In this guide we will show you how to create a port forward. Your D-Link DIR-818LW has a firewall that helps to protect your home network from unwanted Internet access. The firewall does this by blocking all connections to and from your network that are not authorized. In order to open additional connections or allow authorization for a game or online program you need to create a port forward.
We will walk you through each of the following steps in the process of opening ports on your D-Link DIR-818LW router:
- Create a Static IP address on the device you plan on forwarding these ports to.
- Login to the D-Link DIR-818LW router.
- Find the port forwarding section of the device.
- Create a port forward entry.
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.
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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.
- 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.
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Step 2
After you have finished setting up a static IP address on the device you plan on forwarding these ports to, you need to login to the D-Link DIR-818LW router.
Your router uses a web interface to interact with the router settings. This means you need to login using a web browser. It really doesn't matter what browser you use. We recommend picking one you are the most comfortable using. Some of the common options are Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Once you have picked a web browser, open it up and locate the address bar. This is normally found at the top of the page:
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 D-Link DIR-818LW IP Address is: 192.168.0.1
If you have changed the router's IP address in the past and don't remember what you changed it to, you need to locate it. Do this by following the directions on this How To Find Your Router's IP Address page.
After entering the router's IP address into the address bar, click the Enter key and you should be given a LOGIN page like this:
This window asks for a password before you can access the D-Link DIR-818LW router interface.
- The Default D-Link DIR-818LW Router Username is: admin
- The Default D-Link DIR-818LW Router Password is: password
You may be able to just leave the password space blank and press the Log In button.
Username and Password Trouble
Are you having trouble accessing the D-Link DIR-818LW router's user interface? Here are a few things you can try:
- Other D-Link usernames and passwords. It is possible you have a slightly different firmware version which could in turn cause you to have a different username and password combination. Here is our list of Default D-Link Router Passwords.
- Guess what you changed it to. Chances are you have changed the username and/or password. If you need help guessing what you changed the username or password to, use our Find Password App. It automates the process of trying thousands of different combinations for you. Learn more about it on this Router Password Cracker page.
- Reset the router to it's default settings, then use the default username and password. This option should only be done as a LAST RESORT. Resetting the router erases all settings you have changed in the past. The basics of resetting a router can be found on this How to Reset a Router page.
Step 3
In this step we will show you how to navigate to the port forwarding section of the D-Link DIR-818LW router. To do this we begin on the Internet Setup page.
First, you need to click the ADVANCED option at the top of the page.
You should now be on the page you see above. Click the option in the left sidebar labeled PORT FORWARDING.
Congratulations, you have made it to the port forwarding page of the D-Link DIR-818LW router.
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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Make sure that the Enable checkbox is checked.
Enter the name of the program into the Name box. It doesn't really matter what you put into this box, but something that will remind you why these ports are being forwarded is be a good idea.
Enter the IP address that you want to forward these ports to into the IP Address box. Note that 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 instead.
Put the ports to forward into the TCP and UDP box.
You can enter the ports as a list separated by commas, a range separated by hyphens, or a combination of both.
Use the Schedule dropdown box to pick Always.
From the Inbound Filter dropdown box choose Allow All.
Test Your Ports
After you finish port forwarding on the D-Link DIR-818LW router it is a good idea to see if everything went as it should have. Do this by using our FREE Open Port Checker. There are a lot of port checkers on the Internet but ours is guaranteed to be accurate because we use a local network application to see if the server is listening on the desired ports.
More Information...
If you are still having trouble port forwarding the D-Link DIR-818LW router we strongly recommend using our Port Forward Software. Here at portforward.com we believe port forwarding should be easy. Our software will help you troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix all your port forwarding issues.
Here at portforward.com we have a lot of different free guides. We are your computer information source for networking, firewalling and gaming needs.
We also got you covered for your router setup needs as well. Check out our router specific guides here at setuprouter.com
