How to Transfer Large Files over Slow Network Connections

There are many instances where you have to upload or download large files over the Internet. Whether you're a graphic designer, a superstar vlogger or just torrenting, you're in for a real "treat" if your Internet connection is slow.

First of all, in this context "large" is more about the perception than about the file size. Naturally, the perception is linked to the time you spend transferring that file. It doesn't necessarily have to be gigabytes of data. If you're on a slow public Wi-Fi network, even a 60 MB PDF file is large.

So how do you deal with this? How can you transfer large files over slow network connections? Read below.

Your large file transfer usually takes a lot of time because of:

• the speed and reliability of your Internet connection, which determines how soon a large file will be downloaded or uploaded
• where you're downloading from / uploading to - if you're transferring to a server on the other side of the world, data goes through many nodes. Also, if you're using a popular service - e.g. web file transfer, torrents, etc. - their speeds can be limited by the number of users using them at that time. That's why many of these have "premium" plans, so you can get priority over the free users.

Whatever the reason for the slow file transfer, you should make sure that nothing on your side is limiting the speed or reliability of the upload / download.

What can you do when you see slow file transfer over the Internet? Here are 5 steps:

1. Test your Internet speed. Go to speedtest.net or fast.com and run a test. Is it close to what your ISP is supposed to provide?
2. If not - get into the usual slow Internet routine fix: restart your modem / router, your device, move closer to the router, use wired Ethernet etc. and test your speed again. Try these tips before contacting your ISP.
3. If there's no issue with your connection speed, but your large file transfer is still slow, your speed could be throttled by your ISP. Connect to another network or use a VPN to avoid ISP throttling.
4. If there's no throttling either - bummer! That means there's a limitation on the way to where you're downloading from / uploading to. You can change the service you're using for the large file transfer (e.g. wetransfer, etc.) or try another connection in hope for better peering.
5. Still seeing no improvement on the transfer rate? Try to use 2 or more connections together at once on your device - channel bonding / link aggregation. A bonding VPN like Speedify is something you should consider to transfer large files over slow networks, whether at home, at the airport, in the park, etc.

As a fast bonding VPN, Speedify acts like a power-up for your device when transferring large files, streaming and doing any bandwidth-heavy online activity. Instead of only using a single Internet connection at a time, Speedify allows your device to use all of your Internet connections at the same time. You’ll get more bandwidth and more stable downloads and uploads. 

Speedify constantly monitors the quality of your Internet connections. If one of them becomes unreliable, it’ll automatically reroute data through through the other(s) until it is available again. 

Moreover, it automatically recognizes audio and video streams, and provides quality of service (QoS) by prioritizing streams over other traffic. Web browsing and software updates can’t mess up your calls and live streams.

Try Speedify when uploading or downloading large files on slow network connections and you'll see the difference!