Your Netgear R6400 router has a firewall designed to block unwanted Internet connections to your home network. However, there are times you want to unblock or open some of these blocked connections in order to make a program or game run more smoothly. This process is commonly called a port forward.
In this guide we will walk you through each step in the port forwarding process. These steps include:
- How to setup a static IP address on the device you plan on forwarding the ports to.
- How to Login to the Netgear R6400 router.
- How to navigate to the port forwarding section.
- Finally, how to 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.
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
in this step we will show you how to login to the Netgear R6400 router. To do this you need to open a web browser. It doesn't matter which browser you open, simply pick your favorite. Some common options are Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.
Once you have opened a web browser, look for the address bar. The address bar is located 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 Netgear R6400 IP Address is: 192.168.1.1
After you finish entering the router's IP address in the address bar, click the Enter key. This should give you a login screen like this:
This window is the login window for your router menu. Simply input the username and password and you will gain access to the router interface.
- The Default Netgear R6400 Router Username is: admin
- The Default Netgear R6400 Router Password is: password
Now go ahead and press the OK button to gain access to your router menu.
Having Trouble?
If you find yourself stuck in this spot then here are a few things you can try:
- First, try using other Netgear usernames and passwords. If you have a slightly different firmware version then you may have a different username and password to go along with that. Here is our list of Default Netgear Router Passwords.
- If that did not work, then it is because you changed your username and password in the past and don't remember what you changed them to. We recommend using our Find Password App. It finds your password by trying thousands of different combinations. Learn all about it on our Router Password Cracker page.
- Finally if you tried both options above and you still can't login then it might be time to consider a reset. This should be a last resort. I highly recommend you exhaust other troubleshooting options first. If you need to reset the router back to factory defaults, read this How to Reset a Router.
Step 3
Now it is time to find the port forwarding section of the menu. We need to start on the Basic Home page:
Click the Advanced tab at the top of the page.
Next, click the option of Advanced Setup in the left sidebar.
Then, under that click the option of Port Forwarding/Port Triggering.
You are now on a page like the one seen above.
Make sure the radio button labeled Port Forwarding is chosen, then click the link titled Add Custom Service.
You should end up on the page above.
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 a name for this forward in the Service Name box so that you can remember why you set this forward up. The name does not matter so pick something that has meaning to you.
Use the Service Type dropdown box to select the protocol type of the ports you are forwarding.
If you are just forwarding a single port number then you can simply enter that same number into both the External Starting Port and the External Ending Port boxes. If you are forwarding a range of ports, usually separated by a hyphen, then you need to enter the lowest number of that range into the External Starting Port box and then enter highest number into the External Ending Port box.
In the Use the same port range for Internal port checkbox put a checkmark.
Enter the IP address to forward these ports to into the Internal 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.
Make sure to click the green Apply button when you are finished.
Test if Your Ports are Open
Time to test your work. Did the ports open? One way to find out is to use our Open Port Checker. This checker is part of our free trial version of our Network Utilities. Our port checker always uses a local application to listen for the server trying to connect. This way we can confirm that your port is being forwarded.
More Info...
- Check out more of our port forwarding guides here
- If you are looking for more router setup guides check out setuprouter.com
