Did you know your Linksys EA6200 router has a firewall? The firewall helps protect your home network from unwanted Internet access. The firewall blocks all unauthorized ports or connections to your home network. Some online games and programs will run much smoother if you have additional ports opened. This process of opening additional ports is called a port forward.
Here I will show you how to port forward the Linksys EA6200 router. The steps I will be covering are:
- How to setup a static IP address on the device you plan on forwarding the ports to.
- How to login to the Linksys EA6200 router.
- How to find the port forwarding section of the device.
- How to create a port forward entry.
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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.
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: I recommend writing this static IP address down. You need it a little later in the port forwarding process.
Step 2
Now that you have set up a static IP address on the device you plan on forwarding these ports to it is time to login to the Linksys EA6200 router.
The first step is to open up a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, Edge, or Firefox. It normally doesn't matter which browser you use, I recommend using one you are familiar with.
Once you have opened the web browser, find the address bar. The address bar is found at the top of the page 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 Linksys EA6200 IP Address is: 192.168.1.1
Go ahead and press the Enter key after entering the router's IP address in the address bar. If correct IP address was entered you will see a login screen similar to the one seen here:
Of course, if you don't see the screen above, the wrong IP address was used. To find out what the correct IP address is, follow the directions on my How To Find Your Router's IP Address page.
When you see the Login page, enter the Email address and password you setup when you first installed the router. If you don't remember these values, you can click on the Forgot your password? link to restore it.
Once you have entered the email address and password, click the blue Sign in button to login to the Linksys EA6200 router.
Step 3
In this step, I will be showing you where to find the port forwarding section of the Linksys EA6200 router. We begin on the Home page:
Begin by selecting the link in the left sidebar labeled Security.
This takes you to the page you see above.
Now, select the option of Apps and Gaming from the list of tabs at the top of the page.
On this new page, there are new tabs to choose from. Pick the one titled Single Port Forwarding or Port Range Forwarding depending on whether you are forwarding a single port or multiple in a range.
The screen I have chosen to show you is the Single Port Forwarding page. You can forward one port at a time with this page. Choose Port Range Forwarding if you want to forward a group of ports in a range such as 14000-14016.
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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Forwarding a Port Range
Create a name for this forward and put it in the Application Name box. The name is only used as a reminder and has no effect on the port forward.
If you are forwarding a single port, enter that port number into the Start Port and the End Port boxes. If you are forwarding a range of ports, enter the lowest number of that range into the Start Port box. Then enter the highest number of that range into the End Port box.
In the Protocol box select the protocol that you want to forward these ports over.
Enter the IP address that you are forwarding ports to in the Device IP# box. This is either the IP address of a computer or the IP address of another device on your network.
Verify that you have the Enabled checkbox checked.
Click the Save button when you are all done.
Forwarding a Single Port
Enter the name of the program into the Application 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.
Put the same port number into both the External Port and the Internal Port boxes.
Select the required protocol for these ports from the Protocol dropdown box.
Enter the IP address of the device that you want to forward ports to into the Device IP# box. This can be either the IP address of your computer or the IP address of another device on your network.
Enable the Enabled checkbox by putting a check in it.
After you are done click the Save button.
When you have finished creating the port forwards you want, be sure to click the blue Apply button to save your changes.
Check your Ports
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if the ports forwarded properly, so we recommend using our Open Port Checker to see if the ports forwarded correctly. Our port checker uses a local application to see if the server is listening. This guarantees an accurate result.
Additional Info...
Here at portforward.com we have more than just port forwarding guides. We also have networking, software, and gaming guides. Check them out on our guide page.
Do you need help setting up your router for the first time? How about your WiFi security, is it as strong as it should be? We can help at setuprouter.com.
