How to download and install qBittorrent
The first step you need to take is download qBittorrent on your computer. Therefore, connect to the program's website and, if you use a PC Windows, click on the link 32-bit & 64-bit installers which is next to the flag of the Microsoft operating system, while if you use a Mac click on the link Mg placed next to the apple apple. On the page that opens, to start the actual download of qBittorrent, click on the item Download qBittorrent Windows if you use Windows or on voice Download qBittorrent Mac OS X if you use macOS.
Now, wait for qBittorrent to be downloaded to your computer and proceed as follows: if you use a PC Windows, start the file qbittorrent_xx_setup.execlick on your button Yes present in the window that opens and press OK e NEXT to proceed with the setup. Then put the check mark next to the item I accept the license conditions, to accept the conditions of use of qBittorrent, and complete the software installation process by pressing in sequence on NEXT twice in a row (make sure all the options in the box are checked Select the components to install) and then on Install e end.
If you use a Mac, you can install qBittorrent by simply opening the dmg file you downloaded from the program's website and dragging the executable qBittorrent in the folder Applications say macOS.
To start the software for the first time bypassing macOS restrictions (which automatically blocks applications from non-certified developers), right-click on its icon copied to the folder Applications and select the item apri from the menu that appears. Answer then apri notice that appears on the screen.
Regardless of the operating system used, the first time you start qBittorrent you will have to accept the terms of use by pressing the button Accept.
How to configure qBittorrent
Now you could also start downloading files from the BitTorrent network using qBittorrent, but you would probably do this at a fairly slow speed, as you haven't yet set up your router properly. What am I referring to? The fact that you have not yet "opened" the port that the program uses to communicate with the outside world, that is, you have not yet "told" your router to leave free communications on the channels that qBittorrent uses to exchange files on the BitTorrent network. To perform this operation, you must find out which port is used by the program, then you must enter the administration panel of your router and you must open it in order to authorize the communications that take place through it.
To find out which port is used by qBittorrent to communicate with the outside, select the item options from the menu Instruments which is at the top (or go to the menu qBittorrent> Preferences if you are using a Mac). Then select the item Connection from the left sidebar and note the number you find in correspondence with the field Port used for incoming connections: that is the port used by qBittorrent to communicate with the outside.
Now you need to log into your router's administration panel. To do this, make sure you are connected to the router's network (or physically connect your computer to the device using an Ethernet cable), start the program you usually use to browse the Internet (eg. Chrome, Firefox o Edge) and connected to one of the following addresses.
- 192.168.1.1
- 192.168.0.1
- 192.168.1.254
- 192.168.0.254
You will find the right address when you find yourself in front of a window asking for a username and password. The combination to enter, if you have not changed the default set by the manufacturer, should be admin / admin or admin / password.
If you have difficulty in this step, check your router's instruction manual and / or try to follow the directions you find in my tutorial on how to access the router.
Once in the administration panel of the router, you need to look for the section relating toport forwarding (which can also be called port forwarding o virtual server), click on the button to create a new rule or of an new virtual server and fill in the form that is proposed to you following the instructions you find below.
- Interface name (o Interface) - in this field you must indicate the connection for which to apply the rule you are creating. Leave the default on.
- Internal door e External door (o Initial port e Final door) - in these fields you have to type the port number of qBittorrent.
- Destination IP (o Server IP address) - is the field in which the local IP address of the computer on which you intend to use qBittorrent must be entered. To find the local IP address of your computer, follow the instructions you find in my tutorial on how to view the IP address.
- Door type (o Protocol) - in this field you must specify the type of door to open. In the case of qBittorrent you have to choose TCP / UDP. If your router does not allow you to select the "TCP / UDP" option, create two separate rules by selecting once TCP and once UDP.
- Your name - here you have to type a name of your choice to easily recognize the rule you are creating (ex. qBittorrent).
Once the form is filled in, click on the button Save / Apply to save the changes, for safety, restart the router and try to test the qBittorrent port using this website (you simply need to type the port number in the field Port Number and click on the button Check).
As you may have noticed, the indications I have given you regarding the opening of the qBittorrent port are not extremely precise. This is because each brand of router has a differently structured administration panel. If you want specific information about the brand of router you have, follow one of the tutorials listed below.
- How to configure TIM router
- How to configure Fastweb router
- How will I configure Infostrada router
- How to configure TP-Link router
- How to configure D-Link router
- How will I configure Netgear router
If after following the instructions I just gave you, the port used by qBittorrent is still closed, try to check the settings of the firewall Windows or macOS or any third-party firewalls installed on your computer: perhaps one of them is blocking the program's communications. If you need guidance on how to disable the firewall, read the tutorial I wrote on the subject.
Once the qBittorrent port in the router (and / or firewall) has been unlocked, I recommend that you go back to the program settings and adjust the download and upload parameters: in this way you can optimize the download speed even more. and upload files to the BitTorrent network.
Then select the icon Speed from the left sidebar, put the check mark on the box Upload related to the item Global speed limits and set the field to correspond to 80% of the current upload speed of your Internet connection (this will avoid "blockages" of the line and restrictions of the download band due to an upload speed that is too high).
To find out what the actual upload speed of your connection is in KiB / s (the calculation unit used by qBittorrent, which is the binary equivalent of kilobytes), connected to the SpeedTest.net site, click on the item Settings located at the top right and set the option Kbps in the field Speed. Then press on the button vai (top center) and wait for the speed test results.
Once the test is complete, go up Google, search for kilobyte to kibibyte to bring up the unit converter and calculate the value of Kbps that gave you SpeedTest.net in KiB / s. Therefore, calculate 80% of the kibibyte value and enter it in the qBittorrent settings.
Otherwise, the program's default settings should allow you to download at optimal speeds. If you, however, want to go deeper with the customization of settings and want to try to "squeeze" the qBittorrent to the maximum, read my tutorial on how to increase the speed of uTorrent and find out how to use Azureus Calculator, an online service that allows to calculate the parameters to be used in BitTorrent clients to optimize their performance.
Using Azureus Calculator, you will be able to obtain optimal values for parameters such as the global maximum number of connections and maximum number of connections per Torrent, both configurable in the menu Connection qBittorrent settings.
Finally, if the default settings of qBittorrent do not satisfy you, I suggest you go to the menu Settings> BitTorrent and to adjust the maximum number of active downloads, maximum number of active uploads and maximum number of active torrents based on the speed of your connection and the number of files for which you intend to divide it (personally I do not recommend keeping more than 3 downloads and uploads active at the same time, but obviously the choice is up to you).
How to download files with qBittorrent
Now we can get down to business and discover, together, how to use qBittorrent to download files from the Internet.
As already mentioned in the opening of the post, qBittorrent includes a internal search engine which allows you to find files on the BitTorrent network without resorting to external sites (or rather, using them directly from the program) and therefore I recommend that you take advantage of this feature to locate the files to download with the software. To activate the qBittorrent search engine, go to the menu Show (above) and select the option Search engine from the latter. If you are using a Windows PC, accept the installation of Python: a free component needed to search for Torrent files within the program.
Once installation is complete, go to the tab Research appearance in qBittorrent and first presses the button Search Extensions and then Check the updates to update all the search plugins (therefore the plugins that allow you to search on various Torrent sites). Then type the name of the file you want to find on the BitTorrent network in the search field, press the button Search and wait a few seconds. If you want to limit your search to only a certain type of file or a single Torrent site, use the drop-down menus All Categories e Only enabled that you find next to the search field.
When the search is complete, click on the tab Seeders in order to highlight the Torrents with multiple sources active (therefore with a higher download speed) and double-click on the one you want to download.
Then select the path to download the files contained in the Torrent you have selected (by pressing the icon of folder in the window that opens) and press OK to start the download. You can then follow and manage the downloading of Torrents in the tab Transfers by qBittorrent.
If the search function included in qBittorrent does not fully satisfy you, you can use the classic Torrent sites and download the files .torrent to be opened then with qBittorrent (by double clicking on their icon) or use the magnet links, by clicking on the magnet present on the Torrent download page. In the latter case, qBittorrent will automatically "capture" the link and allow you to download the selected file without first having to download the corresponding .torrent file. In terms of performance or privacy, there is no big difference between using .torrent files or magnet links (the latter take a little longer to "carburet" in the download phase, but nothing particularly significant. ).
As already mentioned, once downloaded, Torrents can be managed from the card Transfers of qBittorrent, where by selecting a file and clicking on the icons at the top it is possible to put in break e riprendere a download (▶ ︎ and ❚❚ buttons), delete it (button -) or increase / decrease its priority (▲ and ▼ buttons) with respect to the other items in the download queue.
If you want, you can also enable Torrent file download via RSS feeds: very useful function, for example, for downloading TV series or anime, which involve the frequent release of new episodes at regular intervals. To activate the automatic download of Torrent files via RSS feed, go to settings of qBittorrent, select the icon RSS feed from the left sidebar and activate the option Enable RSS feed retrieval.
After that go to the menu View> RSS Reader, select the scheda RSS of qBittorrent and presses the button New subscription to subscribe to a feed containing Torrent files.
Another very useful function of qBittorrent that you could use is that of remote control of the program via the web panel. To activate the qBittorrent web panel, go to the settings of the program and put the check mark next to the item Web UI. Then fill in the fields IP address, port server domains and with the combination of username and password you intend to use to access the web panel and save the changes by pressing the button OK.
Obviously, in order for everything to work correctly, you will have to set a fixed IP to reach your PC remotely (using services like DynDNS) and you will have to keep the computer on. Then you can access qBittorrent remotely and control it via a browser or through dedicated apps, such as qBittorrent Controller for Android.
With this I would say that's it! Now you know how to use qBittorrent and how to best configure it in order to speed up your downloads as much as possible. All you have to do is find the files of your interest on the BitTorrent network and download them following the suggestions I just gave you.
For any problems or if you have further doubts about the functioning of qBittorrent, do not hesitate to consult the official Wiki of the program or its support forum: there you will surely find all the answers you are looking for.
Just one last thing before closing: since privacy is important, I highly recommend that you combine the use of qBitTorrent with the one I give a VPN, that is, a virtual private network. Such a solution will allow you to browse online and use the BitTorrent network securely and anonymously. There are so many VPN solutions available, such as NordVPN (which I told you about in this review) and Surfshark, which encrypt the connection on PC / Mac, smartphones, tablets and other devices using many servers scattered all over the world. They also make it possible to overcome regional blocks, censorship and access foreign catalogs of streaming services; all at very low cost.
How to use qBittorrent
