When you use a QNAP TS-221 device you may need to forward ports in your router. A port forward allows incoming connection requests from the internet to go straight to a QNAP TS-221 device.
Routers are not designed to allow incoming network requests. Forwarding ports can work around this limitation.
Before Forwarding a Port Checkoff This To Do List
Make sure that you know these things before forwarding a port:
- The internal IP address of your router.
- The IP address of your NAS.
- 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
The easiest way to locate your router's IP address is to run our free Router Detector utility. The software is part of our Network Utilities suite of tools and it is completely free to use.
If you do not want to run the software, you can follow our Find Your Router IP Address guide.
How To Set Up Port Forwarding for a QNAP TS-221 device
We have Network Utilities software that can forward ports for you. Network Utilities lets you manage port forwards by putting them in when you need them and also removing the ones that you no longer need which maximized network security.
Port forwarding can also be set up step-by-step by hand. The normal process for forwarding a port is:
- Start by logging in to your router.
- Locate the section in your router that deals with port forwarding.
- Put your NAS's IP address in the proper box in your router.
- Put the TCP and UDP ports for a QNAP TS-221 device 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 a QNAP TS-221 device:
List of Routers - Customized for QNAP TS-221
Forwarding Ports for a QNAP TS-221 device
The incoming ports that need to be forwarded for a QNAP TS-221 device are:
QNAP TS-221 - 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-221 device.
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