A port forward is a way of making a computer on your home or business network accessible to computers on the internet, even though they are behind a router. It is commonly used in gaming, security camera setup, voice over ip, and downloading files. After you have forwarded a port you are said to have an open port.
Port forwards are setup in your router. A summary of the steps to setup a port forward in your router are:
- Login to your router.
- Navigate to your routers port forwarding section, also frequently called virtual server.
- Create the port forward entries in your router.
- Test that your ports are forwarded correctly.
If you are trying to change your NAT Type be sure to read our NAT Types Defined guide. This is the most comprehensive definition of gaming console NAT Types on the internet. Most people get NAT Type Open by using Network Utilities.
We have detailed instructions for each of these steps customized for every router. To get started, visit our List of Routers and pick your router. Then follow the steps in the guide and you should have an open port.
You can also forward ports automatically with Network Utilities.
We also have customized port forwarding guides for many of today's common games.
Recent Games
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
- Destiny 2
- Tekken 7
- Injustice 2
- Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3
- Quake Champions
- Dawn of War III
- Mass Effect: Andromeda Multiplayer
- Ghost Recon: Wildlands
- Ghost Recon: Wildlands NAT Type Open
- Port Forward For Honor
- Call of Duty Infinite Warfare Multiplayer
- Ghost Recon Wildlands Connection Issues
- Mass Effect Andromeda
- How to Fix NAT Type Strict in Sniper Elite 4
- Sniper Elite 4 Multiplayer Guide
- NAT Type Open in Overwatch
- Ghost Recon: Wildlands NAT Type Strict
- Port Forward Destiny
- Port Forward Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Port Forward Halo 5: Guardians
- Port Forward Assassins Creed Unity
- SOLVED: Quake Champions Connection Issues
- List of more games...
Since many routers require a static ip address on your computer before you can forward ports we have created many static ip address related guides.
You may need to setup your firewall as part of setting up a port forward.
If you want to learn a little bit more about what port forwarding and open ports are all about, please Start Here.
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