Torrents are a popular way to download large files, such as movies, games, music, or software, from the internet. However, you may not know that you can also download torrents with your Android phone or tablet, without the need for a computer. In this blog post, I will show you how to download a torrent with Android using a torrent app and a torrent file or magnet link. You will also learn how to manage your downloads, control your bandwidth, and protect your privacy while using torrents on Android.
What You Need
To download a torrent with Android, you will need the following:
- An Android phone or tablet with enough storage space to save the downloaded files.
- A torrent app that allows you to download and manage torrent files or magnet links. There are many torrent apps available for Android, such as BitTorrent, uTorrent, Flud, or tTorrent. You can download them from the Google Play Store or from their official websites. For this guide, I will use BitTorrent as an example, but you can use any torrent app that you prefer.
- A torrent file or magnet link that contains the information about the file or files that you want to download. You can find torrent files or magnet links from various torrent websites, such as The Pirate Bay, 1337x, or RARBG. You can also use a torrent search engine, such as Torrentz2, to find the torrent that you want. Make sure that the torrent has enough seeders, which are the users who have the complete file and are sharing it with others. The more seeders, the faster the download speed.
Installing a BitTorrent Client on Android
For Android smartphone and tablet owners, it’s a different story. It is entirely possible to locate and install BitTorrent clients from the Google Play Store, allowing you to download torrents on Android devices.
You’ll need to install a BitTorrent client app on your Android device first. There are plenty to choose from, including several from BitTorrent Inc, the company behind the BitTorrent protocol itself.
One simple Android BitTorrent client available for you to use is Flud. Unlike some of the other BitTorrent apps, this client is free to use with no limitations. It’s ad supported, although an ad-free Flud is available for a small cost.
- To start, download and install the Flud client on your Android device from the Google Play Store. Flud will ask you for permission to use your device storage when you first open it, so allow this by pressing the Give Permission button.
- Flud will ask you for permission to use your usage data for statistics and for permission to use this information to offer tailored ads. If you’re fine with this, press Accept and Continue. If you’re not, press each of the checkboxes to revoke permission before pressing Accept and Continue.
- You’ll be asked whether you want to limit Flud torrent downloads and upload to WiFi connections, rather than using your mobile data connection. By default, the checkbox to restrict to WiFi-only is enabled, so unless you want to change this, press the OK button. If you want to use your mobile data, press to uncheck the Torrents will download and upload if WiFi is connected checkbox, then press OK to confirm.
Confirming your WiFi settings will bring you to the main Flud interface. The Flud app is simple to navigate, with torrents listed in categories, including All (for all torrents), Queued (for torrents that are in a queue to begin downloading or uploading), and Finished (for torrents that have finished downloading).
If you need to change the WiFi-only setting you selected, press the menu icon in the top-right of the Flud app. From there, press Settings > Power management, then press to uncheck the WiFi only checkbox.
Download Torrents on Android Using Flud
Flud supports you download torrents using a torrent file, either as a local file or from an HTTP link, or as a magnet link which hides the origins of the file. You’ll need to use one of these methods to begin any torrent downloads.
- To begin downloading torrents using a locally-saved torrent file, press the + button in the bottom-left of the Flud interface. Navigate your Android device’s storage using the on-screen menu, then tap on a local torrent file to add it to Flud.
- If you want to add a torrent using a URL or magnet link instead, press the magnet icon in the top menu bar. If a suitable link is already in your clipboard, Flud should paste it in automatically, but you’ll need to add it manually if it doesn’t. Press OK to add the torrent to Flud at this point, or Cancel to cancel the download.
- In the Add torrent menu, confirm where you want to save the file under the Storage Path section. You can view the files included in your torrent by pressing the Files tab. When you’re ready to add the torrent and begin downloading, press the + button in the top-right.
Once added, your BitTorrent download will begin automatically, appearing as a separate entry in the All tab. This gives you a quick overview of how the torrent is progressing, with a progress bar and current download and upload speeds.
Pausing, Changing and Deleting Torrents in Flud
Clicking on the entry for your torrent download in Flud brings up additional information about it. The listing offers information about how much of the download has been completed, as well as the number of seeders (users offering the file for download) and leechers (users who only download the file but don’t share it afterward).
It also lists the estimated completion time for your download, based on current download speeds. You can pause or delete your torrent download from this listing, as well as change the settings for it.
- To pause your torrent, press the Play or Pause icon for the torrent entry on the main Flud screen. If you’re in the detailed listing, press the Play or Pause icon in the top menu instead.
- If you want to delete the torrent, either during the download or after it has completed, press the menu icon in the top-right, then press Remove torrent.
- Flud will ask you to confirm the deletion. If you want to delete the torrent files, press the Delete downloaded data too? checkbox. Press OK to confirm.
- You can also make changes to your torrent download, including editing the loaded trackers, as well as the setting maximum download and upload speeds. To do this, press the menu icon in the top-right, then select Torrent settings. From here, select your chosen option to proceed.
How to Manage Your Downloads
While downloading a torrent with Android, you may want to manage your downloads to optimize your speed, bandwidth, and battery. Here are some tips to do that:
- Use a Wi-Fi connection instead of a mobile data connection to download torrents, as torrents can consume a lot of data and may incur extra charges from your carrier. You can also set the torrent app to only download when connected to a Wi-Fi network, by going to the app’s settings and enabling the “Wi-Fi only” option.
- Limit the download and upload speed of the torrent app, by going to the app’s settings and adjusting the “Download limit” and “Upload limit” sliders. This can help you save bandwidth and avoid network congestion. However, keep in mind that uploading is also important for the health of the torrent network, so don’t set the upload limit too low.
- Schedule your downloads to run at a specific time or day, by going to the app’s settings and enabling the “Scheduler” option. You can then set the start and end time and the days of the week for your downloads. This can help you download torrents when the network is less busy or when you are not using your device.
- Enable the battery saving mode of the torrent app, by going to the app’s settings and enabling the “Battery saving” option. This will pause your downloads when your device’s battery level is low, and resume them when it is high. This can help you extend your battery life and avoid interruptions.
How to Protect Your Privacy
While downloading a torrent with Android, you may also want to protect your privacy and security, as torrents can expose your IP address and activity to other users and trackers. Here are some ways to do that:
- Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service, such as ExpressVPN, NordVPN, or Surfshark, to encrypt your traffic and hide your IP address and location from the torrent network. You can download a VPN app from the Google Play Store or from their official websites, and connect to a server of your choice before starting your downloads. Make sure that the VPN app has a kill switch feature, which will automatically disconnect you from the internet if the VPN connection drops, to prevent any leaks.
- Use a proxy server, such as SOCKS5, to route your traffic through another server and mask your IP address and location from the torrent network. You can find a proxy server from various websites, such as ProxyNova, Free Proxy List, or Socks Proxy. You can then enter the proxy server’s address and port in the torrent app’s settings, under the “Proxy” section. However, keep in mind that a proxy server may not be as secure or reliable as a VPN service, and may not support encryption or authentication.
- Use a private or secure torrent tracker, such as IPTorrents, TorrentLeech, or PassThePopcorn, to download torrents from a closed community of trusted users and avoid malicious or fake torrents. You will need to register and get an invitation to join these trackers, which may have strict rules and requirements. You will also need to maintain a good ratio, which is the amount of data that you upload compared to the amount of data that you download, to avoid getting banned or penalized.
Conclusion
These are some of the best ways to download a torrent with Android without any app. You can use any of these methods to download large files, such as movies, games, music, or software, from the internet, without the need for a computer. You can also manage your downloads, control your bandwidth, and protect your privacy while using torrents on Android. However, you should also be careful and responsible when downloading torrents, as some torrents may contain illegal, copyrighted, or harmful content. You should also respect the rights and wishes of the content creators and owners, and only download torrents that are legal and ethical. By following these tips and tricks, you can enjoy a fast and convenient torrent experience on your Android device.