Linksys WRT54GC Router Port Forwarding Instructions

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Port Forward Staff
September 19, 2018 (Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 3 minutes

Linksys WRT54GC 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 WRT54GC router.
  3. Navigate to the port forwarding section.
    • Click the Applications & Gaming link.
    • Click on Port Range Forwarding.
  4. Create a port forward entry.

While these steps might seem difficult at first, we will walk you through each step for your Linksys WRT54GC 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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Step 2

Now we are going to login to your Linksys WRT54GC 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 WRT54GC 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 WRT54GC
Screenshot of Linksys WRT54GC.

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 WRT54GC 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 WRT54GC router username and password, use our How to Reset a Router Password guide to set your Linksys WRT54GC 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 WRT54GC
Screenshot of Linksys WRT54GC.

Click the Applications & Gaming link near the top of the page.

The menu below that should change. In this new menu, click Port Range Forwarding.

Linksys WRT54GC port forward
Screenshot of Linksys WRT54GC port forward.

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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Make up a name to put in the Application Name box. The name does not have any effect on the functionality of the forward, it's simply there so you can know why it was created.

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

With the Protocol checkbox select the protocol type.

Enter the IP address that you want to forward these ports to in the To IP Address box. You can enter either the IP address of your computer or the IP address of another computer or device on your network.

In the Enabled checkbox put a checkmark.

When you're finished, click Save Settings 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 WRT54GC 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 WRT54GC Router Screenshots

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