Top 3 Fixes: File Transfer Speed Slow Between 2 Computers on LAN

User case

As the above user case point out, some users encounter the problem of very slow LAN transfer speed when trying to transfer files between two PCs. In fact, transferring files under the same network is a simple and convenient move. It can make company’s file transfer speed faster and work communication more timely and effective. Or you have purchased a new computer and need to transfer everything from the old computer to the new one via LAN sharing, including your photos, videos, documents and so on. However, the slow LAN data transfer speed between two computers is frustrating. But fortunately, we have summarized the most effective ways to easily solve this problem. Please read the following carefully.

Why is file transfer speed slow between 2 computers on LAN?

Before we go straight to the solution, let’s figure out what has caused the slow LAN speed on Windows 10 or other OS. Generally speaking, the factors that affect the speed of file transfer over LAN attribute to three main points: the sender, the transmission medium, and the receiver. You need to troubleshoot these three categories to determine the cause of Windows 10 slow network file transfer.

The sender and the receiver. There are incorrect settings on both 2 computers. Check that if the driver is up to date, the NIC settings are correct, or some unnecessary settings are turned on to affect your computer's network speed such as Remote Differential Compression, Large Send Offload, etc.

The transmission medium. This includes switches, routers, and network cables. File transfer speed depends on the cable. Cat. 5e cables are slower than cat. 6, etc. If it were a Cat 6 cable, then you would get 1Gbps speed. Otherwise, you will be limited to 100Mbps (usually).

After we have a general overview of the causes of slow LAN data transfer speed, we will try the methods listed below to solve the problem without much effort.

How to fix slow LAN speed on Windows 10/11

In the above section, we have understood that the sender, the transmission medium, and the receiver can cause the problem of slow file transfer speed on LAN. The following fixes are at the software level, so the prerequisite is that there is no problem with the hardware. Please make sure that the router, switch, network cable, network card, etc. are all in order first. If you troubleshoot that the transmission media are faulty, you just need to replace them simply. For both the sender and receiver side, you can follow the illustrated steps below to fix the problem.

• Solution 1. Disable “RDC (Remote Differential Compression)”
• Solution 2. Disable Auto-Tuning
• Solution 3. Disable “Large Send Offload (LSO)”
• Easiest way to transfer files between 2 PCs over network

Solution 1. Disable “RDC (Remote Differential Compression)”

The Remote Differential Compression feature slows down file transfer speed, you can disable it by following these steps.

1. Type Turn Windows features on or off in the Windows search bar and press Enter.

2. Switch to uncheck the Remote Differential Compression API Support option, click on OK.

3. Make sure you have this setup on all the computers that need to transfer files on LAN. After restarting your computer you can check if the problem of slow file transfer persists.

Solution 2. Disable Windows Auto-Tuning

Microsoft has a feature in the TCP/IP protocol called “Window Auto-Tuning”. The purpose of this feature is to allow the operating system to dynamically adjust the size of the data transmitted over the network according to the real-time performance of the network (such as response time), so as to optimize the network performance in real-time. However, in some cases, this feature can slow down the network transmission. Learn how to disable it in the following steps:

1. Press Windows + R together to open run dialog, type cmd in the box and press Enter.

2. Once you open Command Prompt window, Type the command netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled and press Enter to execute it.

3. Now, try to transfer the file again to see if the speed is back to normal. If not, type the command netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal to turn on Auto-Tuning again.

Solution 3. Disable “Large Send Offload (LSO)”

Large Send Offload is a technique to improve network performance by reducing the CPU usage of the NIC when transferring large amounts of data. It is recommended to disable it because it affects network transmission performance.

1. Right-click the Start button and choose Device Manager from the drop-down list.

2. Locate Network Adapters and double-click it.

3. Under Advanced tab, select Large Send Offload V2 (IPv4) and set the value to Disabled. Do the same for Large Send Offload V2 (IPv6) if it is available.

Easiest way to transfer files between 2 PCs over network

To make your file transfer speed unaffected by your computer settings and hardware devices, it's time to try a more flexible way to get the job done easily. You need the help of AOMEI Backupper Standard, a free file sync software designed for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP. In short, it will help you synchronize large files to other devices on LAN, which you can then access from other computers. It has the following advantages:

You can sync files between 2 PCs, from PC to local path (HDD or SSD), sync files to Dropbox and other cloud drives as well as share or NAS devices and vice versa. You can set up a schedule to run the file sync task daily, weekly, or monthly without missing any changes. It offers you 4 sync modes: Basic Sync, Real-Time Sync, Mirror Sync, Two-Way Sync. (The last three modes are supported in paid edition).

Please download the free file sync software AOMEI Backupper Standard and install it on your computer. And then follow the graphical tutorial to sync files between 2 computers on LAN.

Step 1. Click Sync and then Basic Sync when you open AOMEI Backupper.

Step 2. Click Add Folder to select files you want to sync.

Step 3. Click Add Share or NAS Device and type the network path (the IP address of the source computer) and then select one shared folder on it. Click OK to confirm it.

Step 4. Preview the operation and click Start Sync. It will sync large files to another PC using the same network and keep the original files as it was.

✿ Tips:

• Except for daily, weekly, monthly, you can enjoy the Event triggers and USB plug in features to set automatic sync task. Both of them are available on the Professional or higher version.  
• When the task is completed, the synced files are stored in the shared folder you’ve created before.  To access the shared folder on the target computer, just go to This PC＞Network. Find the source computer’s name and double click it to access the shared folder.

★ How to backup files to AOMEI Cloud

There is a growing trend to backup files to cloud storage. You can backup files to AOMEI Cloud if you have an AOMEI account. You'll get 1TB free storage for 15 days after you sign up for an AOMEI account.

In the end

When you get problems with file transfer speed slow between 2 computers on LAN, try the most effective 3 ways summarized in this post to fix it with ease. And you can try a professional fast file transfer tool instead of the Windows built-in utility. With AOMEI Backupper, transferring files from between 2 computers over network seems easier and more flexible. Files that have been modified on the source path will be automatically synchronized on the other computer according to the backup schedule you set.

It also embeds with backup & clone feature to safeguard necessary data. As the best incremental backup software, AOMEI Backupper allows you to backup only changed data automatically in daily, weekly or other frequencies. Go for it and have a try.