You might need to forward some ports in your router when you use Epic Games Launcher. A port forward allows incoming connection requests from the internet to go straight to Epic Games Launcher.
Routers are not designed to allow incoming network requests. By forwarding ports you can work around this limitation.
Before Forwarding a Port
Before forwarding a port make sure that you know these things:
- Your router's internal IP address.
- Your computer's internal IP address.
- A list of TCP and UDP ports that need to be forwarded.
Use a VPN Instead
Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.
We use and recommend NordVPN because not only is it the fastest VPN, it includes a new feature called Meshnet that makes forwarding a port no longer necessary for most applications. With NordVPN Meshnet, you can connect to your devices from anywhere in the world, completely secure, over a highly encrypted VPN tunnel.
When shopping for a VPN, make sure that they meet the following criteria:
- Your VPN provider should have a no-logs policy. This means that they do not keep any logs of any kind.
- Make sure that your VPN provider has lots of exit nodes all around the world.
- Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
- Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
- Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.
This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.
Based in Panama, using diskless servers, and with over 6,100 servers in 61 countries, we can safely say that NordVPN satisfies all of these requirements.
Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.
Every time you click on one of our affiliate links, such as NordVPN, we get a little kickback for introducing you to the service. Think of us as your VPN wingman.
Locate Your Router's IP Address
The easiest way to locate your router's IP address is to run our free Router Detector utility. The software is part of our Network Utilities suite of tools and it is completely free to use.
If you do not want to run the software, you can follow our Find Your Router IP Address guide.
How To Forward Ports for Epic Games Launcher
We have Network Utilities software that can forward ports for you. Since Network Utilities allows you to both forward and un-forward ports easily you can keep your network security maximized, and then forward ports only when you need them.
Port forwarding can also be set up step-by-step by hand. The step-by-step process for forwarding a port is:
- Log in to your router.
- Find the port forwarding section in your router.
- Type your computer's IP address into the correct box in your router.
- Put the TCP and UDP ports that you are forwarding for Epic Games Launcher in the correct boxes in your router.
Frequently you have to reboot your router for the changes to take effect.
You can choose your router from our list to see exactly how to forward ports for Epic Games Launcher:
List of Routers - Customized for Epic Games Launcher
Setting Up a Port Forward for Epic Games Launcher
The ports that need to be forwarded for Epic Games Launcher are listed here:
Epic Games Launcher - PC
- TCP: 433, 3478-3479, 5060, 5062, 5222, 6250, 12000-65000
- UDP: 3478-3479, 5060, 5062, 6250, 12000-65000
That is the process required to forward ports in your router for Epic Games Launcher.
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