The Netgear WNDR3700 router includes a very basic firewall that helps protect your home network from unwanted access from the Internet. Since this firewall blocks incoming connections you may need open a port through it for certain games and applications. This process of opening a port is frequently called a port forward, since you are forwarding a port from the Internet to your home network.
In this guide we will walk you through each of the steps in port forwarding the Netgear WNDR3700 router. These steps are:
- How to setup a static IP address on the device you want to forward these ports to.
- How to login to the Netgear WNDR3700 router.
- How to find the port forwarding section of the router.
- How to make 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.
NOTE: Write this address down. You need it for Step 4.
Step 2
It is time to login to the Netgear WNDR3700 router. To do this you need to open up a web browser. It typically doesn't matter which browser you decide to use. I recommend picking the one you are most familiar with. Some common web browsers are Chrome, Internet Explorer, Edge, and Firefox.
Open the web browser and find the address bar. This will normally be 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 WNDR3700 IP Address is: 192.168.1.1
After entering the router's IP address into the address bar, click the Enter key on the keyboard and you are shown the following image:
If the above login page does not appear, you need to find out what the router's IP address has been changed to. To help you with this, follow the instructions on our How To Find Your Router's IP Address page.
You should see a box prompting you for your username and password.
- The Default Netgear WNDR3700 Router Username is: admin
- The Default Netgear WNDR3700 Router Password is: password
Enter your username and password, and then click the OK button to login to your Netgear WNDR3700 router.
Netgear Usernames and Passwords
This is a common place to get stuck. Here are three things you can do:
- Try other Netgear passwords. If you have a slightly different firmware version you could easily have a different username and password combination. Her is our list of different Default Netgear Router Passwords.
- How about using our Router Password Cracker. It finds the password for you.
- If you are still unable to access the router's interface you may need to consider a factory reset. A factory reset erases all the previously configured settings. This is not advisable unless you have no other options. Learn the basics of resetting a router on this How to Reset a Router page.
Step 3
This third step is how to find the port forwarding section of the router. To do that we will begin on the first page of the Netgear WNDR3700 router.
Look in the left sidebar and click the option of Port forwarding / Port Triggering.
On this new screen, make sure the Port Forwarding radio button is selected.
Then click the button labeled Add Custom Services.
You are now on the correct page to make a port forward entry.
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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Enter the name of the program into the Service 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.
The protocol that you want to forward is selected from the Protocol box.
If you are just forwarding a single port number then you can simply enter that same number into both the Starting Port and the 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 Starting Port box and then enter highest number into the Ending Port box.
Enter the IP address that you want to forward these ports to in the Server IP Address box. You can enter either the IP address of your computer or the IP address of another computer or device on your network.
Click the Apply button when you are finished.
When you are finished with each entry, click the Apply button to save your work.
Your ports should now be open. It is time to test them.
Test if Your Ports are Open
Now that you have forwarded ports on the Netgear WNDR3700 you should test to see if your ports are forwarded correctly.
To test if your port has been properly forwarded, you can use our Network Utilities tool, which includes a free Open Port Checker. Our Open Port Check tool is the only online port checking tool with Guaranteed Results.
More Information
Port forwarding your Netgear WNDR3700 should be easy. If you are having problems, please use our Port Forwarding Software. Our software helps troubleshoot, diagnose, and solve your port forwarding issues.
We have more than just port forwarding guides. Check out our list of guides here.
If you are looking for guides on how to setup your router, take a look at setuprouter.com for router specific guides on how to setup your WiFi network, change the wireless channel, and much more.