You may need to forward ports in your router when you use H323. The purpose of forwarding ports is to make a direct connection from the internet to H323.
Routers do not generally allow incoming connection requests from the internet. By forwarding a port you can overcome this limitation.
Before You Forward a Port
Before forwarding a port make sure that you know these things:
- The internal IP address of your router.
- Your computer's IP address.
- Each of the TCP and UDP ports that you need to forward.
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
To find your router's IP address the easy way you can use our free Router Detector software. The software is part of our Network Utilities suite of tools and it is completely free to use.
Otherwise, you can follow our guide Find Your Router IP Address.
How To Set Up Port Forwarding for H323
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 normal process for forwarding a port is:
- Log in to your router.
- Find the port forwarding section in your router.
- Put your computer's IP address in the proper box in your router.
- Put the TCP and UDP ports for H323 in the corresponding boxes in your router.
Usually you have to reboot your router in order to save the changes.
You can choose your router from our list to see exactly how to forward ports for H323:
List of Routers - Customized for H323
Setting Up a Port Forward for H323
The following ports need to be forwarded for H323:
H323 - PC
- TCP: 1023, 1502, 1503, 1504, 1730, 1731, 1732, 65534
- UDP: 1024, 65534
Those are the steps for forwarding ports in your router for H323.
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