Fastest Asus RT-AC86U Router Open Port Guide

Routers have a very basic firewall that helps to protect you from the Internet. A firewall works by blocking incoming and outgoing communication unless you have authorized it. Normal everyday Internet action is already allowed in your firewall but sometimes additional connections need to be opened to run certain applications such as online games. To allow additional connections through your router firewall you need to create what is commonly called a port forward.

In this guide I will show you how to port forward on the Asus RT-AC86U router. The steps I will be showing you are listed below:

How to create a static IP address on the device you are forwarding these ports to.
How to login to the Asus RT-AC86U router web interface.
How to find the port forwarding page in the router's web interface.
How to setup a port forward for the online game or program of your choice.

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.

Get Started Now!

When you use Network Utilities you get your port forwarded right now!

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.

TIP: Write this static IP address down. You need it in Step 4.

Step 2

It is now time to login to the Asus RT-AC86U router interface. To do that you need to open a web browser. It normally doesn't matter which browser you decide to open, simply pick a common one such as Chrome, Edge, or Internet Explorer.

Now that you have opened a web browser, look for the address bar. This is typically at the top of the page 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 Asus RT-AC86U IP Address is: 192.168.1.1

Press the Enter key.

If all went as it should have you see a login screen like this:

If you do not see a screen like the one above, something went wrong. Maybe your router is using a different IP address. To find out what your router has as an IP address use this guide called How To Find Your Router's IP Address.

You now see a login screen like the one above. Enter the router's login information here.

(This is not your WiFi information)

The Default Asus RT-AC86U Router Username is: admin
The Default Asus RT-AC86U Router Password is: admin

Having Trouble?

This is a pretty common place to get stuck. If you find yourself here, don't panic, there are a few things you can try:

First, check all the different Asus default combinations. Here is our list of all known Default Asus Router Passwords.

Second, try and guess what the password/username was changed to. Use our Find Password App to make this step easier.

Finally, if you still are stuck after trying both of the above options, it may be time to consider a factory reset. Learn more about this option on the How to Reset a Router page.

Step 3

You are now logged in and looking at your router's user interface. You need to navigate to the port forwarding page. I will show you how to do that starting from the Network Map screen. This should be the page you are looking at now.

Screenshot of Asus RT-AC86U Network Map.

Looking in the left sidebar click the option labeled WAN under Advanced Settings.

Screenshot of Asus RT-AC86U Internet Connection.

This takes you to a page like the one above. There are new tabs at the top of the page. Click the one labeled Virtual Server/Port Forwarding.

Screenshot of Asus RT-AC86U Virtual Server Port Forwarding.

You are now on the correct page to create a port forward on the Asus RT-AC86U router. On to the next step.

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.

You might notice that most of our site doesn't have ads on it. This is because we use partnerships with companies like NordVPN to keep the site running. Thank you for supporting us by using our referral links.

Make up a name to put in the Service 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.

You can leave the Source Target box blank.

Type the ports to forward into the Port Range box.

Your ports can be entered as a list 23,24,25, a range 500:600, or a combination of both 23,45,500:600.

Enter the IP address to forward these ports to into the Local 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.

The Local Port box can be left blank as well.

Use the Protocol dropdown box to select the protocol type of the ports you are forwarding.

When you are all done click the + button.

Test Your Ports

Are your the ports you just forwarded really open? An easy way to find out is use our free Open Port Checker. It uses a local application to see if the ports are open or not. This guarantees our port checkers accuracy.