A TP-Link TL-WR840N router protects your home network by blocking unwanted incoming internet connections and acting as a basic firewall. Sometimes you need to open a port in your router in order to get a good connection for a game or to use a specific device on your network. The TL-WR840N lets you choose the applications that are allowed to connect through an open port. By opening a port in your router you allow a specific application or game to send data from the internet to your home network.
In order to open ports in your TP-Link TL-WR840N router, you need to:
- On the computer or device that you are forwarding ports to, you will need to set up a static IP address.
- Login to your TP-Link TL-WR840N router.
- Make your way to the Virtual Servers section of the TP-Link TL-WR840N router.
- Click the Forwarding tab at the left of the screen.
- Find the Virtual Servers item located near the left of the screen and click it.
- Go ahead and create a port forward entry.
If this sounds difficult, you are not alone. We will walk you through each step in opening a port for the TP-Link TL-WR840N router.
We think that forwarding a port should be easy. That's why we created Network Utilities. Our software does everything that you need to forward a port.
When you use Network Utilities you get your port forwarded right now!
Step 1
If you want to ensure that your ports remain open even after your device reboots, set up a static IP address in the device that you are opening a port for.
- 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.
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.
Step 2
Log in to the TP-Link TL-WR840N router. To do this you need to use a web browser because the TP-Link TL-WR840N router uses what is called a web interface.
It normally doesn't matter what web browser you use so go ahead and open up your favorite. If you don't have a favorite then open up Chrome, Firefox, or Edge.
If that is confusing to you, we have simplified this step with this link: Login to your TL-WR840N Router
Once you have opened up a browser window, find the address bar. This is usually at the top of the page like the image below shows.
Above is an example of what a web browser address bar looks like. Find the address bar in your web browser and type in your router's IP address.
The TP-Link TL-WR840N router's default IP address is: 192.168.0.1
Enter your router's IP address into the address bar of your browser and click the enter button on your keyboard. A box like the one below should appear.
Go ahead and enter the username and password for the TP-Link TL-WR840N router in the spaces available. Remember if you have changed them in the past, you need to enter those values.
- The default TP-Link TL-WR840N Router Username is: admin
- The default TP-Link TL-WR840N Router Password is: admin
Enter your username and password, and then click the Login button to log in to your TP-Link TL-WR840N router.
TP-Link Usernames and Passwords
If the username or password did not work check out our Default TP-Link Router Passwords page.
If you are unable to log in even after trying the above list of passwords you may need to consider a reset for your router. Our guide How to Reset a Router can help you with that. After resetting the TP-Link TL-WR840N router your username and password will be reverted back to factory defaults.
Step 3
After a successful login to the TP-Link TL-WR840N router you should be on the home page of your router. Now you need to find the Virtual Servers section.
Find the Forwarding tab at the left of the screen and click on it.
Click on the Virtual Servers item, which is at the left of the screen.
You are now on the Virtual Servers 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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Type in a name for this forward in the ID box. Choose a name that will help you remember why this forward was set up since it does not affect the functionality of the forward.
The Service Port box accepts either a single number or a range of numbers. If you are forwarding a single port number, then enter that port number into the Service Port box. If you are forwarding a range of ports such as 1000-2000, then you can enter the lowest number of that range into the Service Port box, followed by a hyphen, followed by the largest number.
Enter the same values into the Internal Port box that you entered into the Service Port box.
In the IP Address box, enter the IP address that you want ports forwarded to. This may be the IP address of your computer or the IP address of another device on your network that you want to forward ports to.
Select All from the Protocol drop-down box.
Choose Enabled from the Status drop-down list.
Remember to click the Save button at the bottom of the page to apply these changes when you are completely finished.
Test If Your Ports Are Open
Finally, I strongly recommend testing to see if you forwarded the TP-Link TL-WR840N ports correctly. To do this you can use our Network Utilities tool, which includes a free Open Port Checker. Open Port Checker is the only online port checking tool that has Guaranteed Results.
Check Out These Helpful Guides:
- Our software called Network Utilities does all of this and more.
- Find detailed tips on how to Setup your router.
- A great list of games and applications that require port forwarding along with their related port numbers.
