One of the most common issues faced by many qBittorent users is the ‘stalled’ status which prevents you from downloading the torrent. This quick and easy guide shows you how to fix the qBittorent Stalled state and continue downloading a full speed.
Why does qBittorent show stalled when downloading?
As the application name implies, qBittorent uses the BitTorrent protocol to download files. In this protocol, files are divided into smaller pieces which are distributed among the peers participating in the torrent. If you don’t know, peers are users who are downloading or uploading the file, while seeders are users who have completed the download and are solely uploading the file.
When qBittorent is unable to establish a connection with peers or seeders, it shows the Stalled status. In this state, the torrent becomes inactive and stops downloading.
This can happen due to several reasons including but not limited to:
- Poor internet connection
- A low number of seeders or peers
- Antivirus or firewall blocking qBittorent.
- Incorrect qBittorent settings
Fix qBittorent stalled state
When you see the stalled status in qBittorent, follow these suggestions to fix it.
- Force resume torrent
- Change qBittorent port
- Check internet connection
- Verify seeder and peers availability
- Check firewall and antivirus settings
- Check qBittorent settings
Let us see each step in detail:
1. Force resume torrent
Force resuming the torrent removes the stalled state and downloads the torrent. Here’s how to do it.
First, open the qBittorent client if it is not already opened. You can do that by searching for “qBittorent” in the Start menu and clicking on the relevant result.
Once it opens, right-click on the torrent and select the “Force Resume” option.
As soon as you do that, qBittorent stalled state is fixed and the torrent will start downloading.
2. Change qBittorent port
After force resuming, changing the port also helps fix the stalled status in qBittorent. Here’s how.
Open the qBittorent client. Next, click the Settings (gear) icon on the top navigation bar to open the settings window.
Here, go to the “Connections” tab on the sidebar and click the “Random” button in the “Listening Port” section. This action will change the default qBittorent port to a random port. Click the “Apply” button.
Finally, right-click on the torrent and click on the “Force recheck” option.
With that, the qBittorent stalled message will not appear and the download will continue.
3. Check the internet connection
Make sure that you have a stable and somewhat fast internet connection. This is because an unstable or slow internet connection makes it harder for qBittorent to connect to seeders and peers. If qBittorent cannot establish a reliable connection, it stalls the torrent and renders it inactive.
Also, ensure that your ISP is not blocking torrent traffic. If you are unsure, either ask them if torrent traffic is allowed. To bypass any possible restrictions, you can use a VPN service. Alternatively, you can also Cloudflare’s WARP service (1.1.1.1) which is free.
4. Verify seeder and peers availability
The ‘qBittorent Stalled’ status can occur if there is a lack of seeders or peers for the torrent you are downloading. As I said earlier, seeders are those who are already finished downloading and only uploading, while peers are those who are downloading and uploading.
So, check the number of available seeders and peers in the “Seeds” and “Peers” columns of the qBittorent interface. If the numbers are low or non-existent, it indicates the lack of availability of the torrent.
In that case, you might have to look for an alternate torrent or add trackers. In case you don’t know, trackers are a special type of server that assists in communication between peers. You can edit, remove, or add trackers by right-clicking on the torrent and selecting the “Edit trackers” option.
5. Check firewall and antivirus settings
If your antivirus or firewall is blocking qBittorent, your torrent will be stalled. To fix it, add qBittorent to the antivirus and firewall exclusion list.
To verify if your antivirus or firewall is the cause, disable them temporarily and force resume (right-click on the torrent > Force Resume) the torrent to see if the stalled status is fixed.
Note: Enable your antivirus and firewall protection immediately.
If the issue is fixed, the antivirus or firewall is the problem. In that case, add qBittorent to the exclusion list.
6. Check qBittorent settings
Here are a few settings you should check and change to fix the torrent stalling issue in qBittorent.
First of all, open the qBittorent client and click on the Settings (gear) icon on the top navigation bar. Next, check the below settings.
- Click the “Connections” tab on the sidebar and press the “Random” button in the “Listening port” section.
- In the “Connections” tab, configure the below options as shown:
- Global maximum number of connections: 500
- Maximum number of connections per torrent: 100
- Global maximum number of upload slots: 20
- Maximum number of upload slots per torrent: 4
- Go to the “BitTorrent” tab and select the “Enable DHT (decentralized network) to find more peers” and “Enable Peer Exchange (PeX) to find more peers” checkboxes.
- Click the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons to save changes.
After making all the necessary changes, restart the qBittorent client. It will fix the torrent stalling problem in qBittorent.
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That is it.
I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
