How to Forward Ports to an Xbox Series X

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Port Forward Staff
November 05, 2020 (Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 2 minutes

Most gaming consoles perform better with an open port. This is because a port forward allows the gaming server to connect in to the console. If you do not have a port forwarded then your console has to connect out to the gaming server.

This is fine for console-to-server messages. Sometimes a game wants to send a console-to-console message. If neither console has a forwarded port, then the console-to-console message has to go console-to-server-to-console. That extra hop causes a delay in the packet.

portforward xbox series x example
portforward xbox series x example

If at least one player has a forwarded port then the console to console message can go out one console and in another, eliminating a hop and decreasing packet latency.

The Xbox Series X is no different. Many Xbox Live games perform better if you forward ports to your console. Microsoft uses the term NAT Type to talk about whether a port is forwarded to your console or not.

You can read more about NAT Types to get a better understanding of what they mean.

Before You Forward a Port

Before you can forward a port you need to know the following things:

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. It's a part of the Network Utilities suite of tools and it's completely free to use.

How To Forward Ports for Xbox Consoles

Our Network Utilities software makes port forwarding a breeze. You can be done in just a few minutes.

The usual process is:

Which Ports Does Xbox Live Require

The ports for Xbox Live are as follows:

Xbox Live - Xbox One

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

Xbox Live - PC

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

Xbox Live - Xbox Series X

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

Xbox Live - Xbox 360

  • TCP: 53, 80, 1863, 3074
  • UDP: 53, 88, 1863, 3074

After following those steps your ports should be forwarded. Head to our applications and games list for more port forwarding guides.

A Note about Xbox Live Ports

It is highly doubtful that ports 53, 80, and 88 are actually necessary. These are DNS, HTTP, and key exchange ports that are most likely needed for connections out from the console to the game servers, as opposed to connections in from the game server to the console.

They are most likely listed for configuring a firewall, not a router.

However, it does not hurt to forward these ports, so we list them for completeness. Feel free to remove them from the port list if you want to.

If you find this type of networking information interesting then don't forget to read about NAT Types as well.

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