Hey there everyone,
So slow download issues like this often mean something is interfering with the desktop application itself or the network connection to the patch service. (This is not related to in-game updates though the causes may be similar)
The following steps should help in most cases:
Try doing an extended power cycle on your system. Turn off all devices including the modem. Wait 30 minutes, turn on the modem, wait 5 minutes, turn on any network devices, wait 2 minutes, turn on your computer and try the game.
You can try switching your DNS settings to use a free public DNS servers instead of your ISPs Servers:
We do not have individual steps for specific modems or routers so if you need assistance accessing or updating the devices, contact the device maker/provider.
Sometimes firewall or routing software/hardware will have some advanced settings to prioritize and manage types of network traffic. Normally that is not an issue but we have seen situations where it can interfere with the delivery of the data for our games/voice chat.
Let’s try turning off these features:
QoS
SIP ALG
RoG (ASUS Routers Only)
Security firewalls (Some ISP provided modems)
Not all devices will have these options and the steps for turning these functions off will be different depending on the make/model/software version of the devices and programs involved. If necessary look at the documentation for your security and routing products to find out how to turn these options off.
In some cases there is a corrupt or misconfigured setting within the router or modem. We cannot say what that might be offhand but the easiest way to resolve these conflicts would be to factory reset the router and/or modem.
You may need to look up your specific model for the steps on how to do this and in some rare cases you may need to have this done by the ISP. Feel free to reach out to them for assistance if necessary.
Checking the network limits for the Blizzard Desktop Application:
- Open the BDA if it is not already open.
- Click the Blue Battlenet logo on the top left of the app.
- Choose Settings then Downloads.
- Scroll down and adjust the Network Bandwidth Settings.
You can try disabling them but they may not solve slow download issues. If disabling does not work, you can try manually setting higher limits than what you are experiencing to see if that forces the client to allow a faster download rate. You may need to try multiple limits to find one that gives you the best potential rate.
Please note that due to global internet usage increases with the ongoing pandemic. Many Content Delivery Networks including the ones we use may intentionally limit the download rates of large files during business hours and primetime usage. In these cases, the only solution will be to initiate the download late at night and let it run overnight for the best potential speeds.
Let’s manually clear the Battlenet Desktop Application and all supporting data from the system. This will not remove existing game clients.
- Open file explorer/file manager (Right Click Windows Start)
- Navigate to the folder where the desktop application would normally be installed. Delete that folder if it exists (usually program files x86)
- Type the following into the address bar (not the search bar): %APPDATA% and press enter.
- Delete the Bnet and blizzard folders inside the appdata folder if they exist.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 with %PROGRAMDATA% %LOCALAPPDATA% and %TEMP%
- Empty the recycle bin.
- Now reinstall the app to the C: Drive.
We will want to run the repair tool on the game client: Blizzard Support - Repairing Battle.net Games
Try running your system in selective startup mode: Blizzard Support - Closing Background Applications
Create a new administrator account: Blizzard Support - Creating a New Administrator Account
Once the account is created, shut down the computer, wait 60 seconds, restart, log into the new profile and try the app/client.
If that doesn’t solve the issue, then I recommend submitting a ticket with an msinfo attached for further investigation. (instructions for collecting that msinfo report will be on the form.)
Click your name at the top right of this page, click support, click contact support.