Slow Epic Games Launcher downloads are not always caused by your internet plan. The launcher may be using a poor download region, a bandwidth cap, a corrupted cache, security inspection, or a congested Wi-Fi connection.
These steps apply to the Epic Games Launcher on Windows and Mac.
Does this affect you?
Use this if Epic downloads games or updates much slower than other apps on the same connection.
Change region and bandwidth limits
- Open the Epic Games Launcher.
- Click your profile icon and choose Settings.
- Under General, find Download Region.
- Try a nearby region instead of Automatic.
- Check Max Download Bandwidth and set it to Unlimited if it is capped.
- Check Max Background Download Bandwidth if you download while playing.
- Restart the launcher and resume the download.
If a new region improves speed immediately, the old server route was the bottleneck.
Clear download cache and check the network
- Exit the Epic Games Launcher completely from the system tray.
- On Windows, open %localappdata%EpicGamesLauncherSavedwebcache.
- Delete the contents of the webcache folder, not your game folders.
- Restart the router by unplugging it for about one minute.
- Pause video calls, streaming, cloud backups, and other downloads.
- Try Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi for large downloads.
A corrupted launcher cache can make downloads crawl or stall even when speed tests look fine.
Security software and server load
Temporarily test third-party antivirus or firewall software if it inspects every downloaded file. Re-enable protection after testing.
If downloads are slow during a major Epic sale, free game promotion, or big Fortnite update, Epic’s servers may be under heavy load. In that case, region changes may help, but waiting can be the only real fix.
Sources
- Epic Games Support – Slow Download Speeds Troubleshooting (2025)
- Epic Games Support – Epic Games Launcher Technical Support (2025)
- Epic Games Support – Changing Your Download Region (2025)