Why are My iTunes Downloads so Slow?

From what I've read it has to do with the ports you select on your TCP/IPV4 settings. Google "best ports to use with itunes" and try a few out. Google has a set of address that works pretty well for me (I'm in Charlotte, NC). I'm not a computer expert by anymeans. This has helped my download speed tremendously!!!

LIke I said...I'm no computer expert. I meant to say changing te DNS server address on your hardware settings under TCP/IPV4 will speed things up.

I just tried to download 28 weeks later... 56Kb/s... says "25 hours remaining", and I'm on 5Mb/s internet. Apple either A) FIX THIS or B) lose me as a customer. I spend probably 300/yr on iTune, 2500 dollars on a macbook pro, as well as 6 iphones bewteen me and my wife over the years. This one issue will cause me to leave Apple for good, in every way. FIX IT!

OMG, I am so frustrated with iTunes. I know it's not my computer or my internet connection, because I can download any other file incredibly fast. But iTunes is at such a crawl it's ridiculous, and then when it does download, the playback quality is all jacked up. It freezes, the sound gets out of sync. None of my other files do that, not even other iTunes videos I've downloaded.

I find it fascinating that this thread has been here for 5 MONTHS with not a single reply from an Apple moderator.

I have the same issue. And I'm sorry, but this is NOT an ISP problem. This is a critically wrong implementation in iTunes that must be addressed. VUDU can stream in 5.1 720p HD and start your movie in a minute or less on even a shakey 6 Mb connection. Netflix is able to scale with your connection to keep your HD content watchable even if the connection slows. HBO Go is the same way. iTunes has had this issue since the first day rentals became available. You literally have to pick the movie you'd like to watch in the early afternoon and have someone start the download for you so that you can watch it that evening by the time you're at home on the couch.

I will never rent a movie on iTunes again. Ever.

HEY APPLE! ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?!??!

These are user to user forums and Apple does not respond here.

If I have to download a video from itunes I plan for a long nite and make sure there is snack food in the fridge.One small thing - if it is going to take a day or so to download, I have to make sure the computer is not going to sleep ever, otherwise I sometimes lose what I had and have to start over.

I know my system is fine, as I can streeam Netflix any tine without a single problem.

The problem is there is nothing we can do about Apple'a appauling service/speed. There are a number of facts at work here...

1) Not enough people will leave the service to make Apple sit up and take notice when it affects their bottom line

2) Apple genuinely don't care less that they offer the most expensive yet slowest online service on the planet - they have our money and a (relatively) captive audience

3) Apple is one of the most arroogant, ignorant and complacent companies that exist - only exacerbated by them being on top of the pile now!

For the record I love Apple products but I cannot abide the company nor the level of service they force down our throats!

I posted to this question a while back because I was having issues with the speed.

In the interest of full disclosure, the iTunes download service on my Mac is ususally very fast.

Also, videos purchased by me over my Apple TV have no lag whatsoever in loading and being ready to watch in full HD. Ever.

I have 100 mbps Internet, so this is exactly what I expect. Yes, there have been times when I've been downloading a movie on iTunes on my Mac and it has been incredibly slow. I'm still not sure what causes this. However, consider this screenshot that I just took 5 minutes ago:

My file was ready to watch within 10 seconds. Full 1080 download scheduled to be complete in 7 minutes.

That is not to say that this is the rule, this may well be the exception, but this is to say that incredibly fast downloads over iTunes is possible and does happen (frequently, for me).

I'd like to add to this... until recenly my iTunes (on a hard-wired Macbook) was very fast, suddenly an HD movie on iTunes takes up to 24 hours to download whereas I can get the same one direct to my iPad or Apple TV over the same connection (on the same broadband service while the iTunes download is still active) takes less than 1 hour.

Has somebody broken iTunes?

If you're using Google DNS, Open DNS, or similar free DNS services, this may be what is affecting you. Try puting in a static DNS setting such as the following:

12.127.16.67

209.244.0.3 - 209.244.0.4

4.2.2.1 - 4.2.2.6

For Mac users (Lion):
System Preferences > Network

Now make sure your appropriate connection you are utilizing whether it be your WiFi, Ethernet or otherwise is highlighted and currently active, then click "Advanced..."

Click the DNS tab, and then click the "+" icon under DNS servers to add in one or more of the above static DNS IPv4 settings.

Click "OK" and make sure to hit "Apply".

Windows users:

Follow these instructions to add in static DNS IP settings:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Change-TCP-IP-settings

My apologies, I don't have a Windows machine in front of my to walk you through the steps quickly.

Hope this helps everyone, it worked for me! Went from 80 KB/s to 5 MB/s

Please like this post if it fixed your issues!

DNS has NOTHING to do with 'slow service'. That will affect lookups ONLY, not actual speed. Learn what you're talking about before you actually post.

I've been managing my own networks for YEARS. There's just a couple incidents that cause some lag issues, iTunes/Apple and YouTube. Everything else pings, downloads, uploads off the charts. The iTunes/Apple problem has only just come up.

The reality is that Apple doesn't have the bandwidth to cover their needs, nothing more. They need to upgrade bandwidth. This isn't a user issue, it's an Apple/network issue. When I CAN download up to 50m/s, and that cap isn't even coming close to being reached, yet EVERYTHING else pulls just fine, the problem isn't with my own network, but with the affected network I'm trying to get to/from.

You make a valid point that Apple does not have enough bandwidth to cover their needs... but you need to look at the architecture of Google's DNS to understand how it is affecting the downloads off of iTunes. Google utilizes Anycast DNS. Do some research on this. And if you still think that I'm wrong then read this article:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20026241-263.html

Or how about this one:

http://apcmag.com/why-using-google-dns-opendns-is-a-bad-idea.htm

Or this one:

http://joemaller.com/2577/itunes-slowdowns-with-google-dns/

Or even this one:

http://appleinsider.com/articles/10/12/20/apple_tv_itunes_downloads_slowed_by_go ogle_dns.html

The evidence fully supports my post and is backed by industry experts.

Again, you fail to understand the concept of DNS. DNS is used ONLY to look up servers, nothing more. In the case of RR or anycast type services (like akami). DNS servers will simply try to locate the closest based on YOUR IP address. That has absolutely NOTHING to do with Google's DNS or OpenDNS. The fact of the matter is that this is a problem on APPLE'S network, nothing more.

Get some education before you speak, stop making uninformed posts based off of supposed 'experts'. None of those blogs you linked to are even close to 'expert' blogs

Well, I've just put this to the test, and finaleMile is right.

No, it does not make sense that DNS should alter your speed, because it should be routing to the same IP address regardless. But, apparently this is not the case with iTunes.

Here is a screen of my download speed with my ISP's (midco.net) default DNS server:

Here is me changing my DNS servers to Google's:

And here are my download speeds after making the switch:

Convinced? Or do I need to get some education also?