In this guide I will show you how to port forward on the ZTE F609 router. Your router has a firewall that helps to protect your network from unwanted Internet access. The firewall does this by blocking incoming and outgoing connections. This can be a bit of a problem if you online game or run online programs. A lot of online games will run much smoother if you have port forwards setup for them.
I will walk you through each of the following steps:
- How to setup a static IP address on the device you plan on forwarding the ports to.
- How to login to the ZTE F609 router.
- How to find the port forwarding section of the router.
- How to create a port forward entry.
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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.
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I recommend writing this static IP address down.
Step 2
It is now time to login to the ZTE F609 router. To do this you need to open a web browser. It typically doesn't matter what browser you decide to open, I recommend picking one that is familiar to you such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, Edge, or Firefox.
After opening up a web browser, find the address bar. It is normally at the top of the page like this:
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 ZTE F609 IP Address is: 192.168.1.1
After you enter the router's IP address (also called the computer's default gateway) in the address bar, click the Enter key.
If everything goes how it should you will see an authentication page like this:
If you do not see a page or window asking for a username and/or password, it is because the IP address you entered was not the right one. To find out what the router's IP address is, follow the directions on this How To Find Your Router's IP Address page.
- The Default ZTE F609 Router Username is: admin
- The Default ZTE F609 Router Password is: password
Having Trouble?
Are you having trouble logging into the ZTE F609 router? Here are a few troubleshooting ideas:
- Try other ZTE default username/password combinations. Here is the list of all the known Default ZTE Router Passwords. When router companies update the router firmware, every once in a while they change the router's default username/password combination as well.
- If the list above did not work, it is probably because you changed the username and/or password in the past and have forgotten. If you use our Find Password App, it will help you guess what the username and/or password was changed to.
- Finally, you may need to consider a factory reset for the ZTE F609. This erases everything you have changed on the router in the past. Learn how to do this on our How to Reset a Router page.
Step 3
We can now look for the ZTE F609 port forwarding section. To help you with this step, we will be starting on the Device Information page.
On this page you need to click the Application option in the left sidebar. Then under that select the link labeled Port Forwarding.
You have found the port forwarding page.
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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Make sure that the Enable checkbox is checked.
You need to name this entry in the Name 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.
From the Protocol box select the protocol for the ports that you want to forward.
Leave the WAN Host Start IP Address and WAN Host End IP Address box blank.
In the WAN Connection dropdown box choose an available connection.
If you are forwarding a range of ports then you need to enter the lowest number of the range into the WAN Start Port and LAN Host Start Port boxes and the highest number of the range into the WAN End Port and LAN Host End Port boxes. If you are only forwarding a single port then you can enter that same port number into the WAN Start Port, WAN End Port, LAN Host Start Port and LAN Host End Port boxes.
Enter the IP address that you want to forward these ports to into the LAN Host IP Address box. Note that if you are forwarding ports so you can run a program on a device other than your computer then you can enter your device's IP address into that box instead.
When you are all done click the Add button.
Click the Add button when you are finished with each entry.
Test if Your Ports are Open
It is now time to check if the ports forwarded like they were supposed to. To do this we recommend using our Open Port Checker found in our Network Utilities. Our port checker uses a local application to see if the ports are open, ensuring an accurate reading.
Other Stuff...
Here at portforward.com we have more than just port forwarding guides. We also have networking, software, and gaming guides. Check them out on our guide page.
Do you need help setting up your router for the first time? How about your WiFi security, is it as strong as it should be? We can help at setuprouter.com.
