The Linksys E4200 Smart Wi-Fi router has a firewall that helps protect your home network from unwanted Internet access. The router's firewall does this by blocking all incoming and outgoing connections unless the router considers them safe. In order to open some of these connections for online gaming or other application you need to create what is frequently called a port forward. A port forward is a rule you give your firewall that allows the specified connections through to a specific device without being stopped.
In this guide we will walk you through each of the following steps in order to get your ports forwarded. These steps include:
- How to setup a Static IP address on the device you want to forward these ports to.
- How to Login to the Linksys E4200 Smart Wi-Fi router.
- How to navigate to the port forwarding section of the router interface.
- How to setup a port forward entry on your router.
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Step 1
It is important to setup a static ip address in the device that you are forwarding a port to. This ensures that your ports will remain open even after your device reboots.
- Recommended - Our free Static IP Setter will set up a static IP address for you.
- Another way to get a permanent IP address is to set up a DHCP reservation.
- Or, manually create a static ip address with our Static IP Guides.
This step is important because you want a permanent IP address in your device. If you do not set up a permanent IP address in your device, then when you device reboots it may get a new IP address.
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.
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.
NOTE: We recommend writing this static IP address down. You will need it a little later in this guide.
Step 2
In this second step, we will be showing you how to login to the Linksys E4200 Smart Wi-Fi router interface. A router's interface is found through a web browser. Open up the web browser of your choice, it usually does not matter which browser you decide to open. Some recommended browsers are Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, and Firefox.
After opening the web browser of your choice, find the address bar. This is normally found at the top of the page like this:
Above is an example of what a web browser address bar looks like. Find the address bar in your router and type in your router's IP address.
The default Linksys E4200 IP Address is: 192.168.1.1
If the above IP address did not work or you changed the router's IP address in the past and you don't remember what you changed it to, please follow the directions on this How To Find Your Router's IP Address page.
Once you have entered the Linksys E4200 Smart Wi-Fi router IP address into the address bar, click the Enter key and you should be shown the following image:
Here you are asked for your email address and the password to access the router's user interface.
Go ahead and input your email address and the password you created. If you have forgotten your password you can retrieve it by clicking the Forgot Your Password link.
Having Trouble?
If you find yourself stuck and unable to access the router's interface, here are a few things you can try:
- Other Linksys usernames and passwords. If you have a slightly different firmware version, you may also have a different username and password. Here is our list of Default Linksys Router Passwords.
- If the above option did not work it is very likely you changed the username and/or password and just don't remember. Try guessing what you changed it to. You can also try our Find Password App. It automates the process of guessing for you. Learn all about it on this Router Password Cracker page.
- Finally, if you are still unable to access the router's interface you may need to do a factory reset on the Linksys E4200 Smart Wi-Fi router. This is not recommended unless you have absolutely no other options. A factory reset erases all previously configured settings. Learn how to reset a router on this How to Reset a Router page.
Step 3
You should now be logged into the Linksys E4200 Smart Wi-Fi router interface. To find the port forwarding section of the router we start on the Home page.
On this page, click the option in the left sidebar labeled Security.
You should now see some tabs at the top of the page. Select the one labeled Apps and Gaming.
This takes you to a page like the one seen above. Click the new link labeled Single Port Forwarding if you are forwarding only one port or multiple not in a range. Click Port Range Forwarding if you are forwarding a range of ports.
The above image is of the Single Port Forwarding page. Here is where you will enter the port forwarding information.
Step 4
Here are the ports to forward for Xbox Live:
- TCP Ports: 3074
- UDP Ports: 3074
If you are looking for the ports for a different application you can find it by either:
- Browsing our List of Games
- Check out our our List of Games by Genre
- See our List of all Applications
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Forwarding a Port Range
Put a name for this forward in the Application Name box so that you can remember why you set this forward up. The name does not matter so pick something that has meaning to you.
If you are forwarding a single port, enter that port number into the Start Port and the End Port boxes. If you are forwarding a range of ports, enter the lowest number of that range into the Start Port box. Then enter the highest number of that range into the End Port box.
Select the protocol type of the ports you are forwarding from the Protocol box.
Enter the IP address to forward these ports to into the Device IP# box. If you are forwarding ports so you can run a program on a device other than your computer then you can enter your device's IP address into that box.
Make sure that the Enabled checkbox is checked.
Click the Save button when you are done.
Forwarding a Single Port
Make up a name to put in the Application Name box. The name does not have any effect on the functionality of the forward, it's simply there so you can know why it was created.
Enter the same port number to be forwarded into both the External Port and the Internal Port boxes.
Select the required protocol for these ports from the Protocol dropdown box.
Enter the IP address that you want to forward these ports to in the Device IP# box. You can enter either the IP address of your computer or the IP address of another computer or device on your network.
In the Enabled checkbox put a checkmark.
Click the Save button when you are all done.
Save each entry you make and to add another click the button labeled Add a new Single Port Forwarding.
Testing the Port Forward
It can be difficult to determine if the port forward actually went through. It is always a good idea to check your work when you are finished with port forwarding. To do this we recommend using our Open Port Checker. With our Port checker there are no false readings. Our port checker is guaranteed to be accurate.
More...
If you are having difficulty forwarding ports please use our Port Forward Software. Our software does all the work for you making forwarding the right ports easy.
We have more than just port forwarding guides, check out our full list of guides here.
Do you need help setting up your router? How secure is your network? Some routers by default have absolutely no network security. Secure your network and more at setuprouter.com.
