Though torrent downloading has become popular for all the bad reasons, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. Especially when you are trying to download large files. Just like you can use torrent clients to download torrent files on a PC, you can download torrents directly on your Android device. Let me show you how to do it in this step by step guide.
Related: 3 Free VPN to Unblock Netflix Geo Restriction
While download new movies or song from the top torrent site such as The Pirate Bay, KickassTorrents etc. You would have got a lot of Fake Torrent files. Some of them are created by the spammer to make money and some are created by the copyright holders like MPAA, RIAA, etc. To trap torrent user and collect IPs of those who are download it.
Note: If the files you are downloading are big in size, use this guide to connect an external hard drive to Android.
What is TorrDroid
To download torrents on an Android device we are going to use an app called TorrDroid, a popular, minimalist, and free Android torrent downloader. Some of the features of TorrDroid include but not limited to built-in torrent search, support for downloading via .torrent files and magnet links, ability to restrict app to download only on WiFi, ability to set download and upload limits, queuing downloads, detailed download progress screen, built-in file browser, simultaneous downloads, support for sequential downloading to play media files while downloading, ability to select external SD card as download destination, etc. Simply put, TorrDroid has all the features you’d expect from a good torrent downloader.
One thing to keep in mind is that being a free app, it is supported by ads. But the ads are not intrusive like in other apps I’ve tried (i’m looking at you uTorrent), at least as of writing this guide.
Related: uTorrent is Bloated With Ads Try These 8 Alternatives
Download Torrents on Android
To get started, search for TorrDroidin Play Store and click on the install button to install the app on your Android device. Once installed launch the app from the app menu.
As soon as you launch the app, it will ask for a few permissions to work properly. Give those permissions by tapping on the “Allow” option.
To download torrents you either need to have access to the .torrent file or magnet link. Since the app already lets you search for torrents using the built-in search feature, do try it. Simply enter the keyword, select the torrent type, and tap on the option “Search.”
The app will show you all the available torrents from trusted sites. If one of them is to your liking then tap on it to start the download process. Or you can download the torrent file (.torrent) from other sources say your computer and import them into the app to start downloading.
However, as much as possible, always download torrent files from official websites. For instance, I’ve downloaded Linux Mint torrent file from the official website. This ensures that the torrent is genuine and free of any nasty stuff. To add a .torrent file to TorrDroid, tap on the “Add” icon and select the option “Add torrent.”
Note: if you have magnet link then select “Add link” option, paste the magnet link and tap on the “Ok” button.
The above action will open the built-in file manager. Here, navigate to the folder where you’ve stored the torrent file and select it. To quickly change between internal and external SD card, you can use the top drop-down menu.
As soon as you select the torrent, TorrDroid starts downloading the file. Depending on the file size and download speed, it might take some time to download the file. You can see the estimated time remaining (ETR) at the bottom.
Managing Torrents
By default, TorrDroid will download torrents regardless if you are on WiFi or on mobile data. If you want to avoid downloading on mobile data, tap on the Settings icon (three vertical dots) appearing in the top right corner and select the option “Settings.”
In the settings panel, select the checkbox next to “Download over WiFi only.” This ensures that the torrent file will only be downloaded when you are connected to a WiFi network. If you are disconnected from WiFi, the torrent downloading is automatically paused. When you are back to WiFi, the download starts again.
As I said before, TorrDroid gives you greater control over torrent downloading. For instance, if TorrDroid is hogging all the bandwidth and making your other internet activities slow then you can change the download and upload speeds to meet your needs. To change the individual torrent settings, tap on the “Options” icon (three horizontal lines). Also, the options icon wiggles itself so its hard to miss.
The above action will open the Info tab. Here, scroll down and enter speed in KB’s under Download Rate Limit and tap on the save icon.
The download speed will be instantly limited freeing up the bandwidth for other activities.
Also, if you are downloading a media file and would like to watch it while downloading then select the checkbox “Enable sequential download.”
To view the additional details of the torrent like number of seeders and leechers, amount downloaded and uploaded, number of pieces, share ratio, etc., navigate to the “Status” tab.
If there are multiple files in a torrent and you would like to pick and choose which file to download, you can do so from the Files tab. Navigate to the Files tab and uncheck the files you want to avoid downloading. Since I don’t have multiple files I can’t really choose but you can if you have multiple files.
Once the torrent has been downloaded, navigate to the destination folder using your favorite file manager. You can find the folder/file path in the Info tab.
That’s all there is to do and it is that simple to download torrents on Android. Comment below sharing your thoughts and experience about using the above method to download torrent on Android.
Also Read: How to Bypass Torrent Blocking by your ISP
While file sharing is controversial and often accused of being 'music piracy,' millions of internet users continue to share their files and download files from others, and thousands of new torrent users are added every day.
Before getting started, install reliable anti-virus software on your computer to thwart any viruses you may get while torrenting. Then, read the articles below in order from top to bottom.
Important Reminder About the Legality of Torrents
In short: not all torrents are legal, and you could be reprimanded for downloading illegal content.
There are lots of illegal files floating around through torrents. It's important to remind yourself that just because the torrent downloads themselves are free, it does not mean that the torrent data you're downloading is free from copyright. Some countries have laws protecting copyright holders, so that should be considered before downloading torrents.
Not all torrents infringe on copyright laws; there are tons of free images, movies, music and documents that you can share with an unlimited number of people for free. However, it's also really easy to share and download other data too, which might be considered illegal.
Torrents 101: Understand How Bittorrent File Sharing Works
If you are new to torrent downloading, then you will definitely want to read about how the system works.
Torrents (.TORRENT files and magnet links) are pointer files that help torrent software locate the computers of other users who are sharing that specific file or group of files that you're wanting to download.
With the torrent file, you can then tell the software to connect to those private computers for copying their music, movies, documents etc, to your own computer.
Torrent Software: How to Use Torrents
Torrent downloading requires special software that can read the .TORRENT file or magnet link. These torrent software products also need to provide management control over download and upload speeds, priorities, and cataloging.
Torrent programs aren't just downloadable tools that work from your desktop. You can also download torrents through your web browser so that you can access the files anywhere and sometimes even stream media files without downloading them.
Torrent Download Sites: Where to Find Torrent Movies and Music
Once you understand torrent swarming and have the right torrent software or online service necessary for using the torrent data, it's time to find the right pointer files that will get you the files you're after.
Nearly all torrent sites are easy enough to use because you can search through their database pretty quickly or browse relevant categories, though some might be littered with advertisements. Other torrent sites are much cleaner private communities that closely guard their catalog of torrents.
Warning: How to Spot Fake Torrent Files
Sadly, there are vandals, thieves and scammers out there who use phony torrent files to put malware on your computer. By disguising their nasty software as attractive movies and music downloads, these scammers seek to deceive you into installing their stuff.
A few of the ways files masquerade as healthy torrents is through RAR, WAV and password protected files.
How To Download From Thepiratebay
Another is by renaming a file from something seemingly harmless like videofile.mp4 to videofile.mp4.exe. Instead of an MP4 video, this particular file is an EXE file that can cause serious damage to your computer.