To speed up your downloads in or Opera GX , you can use an experimental "flag" that enables parallel downloading . This feature splits a single file into multiple parts and downloads them simultaneously, effectively acting like a built-in download accelerator. How to Enable Parallel Downloading in Opera

: By establishing multiple connections to a server for one file, it can bypass per-connection speed limits.

Relaunch button to restart Opera and apply the changes. YouTube +4 What is Parallel Downloading? Parallel downloading is an experimental feature that accelerates download speeds by creating multiple connections to a server to download a single file in several smaller parts simultaneously—a process often called

: In the "Search flags" bar at the top, type parallel downloading .

Parallel downloading uses a "range request" mechanism in HTTP to request specific portions of a file at the same time. Instead of waiting for one long stream of data, the browser creates multiple connections to the server, pulling different parts of the file in parallel. This is particularly effective for:

The option "Parallel downloading" will appear in the results.

To understand the value of parallel downloading, one must first grasp how traditional downloads work. By default, most browsers download a single file using a single TCP connection. This approach is reliable but conservative; it mimics a single-lane highway where only one data packet can travel at a time. In contrast, parallel downloading—also known as segmented or multi-threaded downloading—splits a file into several smaller chunks and downloads these chunks simultaneously using multiple connections. The browser then reassembles them on the fly. This technique exploits the fact that modern internet connections (broadband, fiber, 5G) often have spare bandwidth and can handle concurrent streams without congestion. Opera’s implementation of this feature, derived from its Chromium core, allows up to several parallel requests per download, reducing the total time spent waiting for sequential packet acknowledgments.

The performance gains from parallel downloading are most noticeable under specific conditions. On high-latency networks (e.g., satellite internet or congested Wi-Fi), where the round-trip time for each data request is long, parallel downloading keeps the pipeline full, masking the lag. On very fast connections (e.g., 500 Mbps fiber), a single-threaded download may be limited by the server’s per-connection speed cap; parallel threads can collectively saturate the user’s available bandwidth. Empirical tests by browser analysts have shown speed increases ranging from 30% to over 200% for large files (100 MB+), especially from servers that support range requests—a prerequisite for chunked downloading. Smaller files (under 5 MB) see negligible gains due to connection overhead. Nevertheless, for frequent downloaders of ISOs, game updates, or high-resolution media, the cumulative time saved can be substantial.