Easiest Way to Forward Ports on the TP-Link TD-W8901G Router

Your TP-Link TD-W8901G router has a very basic firewall that helps to protect your home network from any unwanted access from the Internet. A firewall blocks connections to and from the Internet. By default some of the connections have been opened for you so you can actually use the Internet.

What happens when you need a blocked connection to become unblocked? You create a port forward. On this page we will walk you through every step in the process to get your ports opened.

We will show you how to:

Setup a static IP Address on the computer or device you want to forward ports to.
Login to your TP-Link TD-W8901G router.
Find the port forwarding section.
- Click the Advanced Setup button.
- Click the NAT link.
- Click the Virtual Server link.
Create a port forward.

Remember: We will walk you through each of the above steps.

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.

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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

Time to login to the TP-Link TD-W8901G router. To do this you need to use a web browser because this router uses a web user interface.

It does not matter what browser you decide to use, simply pick your favorite. Some possible options are: Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer and Safari.

Once you have opened up the web browser, try and find the address bar. This is normally at the top of the page like this:

Image of a browser address bar — Browser address bar

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 TP-Link TD-W8901G router IP Address is: 192.168.1.1

After entering the router's IP Address in the address bar, click the Enter key on your keyboard. If all goes as it should, you will see the following screen:

You are on the right page if you see a box asking you for a username and password.

The Default TP-Link TD-W8901G Router Username is: admin
The Default TP-Link TD-W8901G Router Password is: admin

Enter the username and password for your router and click the OK button to access the web interface.

Having Trouble?

If the username and password combo did not work, there are several reasons why. Here are three troubleshooting options:

The first thing you can try is other TP-Link defaults. Sometimes when router manufacturers update the firmware the username and password change as well. Here is a list of other Default TP-Link Router Passwords you can try.

If you are still unable to login to the TP-Link TD-W8901G router then it is possible you changed the username/password combo in the past and have forgotten. Recover that lost password with our Find Password App. It automates the arduous task of trying hundreds of different username/password combos for you. This is completely safe and can only be used on your local home network. Learn more about it on this Router Password Cracker page.

Finally if you have tried everything, then maybe it's time to consider a reset. This router reset is a last resort because it erases all your personal information. If this is something you think you need to do, read more about it on this How to Reset a Router page.

Step 3

It is now time to find the port forwarding section of your router. To do that we can start on the following page:

Select the Advanced Setup option at the top of the page.

Now, click NAT option in the thin orange bar close to the top of the page.

You should now see the page above. Click the link titled Virtual Server near the bottom of the page.

Screenshot of TP-Link TD-W8901G port forward.

Finally, you should have been directed to the page you see above. This is the page where you will do your port forwarding.

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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You need to name this entry in the Application 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 Number and the End Port Number 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 Number box and then enter highest number into the End Port Number box.

Enter the IP address that you are forwarding ports to in the Local IP Address box. This is either the IP address of a computer or the IP address of another device on your network.

Click the Save button when you are done.

Congratulations. That's it.

Test the Ports

After you have port forwarded the TP-Link TD-W8901G router you should test them to see if they really forwarded.

In order to test the ports we recommend using our free Open Port Checker. This is part of our free trial version of the Network Utilities. This Open Port Checker is not only free but it is also Guaranteed to work.