Howdy. So without either running, Im getting 300+ MBps using Google speed test. When I connect to Mullvad its around 250. With qBittorrent running its about 0.1! What on Earth is going on here? I’m guessing some setting in my qBittorrent, but I really have no clue which one…?
Choose WireGuard protocol, enable IPv6, set up port-forwarding, choose closest server to you. If you’re still struggling with speed, then as the other user said you’re limited by the torrent swarm. Or throttling.
Just to be clear that I understand you correctly, is this scenario correct:
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VPN off, qbittorrent off: Google Speedtest gives you 300 MBps (megabytes per second)
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VPN on, qbittorrent off: Google Speedtest is 250 MBps
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VPN on, qBittorren on: Google Speedtest 0.1 MBps
Is that what’s happening? That you see your entire connection slow down massively, but only when your VPN and torrent client is active? What speeds are you getting through qB when you see 0.1 MBps in the speed test? Are you talking about the test hosted at https://fiber.google.com/speedtest/ ?
Have you tried the following?
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Torrenting with VPN turned off
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Same VPN, same country, different server
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Same VPN, different country
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Different torrent file
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Different torrent client
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Different VPN
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Different PC
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Different network
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Different speed test (e.g. speedtest.net)
I’m not suggesting you should do all these tests, and I can’t predict if any of them would matter. But it’s always good to narrow down the possible issues. I know it’s a lot of questions, but please try to answer them all.
If the VPN connection itself gives you that speed then it’s not at fault, and it’s the torrent (swarm) that’s to blame.
Double check your units. Most systems use Kb but qbit uses KB. 300 / 8 is about 37, so you should be getting at least 25 on a big popular download.
If not, try reducing max connections. Maybe your network is overwhelmed.
Yes, that is exactly what is happening. I am getting about the same 0.1 Mbps (100 kbps) over qBit as well.
I’ve tried some of those tests. I did a quick torrent with Mullvad off, and it was a much more respectable 5-10 Mbps, so its some kind of interaction between the two that are not agreeing. I’ve tried different servers in the same and other countries, with different files. I have tried a different client (utorrent), and speed tests, but I have not tried a different VPN, PC, network. The speed on my network (tested on different computers) is still high, even when the machine that is torrenting is bogged down with this issue.
I’m kind of baffled by this. If it matters, I am using a Netgear AC 1750 modem/router gateway.
It’s the torrent itself? Even though my whole internet slows down? I’m doing a speed test in Google Chrome. There’s 276 seeds on the file and I’m only seeing about 100 kbps download, both in the qbit client and the Google speed test in Chrome.
Yeah, 0.1 Mbps is 100 kbps. That’s what I’m getting with both Mullvad and qBittorrent running, from both qBit and google speed test. With Mullvad on and qBit off, it’s 250 Mbps on Google speed test. Network is not overwhelmed.
I just realized I don’t think I’ve seen you confirming if you’ve done any kind of port forwarding? You need to perform port forwarding in Mullvad, not your router, to be able to torrent effectively behind the VPN. It’s much easier than doing it on a router, there is a simple guide on Mullvad’s website.
I wrote the rest of the comment before realizing the point with the ports, but I’ll leave it here if port forwarding doesn’t work.
That does sound super weird. It seems like it can’t be your ISP, since we know they aren’t throttling encrypted traffic by default. In addition, they aren’t throttling unprotected torrenting.
It doesn’t seem likely that the ISP Mullvad is using is doing the throttling either, since that would probably vary with country or server. It would be a massive failure on Mullvad’s part to accept such a solution as well.
If you are able to try on another network, like a public one at a café or library, you might be able to eliminate your router. If you have the same issues on another network, you know the issue is likely due to how your PC is set up in some way.
EDIT: Wait, no, it might not be due to port forwarding. If it were, I don’t think your speed tests should be that affected by qBit running or not. But still, try the Mullvad port forwarding first, then tell (or retell) us if you are absolutely sure that you are comparing the transfer speed units correctly. You mention both megabits and megabytes, and we need to be sure we’re talking about the same things, and that we are doing it consistently.
I am super puzzled as well, and I am not at all sure I have the answer you’re looking for. But I’m usually quite good at trouble shooting by process of elimination, so hopefully I am being of some use to you 
It’s the torrent itself?
With a sample size of one what more can you say?
Even though my whole internet slows down?
What does this mean?
If you can pull 250 MBps via the VPN then it’s not really the VPN that’s bottlenecking you.
In your OP you describe MBps, which is megabytes per second. Mbps is megabits per second, which is what you’re talking about now.
It is super easy to get the two mixed up, so the first step is to make sure we’re all talking about the same units, and that your speed test and qB are reporting in the same units. I don’t think it’s enough to explain what I think you’re experiencing, but we have to start somewhere.
I went with ExpressVPN and problem solved. I only had 1 day left with Mullvad so whatever. Oh well, not sure what happened but with ExpressVPN I’m getting 10-15 Mbps just fine.
Now that is interesting! That’s a great thing about Mullvad: you’ll never lose a bunch of prepaid months if you decide to switch. Maybe forward this thread to Mullvad? They seem like a pretty good company, they might be interested in hearing about your issues. Happy you found a solution.