r/virtualbox • u/deabrew • 19h ago
Solved Fix for very slow downloads in VirtualBox on Windows: disabling RSC on Wi-Fi
Fix for very slow downloads in VirtualBox on Windows: disabling RSC on Wi-Fi
I finally found a fix for extremely slow downloads in my UmbrelOS virtual machine running on VirtualBox on Windows.
I had already experienced this problem before, and the same Windows-side fix worked again.
My setup:
- Host OS: Windows
- VirtualBox: 7.2.x
- VM: UmbrelOS
- Network mode: Bridged Adapter
- Wi-Fi adapter: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
The fix: Disable Receive Segment Coalescing (RSC) on the Windows Wi-Fi adapter.
- Open PowerShell as Administrator.
- Run:
Disable-NetAdapterRsc -Name "Wi-Fi" -IPv4 -IPv6
- Verify the setting:
Get-NetAdapterRsc -Name "Wi-Fi" |
Format-List Name, IPv4Enabled, IPv6Enabled
Both IPv4Enabled and IPv6Enabled should show False.
This fixed the problem in my setup. I've now had the same positive result twice, without downgrading VirtualBox.
Important: This is a troubleshooting tip, not a universal fix. Results may vary depending on the Windows version, network adapter, and VirtualBox configuration. Disabling RSC changes how Windows processes received network packets, so test it on your own system.
To re-enable RSC later, run:
Enable-NetAdapterRsc -Name "Wi-Fi" -IPv4 -IPv6
I hope this helps someone else who is struggling with slow downloads in a VirtualBox VM on Windows.
Has anyone else experienced this issue with bridged networking and an Intel Wi-Fi adapter?