of NAS, network devices that can store large amounts of data and make them available to any other device connected to the modem / router.
Owning a NAS goes far beyond the need to download torrents (they serve more as a data warehouse), but if you are lucky enough to own one you can use it to download torrents without having to leave the PC turned on due to their low impact on electricity consumption (they barely reach 20-25 W on the smaller models).
If you want to deepen the discussion on NAS, find out what they are and how to use them, you can read the dedicated guide on the site -> Buy a network NAS Storage: what is it for and how much does it cost
Raspberry Pi 3 (for experts)
If you don't have an old smartphone to use as a download center, you can get a cheap and low-energy mini PC like the Raspberry Pi 3.
Once purchased and mounted this device (a minimum knowledge of electronics and Linux systems in general is required) you just need to use an HDMI cable and a monitor (or a TV), insert the microSD and choose which operating system to install on the inside the system.
The basic Raspberry uses Linux systems, perfectly compatible with torrents and external disks (which you can connect to one of the free USB sockets) but perhaps a little difficult to use, especially if it is the first time you have heard of it.
The most popular client on Linux systems is Transmission, light and very effective for downloading torrents. On Raspian (the most used Linux distribution on Raspberry Pi) you can download Transmission using the following terminal commands:
- sudo apt-get install transmission-daemon
- sudo service transmission-daemons stop
- sudo nano /etc/transmission-daemon/settings.json
- "download-dir": "/ media / download_folder"
- sudo service transmission-daemons start
Once Transmission is started on the Raspberry you can access it from any PC or system with a web browser using as address one of the following:
localhost: 9091 if you want to access from your own Raspberry Pi 3
192.168.1.X: 9091 if you want to log in using one of the other computers connected to your network
Below you can find the interface of the program as it is presented in the web version.
Port forwarding for proposed methods
As for the programs to download torrents on PC, also the apps and software recommended in this guide need to find the service port forwarded on the router / modem, otherwise the download will proceed slowly.
You can find out how to open the ports of your router by reading the following guide -> Configure port forwarding on a router easily to open communication ports .
