Fastest Apple AirPort Extreme Router Port Forwarding Instructions

Your Apple AirPort Extreme router has a basic firewall included that helps protect your home network from any unwanted access to the Internet. This firewall is blocking incoming connections from the Internet. Sometimes you want these connections unblocked to run a program or game smoother. This is called a port forward because you are forwarding a port through the firewall and directing it at a device on your local home network

We will be showing you how to:

1. Setup a static IP address on the device you plan on forwarding these ports to.
2. Login to your Apple AirPort Extreme router.
3. Find the port forwarding section.
   • Click the Applications button.
   • Click the Utilities button.
   • Click the AirPort Admin Utility button.
   • Select Apple Base Station from Select Base Station.
   • Click the Port Mapping button.
   • Click the Add button.
4. Create a port forward.

While all this may sound difficult, we plan on walking you through each step in the process.

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.

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

Let's login to the Apple AirPort Extreme router. To do this let's start on the following page of your Mac:

Open up the Finder on your Mac.

Then, click the Applications button in the left sidebar.

Next, select the option of Utilities in the center section of the page.

On the Utility page, choose the option of AirPort Admin Utility in the center section of the page.

You should now see a page similar to the one above. There is a list titled Select Base Station. Under that heading is your list of base stations. Select the Apple Base Station you will be making changes on. This list will only contain one station name unless you have multiple Apple Base Stations.

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:

First, click the Port Mapping option near the top of the page.

Then, click Add on the right side of the page.

You should now see a box a lot like the one above.

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

Don't forget to sign up for NordVPN's promo deal before it's gone.

Enter the same port number to be forwarded into both the Public Port and the Private Port boxes.

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

Click the Ok button when you are all done.

Click the OK button after each entry.

After you have finished entering the appropriate data, click the Update button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Are Your Ports Forwarded?

It is always a good idea to check your work. In order to find out if the Apple AirPort Extreme router forwarded the ports correctly we recommend using our free Open Port Checker. This is found in our free trial version of the Network Configuration Tools.

More Info

Congratulations on getting your ports forwarded. Here are some other guides you may like:

• How to Port Forward Behind Two Routers.
• A guide to Understanding DHCP.
• A basic guide to using Wireshark.
• How to use uTorrent.