Simple Linksys EA6500 Router Port Forwarding Instructions

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Port Forward Staff
September 19, 2018 (Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 4 minutes

Linksys EA6500 routers include a very basic firewall that helps protect your home network form unwanted access from the internet. Since this firewall blocks incoming connections you may need open a port through it for certain games and applications. This process of opening a port is frequently called a port forward, since you are forwarding a port from the internet to your home network.

The basic process to open a port is:

  1. Setup a static IP address on either your computer or device that you want to forward a port to.
  2. Login to your Linksys EA6500 router.
  3. Navigate to the port forwarding section.
    • Click the Security link.
    • Click the Apps and Gaming link.
    • Click the Port Range Forwarding or the Single Port Forwarding button to forward ports.
  4. Create a port forward entry.

While these steps might seem difficult at first, we will walk you through each step for your Linksys EA6500 router.

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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.

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.

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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.

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Step 2

Now we are going to login to your Linksys EA6500 router. Your router has a web interface, so you will login to it using your web browser. This can be either Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Edge. It usually does not matter which browser you choose to use.

Open up your web browser and find the address bar. It should look something 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 Linksys EA6500 IP Address is: 192.168.1.1

After entering the IP address of your router you can simply press enter. If all goes well you will see the following screen:

Linksys EA6500
Screenshot of Linksys EA6500.

You should see a box prompting you for your username and password.

Enter your username and password, and then click the Login button to log in to your Linksys EA6500 router.

Linksys Usernames and Passwords

If your username and password do not work then please visit our Default Linksys Router Passwords page.

If you still can't login to your router because you forgot your Linksys EA6500 router username and password, use our How to Reset a Router Password guide to set your Linksys EA6500 router back to its factory settings.

Step 3

Now we need to find the port forwarding section in your router. Here's how you do it. Starting from the first page in your router:

Linksys EA6500
Screenshot of Linksys EA6500.

Click the Security link near the left of the page.

Linksys EA6500
Screenshot of Linksys EA6500.

Click the Apps and Gaming link near the center of the page.

Linksys EA6500
Screenshot of Linksys EA6500.

This router has two different sections that allow you to forward ports. One section allows you to forward a range of ports, and the other allows you to forward a single port. To forward a range of ports, click Port Range Forwarding. To forward a single port, click Single Port Forwarding.

Linksys EA6500
Screenshot of Linksys EA6500.

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:

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Forwarding a Single Port

Click the Add a new Single Port Forwarding button.

Create a name for this forward and put it in the Application Name box. The name is only used as a reminder and has no effect on the port forward.

Enter the same port number to be forwarded into the External Port and the Internal Port boxes.

The protocol that you want to forward is selected from the Protocol box.

Enter the IP address to forward these ports to into the Device IP# box. 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.

Put a checkmark in the Enabled checkbox.

When you are finished, click the Save button.

Linksys EA6500 port forward
Screenshot of Linksys EA6500 port forward.

Forwarding a Port Range

Click the Add a new Port Range Forwarding button.

You need to name this entry in the Application 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.

If you are forwarding a single port, enter that port number into the Start Port and the End Port boxes. If you are forwarding a range of ports, enter the lowest number of that range into the Start Port box. Then enter the highest number of that range into the End Port box.

The protocol that you want to forward is selected from the Protocol box.

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

In the Enabled checkbox put a checkmark.

When you are finished, click the Save button.

When you're finished, click Ok near the bottom of the screen to save your changes.

Test if Your Ports are Open

Now that you have forwarded ports on the Linksys EA6500 you should test to see if your ports are forwarded correctly.

To test if your port has been properly forwarded, you can use our Network Utilities tool, which includes a free Open Port Checker. Our Open Port Check tool is the only online port checking tool with Guaranteed Results.

Linksys EA6500 Router Screenshots

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