BitTorrent Speed FAQ | Questions Answered about BitTorrent Speed

Torrents and uTorrent client

Torrenting is is a popular method of file-sharing protocol based on peer-to-peer (P2P) technology. It allows large numbers of users to connect and share content without having to rely on a single source for downloads. Its estimated 3.35% of all internet traffic is handled by BitTorrent, bringing the total number of monthly users to over 250 million!

A torrent client is like a web browser. Just as you can use a web browser to access any website on the internet, you can use a torrent client to download any torrent. Both web browsers and torrent clients are legal technologies.

1. You can find torrent links on the Internet by searching in one of numerous open and private torrent catalogs. Download a .torrent file and drag-n-drop it to μTorrent client. Upon adding, you will see the information about the content you want to download. Once the file has been added, you will be able to see your download progress.
2. You can share your content by creating your own torrent link and sharing it with friends or via social media. To make the torrent file, click on File > Create torrent in μTorrent. A more detailed guideline can be found here.

μTorrent is the official torrent client from the creators of the BitTorrent protocol. It is proprietary (not open-source) software maintained by a legal US company. Like BitTorrent, the software itself is legal, although it can be used for piracy. The official μTorrent is free of malware and can be used safely and privately in combination with a VPN. It does not, however, prevent users from downloading malicious files that can infect their device.

1. It's simple! Just don't delete the file from μTorrent client after the download is complete. The longer you stay seeding, the higher your chances of being rewarded with BTT.
2. You start seeding immediately if you create and share your own torrent file. A more detailed guideline to creating torrents is here.

Unfortunately, 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 downloads, these scammers try to trick you into installing their stuff. Watch for RAR files, WMV files, and password-protected files, which are just some of the ways torrent files are faked.

No. Both torrent network and classic μTorrent are free to use. Though you might want to try Ad-Free or Pro versions of the client.

Please visit our Help Center or contact Customer Support.

BitTorrent Speed

As for now, BitTorrent Speed is only integrated with μTorrent client for Windows™. BitTorrent Speed is compatible with Windows™ versions 7, 8, 8.1, and 10.

Once you have μTorrent client for Windows installed, everything should happen automatically. It might take some time for the application to be downloaded, verified, and installed, so please be patient. After BitTorrent Speed is installed, you will see the item in the navigation menu.

Antivirus companies are going beyond detecting viruses and malware and into categories of "potentially unwanted programs" they feel you may not want even though they aren't dangerous.
Note that it is not our clients themselves that are flagged under either category, but occasionally our partner install offers that are flagged in this "potentially unwanted program" category.
Please note that absolutely nothing is installed on your system without your consent during the installation. We suggest

rejecting any partner offers you don't want installed on uTorrent

adding an exception or temporarily disabling the antivirus software until you have completed your installation

The overall torrenting experience will not be changed. The only difference will be an increase in download speed if you decide to use BitTorrent Speed!

BitTorrent Speed is enabled by default for all μTorrent users.
There is an option to turn it off: go to Options ⟩ Preferences ⟩ Bittorrent ⟩ Uncheck Enable Protocol enhancements ⟩ Apply

No. BitTorrent Speed is based on pure exchange of BTT tokens between users without any intermediators.
There are only ways for users to get BTT tokens:
Earn for seeding
Buy on any decentralized exchange service and transfer to BitTorrent Wallet.
Find more information in the Wallet section.

Yes, you can set up where you can earn but not spend. To do that, simply turn "Speed Increase" toggle into the "Off" state. Your ability to download won't be impacted, but there will be no increase in speed.

Yes, your balance may run out if you’ve spent all your BTT for faster downloads. You may replenish your balance by seeding and earning or by transferring BTT into BitTorrent Wallet.

Earnings depend on a variety of factors such as the demand for the file and network connection.

The speed on μTorrent client reflects a count of download speeds for all the files, while BitTorrent Speed only shows stats for the downloads where token exchange is involved.

There is no such limit. The more actively you seed, the more chances of earning BTT you get.

First of all, we are sorry to hear that. So far, there is no password restoration mechanism in a place, so we strongly recommend that users remember or write down passwords and keep them in a safe space.
The only way to get access to BitTorrent Speed again is to install it from scratch. This is going to be a new wallet, so all the assets will be reset to their initial state. If you want to take this path, please uninstall uTorrent, then get to %AppData% → Roaming → uTorrent and delete all files that are left. Then, do the same with the helper folder.

There are multiple reasons why this may happen: Windows configuration, permissions, interrupted installation process, etc. The easiest solution is to re-install uTorrent client with BitTorrent Speed.
Complete all downloads
Uninstall uTorrent
Open File Explorer and type in %AppData%\Roaming\
Delete uTorrent folder
Go to %AppData%\Local\ and delete BitTorrent Helper folder
Install uTorrent Client from scratch

Feel free to use the contact form on the website if your problem was not solved by the information above.

When the toggle is off, your wallet becomes expelled from participation in auctions for the most high-demand pieces of content, and your download or waiting time will be longer than with the Speed Increase feature. Switching off Speed Increase doesn't affect your ability to earn BTT for seeding.

You might see the balance changing within 24 hours after switching the Speed Increase toggle off. This happens because, when you bid on a piece of data, your BTT go to escrow first and stay there until you complete downloading the piece or until 24 hours passed - whichever comes first. If the piece was successfully downloaded, your bid goes to the seeder. If download was not complete, BTT from escrow will be transferred back to your balance.

BitTorrent Wallet

Please note that, while we employ the highest level of security measures to protect your wallet assets, holding hot (online) cryptoassets is not without risk.
You are strongly advised to protect your device with adequate security measures at all times. Such measures include an access password, PIN, and biometric verification when logging in (among others).
Here are a few simple tips for your wallet protection:
Be careful about where you go online when you're using a device that has a wallet on it. Dangerous websites and risky Wi-Fi networks put your wallet at risk. At the same time, do not leave your device unattended or lend it to anyone.
Phishing scams through ads and through email are rampant in the crypto world. Phishing scams are becoming more and more elaborate, so make sure email received from wallet companies have their domain spelled correctly and never look for their web address clicking on ads. Once you send a phishing website your private key, you can say goodbye to your funds.
It’s important to double check the address to which you send any payment transaction. There are malicious programs that can edit a "copy and paste" procedure in order to paste a different address, and that new address belongs to an attacker. It’s usually best to send a micro payment as a verification and then send the larger payment to the verified address.

Please follow these step-by-step instructions to easily fulfill your balance or move BTT from BitTorrent Speed to a blockchain wallet.

No, not in this beta version currently. This feature is a priority and is coming soon.

Go to TRON website and install any TRX-supporting wallet from the catalog. Create an account (it‘s free!). After logging in, you will be able to transfer BTT from and to your TRON wallet. Don't forget to secure it!

Here is the list of Exchanges supporting BTT as of today.

Recovery Phrase Update

As part of the Version 1.1.0 release of BitTorrent Speed, we are including an update that is designed to create a more seamless user experience by making the recovery phrase fully compatible with the TRON blockchain protocol. Simply log on to BitTorrent Speed and follow the instructions before you restart your wallet. Once your wallet restarts, the update will be completed.

The recovery phrase is a safer and easier method for restoring a cryptocurrency wallet compared to the private key.

Your balances will not be affected. However, we suggest that you save both the old set of private and public keys and the recovery phrase to avoid losing access.

Your access to the wallet with the old set of keys will still remain as long as you keep the old keys in a safe place to which only you have access. We are unable to retrieve your old keys once the update is finished. We suggest our users save their old keys as well as their new recovery phrase to avoid losing access to their assets on the blockchain. If you have any questions, please contact support at bttfeedback@bittorrent.com

Glossary

A type of distributed, decentralized public ledger comprised of a sequence of blocks (digital information) stored in a chain (database). Three types of digital information are stored in each block: transaction information, transaction participation information, and information that uniquely identifies the block.
Adding a block to the blockchain takes five steps: a transaction must occur, it must be verified, it must be stored in the block, and the block must be given a unique, identifying cryptographic signature called a hash. The block is also given the hash of the most recent block added to the blockchain. Once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without alteration of all subsequent blocks, which requires consensus of the network majority.

A unit of accounting that is used to represent the digital balance of an asset. Represents a particular fungible and tradable asset or a utility that is often found on a blockchain. The ownership of a token is evidenced through cryptographic mechanisms. Tokens are the fuel of a network, used to reward stakeholders for network services and make the network attack resistant. Cryptographic tokens are tradable and transferrable among the various participants of the blockchain. All cryptocurrencies are cryptographic tokens, but not all cryptographic tokens are cryptocurrencies.

A future iteration of web technology in which all computers both request and provide services; in other words, services are distributed, not localized. The decentralized web is an application of the principles of peer-to-peer networking to websites and web applications. The decentralized web has five components of services: computation, file storage, external data, monetization, and payments. Information is identified based on its content rather than its location on a server.

An infohash is a unique "fingerprint" of data. It is used to prove the validity of a file and to locate other peers in a swarm.

Any computer running a BitTorrent client to which other clients can connect and transfer data. Most peers have only part of the target file. As each peer downloads a new piece of a file, it can then upload the piece to other peers.

AKA Seed Phrase, Mnemonic Phrase. A multi-word phrase (For example, something like “correct-horse-staple-battery…”) which allows a user to recover a lost private key or recover a private key in the case of a forgotten password. This phrase maps directly to the key; no password or connection to the cloud is required if a user (or attacker) has this phrase. Users are encouraged to write these down and hide them in a secure physical location. This is the last line of defense against losing your private key.

A subset of peers that has a complete copy of a file. Seeds no longer download; they only upload.

A network of peers that are all trying to download the same file. Each peer in a swarm has anywhere from none of the file to the entire file. They are all uploading, downloading, or both to each other simultaneously. A swarm is joined when a client loads a torrent file.

A small file with the extension .torrent that contains information about the file, its length, name, hashing information, and the location of a tracker. To start sharing a file, a user uploads a torrent to a server. It can then be downloaded by users from torrent websites.

A server that helps peers find each other. A tracker maintains information about each torrent client using each torrent, and coordinates the transfer of files among users; it does not have a copy of the file being shared, and it does not host torrents.

A password which serves to locally decrypt a private key stored on a user’s disk. The password should be kept in secret because anyone who gains access to the device can retrieve the private key and steal the wallet’s funds.

The private key associated with a wallet. This must be kept strictly secret; anyone who has this key controls all funds stored on the blockchain by the wallet.

The public key associated with a wallet. This can be published. It is effectively the same thing as the wallet ID. Knowing it allows anyone to inspect a history of transactions on the chain or send coins or tokens to its owner.