Your BT Home Hub 6 router uses a firewall to help keep your home network safe from unwanted Internet access. The firewall does this by blocking all incoming and outgoing connections that have not been authorized. Some online games and applications run much smoother when additional connections or ports are opened to allow for a smoother game play. To do this you need to create a port forward.
In this guide I will show you how to open a port on the BT Home Hub 6 router. These steps will include:
- how to setup a static IP address on the device or console you want to port forward these ports to.
- how to login to the BT Home Hub 6 router.
- how to find the port forwarding section of the device.
- how to setup a port forward on the BT Home Hub 6 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
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
I will now show you how to login to the BT Home Hub 6 router. To do this you need to open a web browser because this router uses a web interface to make router setting changes.
Go ahead and open up any web browser you want. It shouldn't matter which one you open. I suggest using the one you are most familiar with (probably the one you have open right now) such as Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, or Firefox.
Once you have opened the web browser, find the address bar. It should be at the top of the page. It looks similar to this:
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 BT Home Hub 6 IP Address is: 192.168.1.254
Go ahead and enter the router's IP address in the address bar. Then press the Enter key. You should be shown a login page similar to this:
If you are unable to bring up a login screen or the web browser tells you the site cannot be reached, then you need to find out what the router's IP address has been changed to. Follow the directions on this How To Find Your Router's IP Address page to find out.
On the login page you should be asked for a password.
- The Default BT Home Hub 6 Router Username is: admin
- The Default BT Home Hub 6 Router Password is: password
Having Trouble?
If the username and password we gave you above did not work, don't panic. Here are some things you can try:
- Router manufacturers are always updating their routers and they may have changed the router's username and password as well. I recommend trying other default BT username/password combinations. Here is our list of all the Default BT Router Passwords.
- If that did not work, it is probably because you changed the username and password in the router setup and have forgotten what you changed them to. Try guessing what you may of changed the username and password to. We have a Find Password App that does the guessing for you. Learn more about it on this page.
- As a last resort, if you are still locked out of your router interface, you may need to consider a factory reset. A factory reset erases all the changed settings in the router, including the username and password. I do not recommend doing this unless you have fully exhausted all your other troubleshooting options. All settings you have changed in the past and more if you use DSL are erased. To learn how to reset a router, read this How to Reset a Router guide.
Step 3
You should now be logged into the BT Home Hub 6 router. It is time to find the port forwarding section of the device. To help you do this we begin on the Home page of the router interface:
Start by clicking the Advanced settings option in the lower right corner.
This is the Advanced Settings menu. On this page, click the option of Firewall.
Click the button on this page that says Create a new port forwarding rule.
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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Create a name for this forward and put it in the Rule name box. The name is only used as a reminder and has no effect on the port forward.
Enter the IP address to forward these ports to into the IP Address 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.
If you are forwarding a range of ports, enter the lowest number of the range into the External ports Start and Internal ports Start boxes. Then enter the highest number of the range into the External ports End and Internal ports End boxes. If you are forwarding a single port, enter that port number into the External ports Start, External ports End, Internal ports Start and Internal ports End boxes.
In the Protocol box select the protocol that you want to forward these ports over.
When you are finished, click the Add button.
Don't forget to save after you are finished with your work.
Test Your Port Forward
After you have finished all the steps above, it is a very good idea to check and see if the ports forwarded properly on the BT Home Hub 6. I recommend using our Open Port Checker. It is part of our Network Utilities bundle. Our port checker is guaranteed to give you an accurate reading on whether your ports are forwarded properly or not.
More Info...
We have more than just port forwarding guides. You can find networking, gaming and software guides here.
Do you need help making sure your home network is secure and the way you want it? We have router specific guides at setuprouter.com.
