You might need to forward some ports in your router when you use a QNAP TS-120 device. By forwarding ports you allow connection requests coming from the internet to be directed to a QNAP TS-120 device.
Routers are not designed to allow incoming network requests. Forwarding ports can work around this limitation.
Before You Forward a Port
Before forwarding a port make sure that you know these things:
- Your router's IP address.
- Your NAS's internal IP address.
- The list 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.
How to Locate Your Router's IP Address
You can run our free Router Detector software to locate your router's IP address. It is part of our Network Utilities suite of tools and is free for you to use it.
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 a QNAP TS-120 device
You can use our Network Utilities software to automatically forward ports for you. With Network Utilities, you can easily forward ports and also un-forward ports quickly so that you can keep your network up to date with the ports that you need forwarded and maximize your network security.
Another option is to go through the process of forwarding ports one step at a time. The way to forward a port is:
- Begin by logging in to your router.
- Locate your routers port forwarding section.
- Put your NAS's IP address in the proper box in your router.
- Put the TCP and UDP ports for a QNAP TS-120 device in the corresponding boxes in your router.
You probably will need 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 a QNAP TS-120 device:
List of Routers - Customized for QNAP TS-120
Setting Up a Port Forward for a QNAP TS-120 device
Here is a list of the ports that need to be forwarded for a QNAP TS-120 device:
QNAP TS-120 - PC
- TCP: 21-22, 25, 80, 443, 445, 873, 3306, 6881-6999, 8080, 9000, 13131, 55536-56559
- UDP: 6881-6999
Those are the steps for forwarding ports in your router for a QNAP TS-120 device.
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