Your Linksys EA7300 router uses a firewall to block unsafe connections to and from the Internet. This is how a firewall helps keep your home network safe. However, there are times when additional connections are needed in order for a game or program to run more smoothly. The process of unblocking additional connections is commonly called a port forward.
Use this guide to get your ports forwarded on the Linksys EA7300 router. In this guide we will be walking you through how to:
- Step 1 How to setup a static IP address on the exact device you are forwarding these ports to.
- Step 2 How to login to the Linksys EA7300 router.
- Step 3 How to navigate to the port forwarding section of your router.
- Step 4 How to create a port forward entry.
We think that forwarding a port should be easy. That's why we created Network Utilities. Our software does everything that you need to forward a port.
When you use Network Utilities you get your port forwarded right now!
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.
Step 2
In order to properly login to the Linksys EA7300 router you need to open up a web browser because your router uses a web interface menu. It shouldn't matter which browser you decide to use, just pick one of your favorites.
Some web browser options are:
- Internet Explorer
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Edge
After opening the web browser of your choice, look for the address bar. This will look like:
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 EA7300 IP Address is: 192.168.1.1
Once you have entered the IP address into the address bar, simply press the Enter key. This opens up a LOGIN page:
Enter the username and password in this box.
- The Default Linksys EA7300 Router Username is: admin
- The Default Linksys EA7300 Router Password is: password
If you have forgotten your username and or password, you can click the link labeled Forgot your password?
Step 3
We will be explaining how to find the port forwarding section of the Linksys EA7300 next. To do that, we start on the Home page.
First, click the option in the left sidebar labeled Security.
There are three tabs at the top of the page. Select the tab labeled Apps and Gaming.
In the smaller menu under the tabs select the option of Single Port Forwarding if you are forwarding only one port or several that are not in order, such as 1,3,8,11. Choose the option of Port Range Forwarding if you are forwarding a range of ports such as 1-5.
The screenshot above is the Single Port Forwarding option. This or the Port Range Forwarding page is the correct page to be on in order to make a port forward.
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
Don't forget to sign up for NordVPN's promo deal before it's gone.
You might notice that most of our site doesn't have ads on it. This is because we use partnerships with companies like NordVPN to keep the site running. Thank you for supporting us by using our referral links.
Forwarding a Port Range
You need to name this entry in the Application Name box. The name does not make any difference in the forward; it's just there so that you can remember later why you setup this forward.
If you are just forwarding a single port number then you can simply enter that same number into both the Start Port and the End Port boxes. If you are forwarding a range of ports, usually separated by a hyphen, then you need to enter the lowest number of that range into the Start Port box and then enter highest number into the End Port box.
In the Protocol box select the protocol that you want to forward these ports over.
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.
Verify that you have the Enabled checkbox checked.
After you are done click the Save button.
Forwarding a Single Port
Enter the name of the program into the Application Name box. It doesn't really matter what you put into this box, but something that will remind you why these ports are being forwarded is be a good idea.
Put the same port number into both the External Port and the Internal Port boxes.
From the Protocol box select the protocol for the ports that you want to forward.
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.
Verify that you have the Enabled checkbox checked.
Click the Save button when you are all done.
Don't forget to click the Save button after each entry and then after you are completely finished, click the option of Apply at the very bottom of the page.
Test Your Ports
Now that you have finished port forwarding on the Linksys EA7300 router you need to check to see if it forwarded properly. To do this we recommend using our Open Port Checker. This is part of the FREE trial version of our Network Utilities. Our port checker uses a local application to see if the ports are listening or not, this guarantees a positive yes or no answer.
More Information...
Check out more of our guides here
More router specific guides can be found on our site setuprouter.com.
