[Fixed, please read] Why are Steam downloads still slow on Linux after years?

[Melody]

This problem exists since years, when you have an overkill connection (2.5+ Gbps) and try to download something, you get 2.5 Gbps on Steam for Windows and ten times less the speed on Steam for Linux.

I wonder why this problem is still unfixed and present in 2023?

Solution here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/221410/discussions/0/4038104598701386066/?tscn=1703629767#c4038104984934496350

[Ussul w+m1]

wtf is this for real? I am on Linux and have 1G down on fiber. So.. if I can check in my provider there is never a touch of 1g on my end. just bc servers are too slow.

Can you actually imagine what servers and networks would need Steam to let you go 1G down? For example> Game has update - lets say it is Sea of Thieves 10Gb - new season. From your region wanna play other 20 plp right now. Simple calculation and in order you to download it at 1G speed you need a 20G on Steam end file server. Also your local network provider needs to have that bandwidth available in one connection. If ou connect during rush hour 16-19? You cannot get max out of your speed just bc everyone is home and using connection to get updates, emails, watching movies etc.
Go to https://store.steampowered.com/stats/content/ so you can get the understanding what scale you are talking about in your country.

not as simple as it seems. I am sure it also not as Linux vs Win. BTW win managed the download from local/neighbor network update feature. Maybe you are talking about that.

[Melody]

Originally posted by Ussul w+m1:

wtf is this for real? I am on Linux and have 1G down on fiber. So.. if I can check in my provider there is never a touch of 1g on my end. just bc servers are too slow.

Can you actually imagine what servers and networks would need Steam to let you go 1G down? For example> Game has update - lets say it is Sea of Thieves 10Gb - new season. From your region wanna play other 20 plp right now. Simple calculation and in order you to download it at 1G speed you need a 20G on Steam end file server. Also your local network provider needs to have that bandwidth available in one connection. If ou connect during rush hour 16-19? You cannot get max out of your speed just bc everyone is home and using connection to get updates, emails, watching movies etc.
Go to https://store.steampowered.com/stats/content/ so you can get the understanding what scale you are talking about in your country.

not as simple as it seems. I am sure it also not as Linux vs Win. BTW win managed the download from local/neighbor network update feature. Maybe you are talking about that.

I get over 2 Gbps on Steam for Windows and I can also prove it, no LAN download. I can make a video for you if you want.

[Jinrum]

Had this problem with my new AM5 motherboard and fresh linux install. Found a post on reddit where someone mentioned a solution.

    
1. Open a text editor and paste the following into it: @nClientDownloadEnableHTTP2PlatformLinux 0
       
2. Save the text document and name it steam_dev.cfg
   
3. Copy and paste the file to the following path ~/.steam/steam
   
4. Close and re-launch steam

Never had this issue on my old Intel motherboard.

[Melody]

Originally posted by Jinrum:

Had this problem with my new AM5 motherboard and fresh linux install. Found a post on reddit where someone mentioned a solution.

    
1. Open a text editor and paste the following into it: @nClientDownloadEnableHTTP2PlatformLinux 0
       
2. Save the text document and name it steam_dev.cfg
   
3. Copy and paste the file to the following path ~/.steam/steam
   
4. Close and re-launch steam

Never had this issue on my old Intel motherboard.

I was aware of this workaround and it makes it much better, but it's still much slower than it should be.

[Jinrum]

Originally posted by Melody:

Originally posted by Jinrum:

Had this problem with my new AM5 motherboard and fresh linux install. Found a post on reddit where someone mentioned a solution.

    
1. Open a text editor and paste the following into it: @nClientDownloadEnableHTTP2PlatformLinux 0
       
2. Save the text document and name it steam_dev.cfg
   
3. Copy and paste the file to the following path ~/.steam/steam
   
4. Close and re-launch steam

Never had this issue on my old Intel motherboard.

I was aware of this workaround and it makes it much better, but it's still much slower than it should be.

Did you also try adding a second line for more connections at a time? Did it make any difference? What about disabling IPv6 on your NIC profile?

@fDownloadRateImprovementToAddAnotherConnection 1.0

Link to post for anyone else coming across this issue just to be helpful.
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/16e1l4h/slow_steam_downloads_try_this/

[tyl0413]

Could this be a reason why my Deck OLED never reaches full speed?
I think it's some SteamOS bug as everything else is slow including LAN but Steam downloads never reach full speed either anymore.
Worked fine for the first few days but not anymore.
Don't wanna derail this too hard but my topic got ignored on the Deck forum and I still have the issue.

[Zyro]

Winter sale is a very bad time in the year to test download speeds though.

[Melody]

Originally posted by Jinrum:

Originally posted by Melody:

I was aware of this workaround and it makes it much better, but it's still much slower than it should be.

Did you also try adding a second line for more connections at a time? Did it make any difference? What about disabling IPv6 on your NIC profile?

@fDownloadRateImprovementToAddAnotherConnection 1.0

Link to post for anyone else coming across this issue just to be helpful.
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/16e1l4h/slow_steam_downloads_try_this/

Oh yes, I tried that, also makes it much better, still not as it should be but it's indeed much better.

Originally posted by Zyro:

Winter sale is a very bad time in the year to test download speeds though.

It is not just now, this problem is there for years.

Originally posted by tyl0413:

Could this be a reason why my Deck OLED never reaches full speed?
I think it's some SteamOS bug as everything else is slow including LAN but Steam downloads never reach full speed either anymore.
Worked fine for the first few days but not anymore.
Don't wanna derail this too hard but my topic got ignored on the Deck forum and I still have the issue.

It's something related to Steam for Linux that is there for years now. Download speeds are generally better on Linux compared to Windows, but Steam for Linux still downloads quite slow compared to how it should be, and I'm even using a high tier NVMe for my downloads.

[Zyro]

Originally posted by Melody:

Originally posted by Zyro:

Winter sale is a very bad time in the year to test download speeds though.

It is not just now, this problem is there for years.

It seems you didn't understand what i said. Christmas sale is a bad time to TEST download speeds.

Whatever problem there might or might not be (some reported gigabit lines to work to max speed, others reported the opposite), it:s the absolute worst time in the year to do any testing, because there's usually problems at Christmas time every year on every os.

[Melody]

Originally posted by Zyro:

Originally posted by Melody:

It is not just now, this problem is there for years.

It seems you didn't understand what i said. Christmas sale is a bad time to TEST download speeds.

Whatever problem there might or might not be (some reported gigabit lines to work to max speed, others reported the opposite), it:s the absolute worst time in the year to do any testing, because there's usually problems at Christmas time every year on every os.

I repeat, it is not just now, the problem exists for years. This takes for granted that I have been testing this for years.

[Ussul w+m1]

Originally posted by Melody:

Originally posted by Zyro:

It seems you didn't understand what i said. Christmas sale is a bad time to TEST download speeds.

Whatever problem there might or might not be (some reported gigabit lines to work to max speed, others reported the opposite), it:s the absolute worst time in the year to do any testing, because there's usually problems at Christmas time every year on every os.

I repeat, it is not just now, the problem exists for years. This takes for granted that I have been testing this for years.

I do not have the problem and it looks like it is only you. It might be a lot of stuff from OS, settings, HW problem etc. Have you tried any linux distro?

[Melody]

Originally posted by Ussul w+m1:

Originally posted by Melody:

I repeat, it is not just now, the problem exists for years. This takes for granted that I have been testing this for years.

I do not have the problem and it looks like it is only you. It might be a lot of stuff from OS, settings, HW problem etc. Have you tried any linux distro?

I have.
No offense intended, I'm out of the discussion for now.

[Enigmatic]

Vulnerability scanning takes longer? I don't know.
But it is slower.

[Melody]

I have solved the mystery.

The problem relies in the MTU and MRU. I have swapped many routers and all of them have the exact same issue. I don't know how Steam for Windows manages to workaround the issue, but if you have this problem, your ISP is most likely setting these two parameters in a wrong way.

You need to enter your Router and look for MTU and MRU, they will most likely be either 1492 or 1500. You need to change both to 1478 and reconnect.

Since I've done that, I finally have 2.5 Gbps on Steam for Linux as well.

[lonesh33p]

What a fantastic, ultra-nutritious thread. Kudos to both @Jinrum and @Melody for your persistence in digging up these solutions. I have lowly gigabit fiber. @Jinrum's solution boosted me from ~100 Mbps to ~500 (which, admittedly, is where I was 6 months ago, with no workarounds). I sent email to my ISP but it doesn't appear I'll be able to set the MTU in my router. :( (I was able to confirm it is set to 1500.) I think I was able to change it at the OS level but that didn't affect download speed.