General Router Port Forwarding  General Router Port Forwa...

What is port forwarding


Port forwarding opens certain ports on your network, usually blocked from access by your router to the general Internet. Open ports are used to allow a connection into your home network from the Internet through the usual security of your router that otherwise does not permit connections to these ports. They are common in gaming, torrenting, and remote access.

How to set up port forwarding


Step 1 Find out router's IP address

To open your router’s configuration page, you need to enter the router’s IP address in the address bar of a web browser. For most routers, the IP address will be 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. You may also find out the router's IP address by command. The router’s IP address is usually the same as the Default Gateway.

  • Windows: Open the command prompt and enter ipconfig /all.
  • Mac: Open the terminal and enter netstat -nr.
  • Linux: Open the terminal and enter route.

  • Step 2 Obtain login information for the router

    After entering the router’s IP address in the address bar of a web browser, a window will show up asking for 'Username' and 'Password'. If you know your username and password, you may log in and configure your router. If you do not have information on the 'Username' and 'Password', here is some common logins.

  • Username: admin Password: admin
  • Username: admin Password: none
  • Username: administrator Password: password
  • If none of the above works for your router, you may go to Portforward.com to look for the default login information for your router.
  • If you have configured login information and forgotten it, you may reset your router to factory settings and use the router's default login.

  • Step 3 Find 'Port Forwarding' in the router

    Each router will have different names for port forwarding and may locate it in different sections. Some common names for port forwarding are port translation, reserved mapping, virtual servers, applications, gaming etc. You may also find it in 'Advanced settings'.

    Step 4 Set up port forwarding

    Most routers have preconfigured options for common applications. If the port you need to open is in the list, you may simply select the option. Otherwise, you can set up a custom entry. The information you may need is listed below.

    Service name   You may name it the way you want as long as you know what entry it is for.

    Protocol   This can be TCP, UDP, or both. If you are unsure, select TCP/UPD option.

    External port   Enter the common port for the application. For example, 3389 for remote desktop.

    Internal or destination port   It is usually the same as the external port. Unless you are setting up the application on a non-standard port.

    Internal IP address   Select the internal IP address to assign the port forwarding to. This is the internal IP address of the computer running the application that you are unblocking. It is usually in the form of 192.168.0.*. It is the 'IPv4' address when you use the following command.

  • Windows: Open the command prompt and enter ipconfig /all.
  • Mac: Open the terminal and enter netstat -nr.
  • Linux: Open the terminal and enter route.


  • Internal IP Address


    Step 5 Test port forwarding

    After you have completed the configuration above, you may use this Port Check tool to see if the port has been opened or not.

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