If your network connection is slowing down or Windows update is eating up all the available bandwidth, it might be a good idea to start looking for ways to change or limit the bandwidth of certain functions of your PC as well as programs and apps.
You can tackle bandwidth issues by customising the bandwidth consumption of applications. There are certain ways you can change or limit the bandwidth of a program. Certain applications allow you to do so. If they don’t, you can use third-party software too.
Limiting pr changing bandwidth can be helpful in various situations, such as requiring a high bandwidth while playing a multi-player fps shooter game and uploading/downloading heavy files.
Set the connection to Metered
If you that your Windows processes such as automatic updates take up your bandwidth too often, set the WiFi network you are using as metered connection. Enabling this option will restrict the background bandwidth consumption by restricting windows update and updating live tiles and other things. You can check out this article to learn how to do this in detail or go through read the steps mentioned below.
- Open Settings and click on Network & Internet
- Select WiFi or Ethernet
If you select WiFi,
- Click on Manage known network and select your network
- Click on Properties and toggle on Set as Metered Connection
If you select Ethernet,
- Select your connection and set it to Metered
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Use Built-in Options
Try to find out the options present in the programs you are using before going for any third-party software. These options are present in the setting’s menu of the program. You can limit their bandwidth or completely restrict their background bandwidth consumption.
You can even restrict how much bandwidth does Windows Update uses in the background in Windows 10 via the following steps:
- Go to Settings
- Select Update & Security and go to Windows Update
- Click on Advanced Options and select Delivery Optimisation
- Click on Advanced Options
- Change the Limit how much bandwidth is used for downloading updates in the background option according to your needs.
You can also use the following third-party applications to help you limit the bandwidth of program and processes on your PC.
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NetBalancer
It is a third-party application that tracks the network bandwidth consumption of different applications running in the system. It shows a live graph of the consumption alongwith the application and can also change the bandwidth of the program.
To change the bandwidth of the program, find the application on the list and double-click on it. You can also use the download and upload priority feature to manage application usage based on preset filters. If you want to go a step ahead, choose Custom from the drop-down menu.
It gives the user a free trial period of 15 days, after which you will have to pay a one time fee of $49.95.
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NetLimiter
Another third-party application that helps to track and manage the bandwidth of the connection. A list of open applications and their bandwidth usage appears when you launch NetLimiter.
The default limit in the application is 5 Kb/s which can be quickly enabled by checking the box. To edit speed for a particular application, right-click on the limit which will open the rule editor. In the editor, you can change the values for bandwidth consumption.
NetLimiter 4 Pro comes with 30 days trial period and can be purchased for $24.95 for a home license single PC and $29.95 for standard license single PC. It also has some versions come for a little cheaper.
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