Magnet Links Not Working? 8 Ways to Fix Them
Do you click on a magnet link, but your browser doesn't attempt to open the torrent client to download the file? If so, you may have a problem with the magnet link, torrent client, or browser. Thankfully, there are simple solutions to make magnet links work properly again.
What Causes Magnet Links to Stop Working?
Magnet links are used to download torrents and are considered superior to downloading a torrent file. However, at times, they won't work, and there are a few reasons for that, including:
- There might be an issue with the magnet link.
- The website hosting the magnet link might be experiencing technical difficulties.
- You may not have a torrent client installed, or its settings could be set incorrectly.
- You may not have properly configured your browser to open the magnet link.
- Your security software could restrict your browser's ability to open external magnet links.
Having understood the causes, let's look at potential solutions.
1. Check for Link or Website Specific Issues
An issue with a particular link or the embed tool on a website can make a magnet link unresponsive when clicked.
To determine whether the problem is link-specific, try opening another magnet link from the same website. If other links work, it's likely a link-specific issue—something beyond your control. If other links also don't work, the problem may be specific to the website.
To do that, go to any other website hosting the magnet links and try to open them. If links behave normally on other websites but act strangely on a particular one, they might not have been embedded correctly. In this case, your best bet is to contact the website administrator and report the issue.
However, if you experience a problem opening magnet links on other websites, the issue is likely deep-rooted and needs further investigation.
2. Ensure You Have a Torrent Client Installed
You need a torrent client installed on your device to download content from a magnet link. If you don't have one installed (or you get an error such as "this file does not have an app associated with it"), it's time to download a torrent client capable of handling magnet links, such as qBittorrent.
If you already have a torrent client installed, it might not support magnet links, so magnet links won't respond. Thus, you'll have to change the default app to open magnet links.
3. Set a Default App for Magnet Links or Switch to a Different One
To change the default app for opening magnet links, follow the below steps:
Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Magnet\shell\open\command 
If you don't know the path to your torrent client's executable, right-click on the client's shortcut icon and select Properties. Then, go to the Shortcut tab and copy the path from the Target field.
Ensure you add the strings "%1" /SHELLASSOC and "%1" at the end of the path for uTorrent and qBittorrent, respectively, before adding them to the Registry Editor.
4. Permit Your Torrent Client to Download Content From Magnet Links
Some torrent clients come with file association settings that allow you to restrict the client from downloading torrent files or magnet links when necessary. If this option is enabled in your client's settings, your browser cannot prompt your torrent client to download content from a magnet link, even if you've set your preferred torrent client as the default app.
The qBittorrent client has this setting. To check that file association settings are configured correctly in qBittorrent, follow the steps below:
If you use other torrent clients, make sure you enable the permission that allows your torrent client to download content from magnet links.
When you install uTorrent, you are prompted to select the types of files you want the client to handle by default. If you uncheck the option to handle magnet URIs during installation, the torrent client may be unable to handle magnet links. Since uTorrent doesn't allow you to change the file types after installation, you'll need to uninstall it and reinstall it again. During reinstallation, make sure you check the preference to handle Magnet URIs.
5. Change Site Settings on Chrome
If magnet links aren't working on Chrome, you might have blocked sites from handling protocols. So, to change the protocol handlers setting in Chrome, follow these steps:
chrome://settings/handlers 
6. Add a Preference in the Advanced Preferences Settings in Firefox
If magnet links aren't working in Firefox, follow these steps to add a preference manually:
7. Install an Extension in Microsoft Edge
Edge doesn't have a built-in setting to alter protocol handling. So, you need to install an extension to do that. To install it, follow the steps below:
Please note that while the only review for this tool has one star, I have tested it, and it does work. The next time you use Edge to open a magnet link, it will recognize your magnet link.
8. Whitelist Your Browser and Torrent Client From Your Security Software
If none of the above fixes works, and you still have problems opening magnet links, then it is likely that your security software is blocking your browser from prompting the torrent client to open magnet links. To rule out this possibility, you must whitelist your browser and torrent client in the security suite.
If you're running Windows, refer to our guide on how to allow apps through the Microsoft Defender firewall.
Make Magnet Links Responsive Again
When magnet links stop responding to clicks, we are forced to use the standard method of downloading torrent files to install them. Hopefully, you now clearly understand what can cause magnet links to stop working and possible solutions you can employ to resolve the issue.
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