Create a Port Forward for Xbox One in your Router

You may need to forward ports in your router when you use Xbox One. A port forward allows incoming connection requests from the internet to go straight to Xbox One.

By default routers do not allow incoming network requests. A port forward can overcome this limitation.

Make sure that you know these things before forwarding a port:

• The IP address of your router.
• The internal IP address of your computer.
• The 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.

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.

If you do not want to run the software, you can follow our Find Your Router IP Address guide.

We have Network Utilities software that can forward ports for you. Our Network Utilities software allows you to add port forwards and also remove them when you no longer need them to maximize your network security.

You can also choose to set up port forwards manually. The step-by-step process for forwarding a port is:

• Log in to your router.
• Find the port forwarding section in your router.
• Put the IP address of your computer in the proper box in your router.
• It is now time to type the TCP and UDP ports that you are forwarding for Xbox One in the correct 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 Xbox One:

List of Routers - Customized for Xbox One

Here is a list of the ports that need to be forwarded for Xbox One:

Xbox One - Xbox One

• TCP: 53, 80, 3074
• UDP: 53, 88, 500, 3074, 3544, 4500

Those are the steps to take in order to forward ports in your router for Xbox One.

Don't forget to sign up for NordVPN's promo deal before it's gone.