How to Use µTorrent (utorrent) [Complete Guide with Screenshots]

You want to know how to use uTorrent properly, we’ll show you the best method to do that. We’ve spent the last decade using torrent clients for testing and research. Let’s take a look at how you can use uTorrent on your own without any issues.

The first thing you should know about uTorrent is that there are now three versions, Pro, Web and Classic, of the software (with the same team behind them, BitTorrent).

Because of that, downloading a torrent file from uTorrent could mean you following a different set of steps depending on the type of client you’re using. We’ll start with the latest one, which is a browser-based program.

BitTorrent officially launched its new web-based torrenting software in 2018. It goes by the name of uTorrent Web.

Now, even though it works online, users still have to download and install some files to uTorrent Web working. Even though uTorrent Web officially launched (i.e., its stable version) in 2018, it has been in its beta phase for quite a long time.

The significant difference between uTorrent Web and other torrent clients is that all of the torrent downloading activities happen within the user’s web browser.

Pretty much like all other versions of uTorrent, uTorrent Web allows users to play video and audio files even before they’ve downloaded the whole program from the internet. That means you can playback all of your content from within your web browsing software of choice.

Once you download uTorrent Web (and install it on your computer), you’ll be able to open up all the magnet links and torrent files in your web browser’s window automatically. You’re free to search for the content you want on different torrent websites or you could also make use of the search box facility available within uTorrent Web. The platform will redirect all of your queries to Google.

As far as the actual download process goes, it is fast and problem-free. You’ll be able to have a seamless playback experience. uTorrent Web even has the ability to pull subtitles automatically. Of course, you’ll need to make sure you actually have subtitles in your torrent file.

There are lots of other settings as well. You have the option of picking the language of your application as well as the default torrent download folder. If you want uTorrent Web to open up each of your files in a separate tab, then you can that as well.

Do you want to automatically start uTorrent Web once you boot your computer? You can do that too. uTorrent Web can also delete the entire search history automatically if you want it to. Plus, you can make it your default torrent client.

So what does all this mean for the original uTorrent client? Well, it is now called uTorrent Classic. The team behind uTorrent has said it plans to offer uTorrent Classic to users well into the future.

Now, read on to find out how to use uTorrent today:

Step-By-Step Guide: How to Use uTorrent

Step 1: Download uTorrent

The process of downloading uTorrent is very simple. Here’s how:

1. First, go to uTorrent’s official website and download the application. uTorrent is free, so you don’t have to worry about providing any payment information.
2. Once you’ve located and downloaded the file, you need to double-click on the .exe file. After that, the installer will start the installation process automatically.
3. Then, click the option that says Next twice on subsequent screens.
4. Stop and read the shown license agreement if you wish to. After that, click on I Agree and then hit Next.
5. Next comes an option that allows you to create a new firewall rule for uTorrent. We suggest you check it.
6. After that, the installation process will ask if you want to run uTorrent when you boot your machine. Decide on that and then move forward to clicking Next.
7. Now, this part is really important: The official uTorrent installer contains some adware, so you simply click “Decline” on the screen where it asks you to install the adware. If you do this, you can avoid the adware all together. You can repeat the same set of steps for anything else that uTorrent may want you to install on your computer.

Once that’s done, just click Done and you’re good to go.

Step 2: Decide Where You Want to Download Your Files From

In other words, you’ll need to find a torrent source.

With that said, we know that once someone mentions the word “Torrent” in any conversation, people automatically start to think about piracy.

But there are lots of ways in which you can download more content than what you can ever manage to watch without going near pirated content.

The top two destinations for torrent files that are legal are The Internet Archive and this wiki page. There, you can search and see where/how to download an extensive collection of legal content for free.

The content that’s available includes:

• Books
• Movies
• TV series
• Software applications
• Audio content
• Other video content

The links mentioned above offer tons of options and features to upload and download movies. You can also share your own movies or files if you want to.

In this guide, as an example, we will take a look at another source: academictorrents.com. This source only offers academic content, but you can still use it without having to be enrolled at a university or any other academic institution. We will try to download the file “Mathematical Method for Quantitative Finance” to demonstrate how easy it is to download content from uTorrent.

So you go to the link that we mentioned above, search for the title we mentioned and then click on the yellow/brown button on the right-hand side of the screen labeled “Download.”

Once you click it, your browser will download the torrent file. Since it is a tiny file, it will download very quickly.

Step 3: Choose the Files

As mentioned above, keep an eye out for the torrent file as it will get downloaded very quickly. Once it does, you need to double-click on it and then allow uTorrent to open and display its contents.

Most of the time, you will have to download everything that comes in a given torrent. However, uTorrent allows you to tick and untick the file(s) that you want to download to your computer.

uTorrent will also show you some options on the left-hand side to let you save the content where you want to save it. You also have the option of giving labeling the file, as that can make it easy for you to sort your downloaded content. Once you’re satisfied with all the settings, you can click OK.

Step 4: Download Speed & Other Information

If you just go back to the main user interface of uTorrent, you’ll see that there’s a Torrent section on the program’s left-hand side. This provides all the details you need to know when downloading any type of file.

This is helpful if you want to know the speed at which your torrent software is downloading your file (depending on your internet connection, of course) and how long it takes for uTorrent to actually download the complete file. Again, these factors may depend on the speed of your connection.

Step 5: Don’t Shy Away From Magnet Links

There are two ways to download the torrent files for the content you want to consume. The first way is to first download the .torrent file, which we have just discussed above. The other way is to make use of magnet links. Both work almost exactly the same.

When you click on a magnet link, your web browser will automatically open up the torrent file in your torrent client.

Just like .torrent files, magnet links are able to download any type of content for you. Magnet links are great for the simple reason that they’re low-maintenance and easy to use.

As mentioned above, simply click on the magnet link and your torrent client, uTorrent, will take care of the rest.

Step 6: Sometimes You May Want to Prioritize Your Downloads

You may find yourself in a situation where you have to download several files at one time.

Torrent clients allow you to choose which one should get downloaded first while maintaining connections with the other torrent downloads so that the user doesn’t lose their peers and seeders.

If you want to take advantage of this feature in uTorrent, then you need to go back to the main window of the application and then click on the torrent which you want uTorrent to download before any of the other torrents.

As mentioned before, torrents are located on the right-hand side of the application. After clicking the torrent to prioritize, you should press the up arrow button multiple times, depending on how far you want it to move up the list of current downloads. If you press the button with the down direction arrow, then depending on the number of times you press it, you can move the selected torrent download down the priority list.

Step 7: Save Some of Your Bandwidth for Other Tasks

Multi-tasking is a necessity in today’s online world. So if you don’t want a slow browsing experience while you’re downloading torrents, then you’ll have to make use of a speed limit on your torrent downloads.

In uTorrent, this process is simple. Just double-click on the torrent that is currently downloading. As mentioned before, torrents are listed on the right-hand side of uTorrent.

Once you double-click, a new Properties window should pop up. This is where you have the option of setting up the maximum download and upload speeds.

Step 8: Don’t Forget to Give Back to the Community by Seeding

As you may understand by now, the only reason why the torrent community is still surviving is that it is based on a P2P (peer-to-peer) system. This model has withstood the test of time, dominating the conversation around peer-based file-sharing.

More specifically, once you have downloaded a given file, you earn a certain amount of responsibility. After you’ve managed to complete a torrent download, you should always allow uTorrent to keep the download running. This way, other torrent users on the network with a fast enough internet connection can download part of the file from your system.

This process is known as seeding.

You’re free to get rid of the magnet link or the torrent file after you’ve done some seeding on your downloaded files.

To do so, just right-click on a given file, and from the shown list choose the option that says: Remove and Delete .torrent.

And that’s it. You even have the option of streaming content from your downloaded file while uTorrent is seeding the file.