You have just come across a new game or a hefty piece of software, and head straight to download it. Your browser pops open its built-in download manager, and you see the estimated time jumping from a few minutes to three hours. I am pretty sure you might’ve come across this situation a bunch of times. You may think this is your browser at fault, but trust the wait time. However, when you come back, you see that the download has failed at 60 percent.
Thankfully, you don’t have to endure this cycle for years and go through the hours of wait time. If you are still relying on Chrome, Firefox, or Edge to handle your large files, then it is time to make a change. Here’s why Free Download Manager is the best way to download files.
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FDM does what it says
It is the ultimate solution for all your download needs
The landing page of Free Download Manager says it boosts downloads up to 10 times, and it actually does. But there’s more. The reason such software and tools exist is that web browsers, no matter how efficiently they handle browsing and tabs, aren’t meant to manage heavy data transfers.
When you download a file from a standard web browser, it opens a single connection to the server. If that server is busy or your internet connection drops for even a second, the entire download process fails.
The congestion in the server is also the reason why the download speed is so slow with standard web browsers’ built-in download managers. You might’ve also seen the “Resume” button available in the downloader of web browsers, but trust my experience, they are all scams. The resume button rarely works, and most of the time, the download starts from the beginning.
Now, while many would suggest using the Command Prompt to download files, Free Download Manager does a lot of things that you simply won’t get with the Command Prompt. In fact, even other popular download managers can’t match the number of features Free Download Manager offers.
Free Download Manager doesn’t show you ads to download files
When you download the Free Download Manager app and launch it, you will notice that there are no ads. This software is open source and completely free, with no ads that get in the way.
It is designed to pull files from the internet to your storage as fast as possible. And the faster speeds that it claims and achieves are by not using just one connection to download the file. It splits files into smaller parts and downloads them simultaneously using multiple connections. This is why you will see this downloader achieve the highest possible speed your ISP provides, which your browser could never match.
Unlike the unreliable resume function on web browsers, Free Download Manager (FDM) has a resume button that actually works. Need to restart your computer? Want to play an online game or use the bandwidth for another task?
With FDM, you can do that without any issues. On top of that, FDM handles connection drops gracefully and, in my experience, has always resumed from where the download left off.
Also, if you download torrents or want a tool to handle magnet links, you don’t need any other application if you have Free Download Manager. It doubles as a highly capable torrent client.
Ditch the browser’s built-in downloader
Integrating FDM into your workflow is quite easy
Transitioning to the Free Download Manager from other downloaders or your web browser is fairly easy and a few-step process:
- Head over to the official website and download Free Download Manager on your laptop. You can also download the client for Android, macOS, or Linux.
- Install the software and launch it.
- For the Free Download Manager to capture files you download in your web browser, you need to install the browser extension.
- In the Free Download Manager interface, click on the icon with three lines and a backward arrow in the top-right corner. Choose Preferences from the menu.
- Click on Browser Integration from the left pane.
- On the right side, you can choose to download the Edge extension, the Chrome extension, or the Firefox extension.
- Once the extension is installed, Free Download Manager will automatically grab the download link you click in any browser.
You can set a priority for any downloads on the list, ensuring that the file is given higher priority and more internet bandwidth. Another feature that FDM offers is the “Traffic Limits” mode. At the bottom of the app, you can easily toggle between High, Medium, and Low usage. If you are working or streaming a movie while downloading a massive file, just turn to Low usage mode. This quietly lets you download the file in the background.
Stop waiting forever for your downloads to finish
You no longer have to wait hours for your download to finish. Also, you don’t have to pray that the download doesn’t fail midway. By using Free Download Manager, you ensure your downloads complete and achieve faster download speeds and reliable resuming. Apart from using a dedicated downloader, you should also check whether Windows is throttling your internet connection, so you get the best speed.