You might need to forward some ports in your router when you use qBittorrent. Forwarding ports is used to allow incoming connection requests from the internet to qBittorrent.
By default routers do not allow incoming network requests. By forwarding a port you can overcome this limitation.
Before Forwarding a Port
Before you can forward a port you need to know the following things:
- The IP address of your router.
- The internal IP address of your download client.
- 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.
Find Your Router's IP Address
We have free Router Detector software to help you find your router's IP address. The software is part of our Network Utilities suite of tools and it is completely free to use.
We have a guide you can follow Find Your Router IP Address if you don't want to run the software.
How To Set Up Port Forwarding for qBittorrent
You can use our Network Utilities software to automatically 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.
Another option is to go through the process of forwarding ports one step at a time. The process for forwarding a port is:
- Start by logging in to your router.
- Look for the port forwarding section in your router.
- Type the IP address of your download client into the correct box in your router.
- Put the TCP and UDP ports for qBittorrent 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 qBittorrent:
List of Routers - Customized for qBittorrent
Setting Up a Port Forward for qBittorrent
The ports that need to be forwarded for qBittorrent are listed here:
qBittorrent - PC
- TCP: User configured
- UDP:
That's all it takes to forward your ports for qBittorrent.
Use a VPN When you Torrent
Are you using a VPN with your torrent client? If not, you really should be. A VPN solves many of the issues surrounding torrents, including:
- A VPN hides your identity from other torrenters and from your ISP.
- A VPN increases your torrent download speeds by preventing your ISP from throttling your download speeds.
- A VPN allows you to improve your seed ratio by allowing incoming connections to your torrent client.
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.
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.