this D-Link DWR-921 router has a very basic firewall that will help protect your home network from unwanted access from the Internet. This firewall blocks connections that you might want open for a game or application. This is where a port forward comes into the picture. This is how you unblock one of those connections. This process of opening a port is called a port forward because you are forwarding a port directly through the firewall and onto a device of your choosing in your home network.
In order to forward a port you need to:
- Setup a Static IP Address on the computer or device you plan to forward these ports to.
- Login to your D-Link DWR-921 router.
- Navigate to the port forwarding section.
- Enter the data to create a port forward entry.
All of this may sound hard, but we will walk you through every step in the process to get your ports opened.
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.
Step 2
It is now time to login to the D-Link DWR-921 router. This router has a web user interface, meaning you need to use a web browser to login to the router's setup pages. The web browser can be Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer, or even Firefox. It really doesn't matter what browser you decide to use here, just pick a favorite.
Go ahead and open up that web browser and find the address bar. It looks like 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 D-Link DWR-921 IP Address is: 192.168.0.1 After entering the router's IP Address in the address bar, just click the Enter button on your keyboard. If it goes as it should, you will see the following image:
You should see a box asking for a User Name and a Password.
- The Default D-Link DWR-921 Router Username is: admin
- The Default D-Link DWR-921 Router Password is: blank
After you have finished typing in the username and password, click the Login button to access your D-Link DWR-921 router setup pages.
Having Trouble?
There are a couple different reasons a default username and password will not work. Try these troubleshooting techniques:
- One possible reason a username and password won't work is because you have a slightly different firmware version. Some router manufacturers change the username and password when they update the firmware. Since this may be the case, we recommend trying other common Default D-Link Router Passwords.
- If those did not work, why not try to crack it yourself? We can help with our Find Password App. It automates the time consuming effort of trying password after password.
- Finally if nothing else works, it might be time to consider a reset. A reset is not recommended because all your settings are erased and reverted back to the original factory defaults. This could include some ISP changes as well, in which case you need to contact them to get your Internet up and running again. If you need to consider a reset check out this How to Reset a Router guide.
Step 3
It is time to find the port forwarding section of the router. Here is how you do it. Let's start on the first page:
Starting on the above page, click the ADVANCED link at the top of the page.
This should take you to the above page. If it did not, simply press the VIRTUAL SERVER option in the left sidebar.
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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Put the same port number into both the Service Ports and the Server Port boxes.
Enter the IP address to forward these ports to into the Server 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.
Enable the Enable checkbox by putting a check in it.
When you are completely finished, click the Save Settings button to apply those changes you just made.
Testing if Your Ports are Open
Now that you have finished forwarding those ports for the D-Link DWR-921 router you should test them to be sure they forwarded correctly.
To find out if the ports forwarded correctly, you can use our FREE Open Port Checker. This is part of our Network Utilities. Our Open Port Checker is the only one online that Guarantees Results and is FREE.
More Info
Congratulations on port forwarding the D-Link DWR-921 router. If you enjoyed this guide, there are more you may like as well:
- Learn how to port forward Through two routers.
- How to tell if you have a Router or a Modem.
- What exactly is a Firewall?
- A guide to learning Binary Numbers.