Your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router has a basic firewall that helps protect your network from unwanted Internet activity. The firewall does this by blocking unauthorized connections to and from your network. There are online games and other programs that work much better if you allow additional connections through the firewall. This process is called a port forward.
In this guide I will show you how to properly open ports on the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router. The steps I will be walking you through are:
- How to setup a static IP address on the device you plan on forwarding these ports to.
- How to login to the TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router web interface.
- How to find the port forwarding page in the router's web interface.
- How to setup a port forward for the online game or program of your choice.
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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.
TIP: Write this static IP address down. You need it in Step 4.
Step 2
Now we are going to login to your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router. Your router has a web interface, so you will login to it using your web browser. This can be either Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Edge. It usually does not matter which browser you choose to use.
Open up your web browser and find the address bar. It should look something 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 TP-Link TL-WDR4300 IP Address is: 192.168.1.1
After entering the IP address of your router you can simply press enter. If everything was correct then you will see a login screen:
If you did not get any kind of login screen you need to find out if the IP address was correct. To do this follow the instructions on our How To Find Your Router's IP Address guide.
You should see a box prompting you for your username and password.
- The Default TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Username is: admin
- The Default TP-Link TL-WDR4300 Router Password is: password
Go ahead and enter the login username and password and click the OK button to login to your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router.
TP-Link Usernames and Passwords
If your username and password do not work then please visit our Default TP-Link Router Passwords page.
You can try and guess what the login username and password were changed to. Use our Find Password App
If you still can't login to your router because you forgot your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router username and password, use our How to Reset a Router Password guide to set your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router back to its factory settings.
Step 3
Now we need to find the port forwarding section in your router. Here's how you do it. Starting from the Status page of your router interface:
Begin by clicking the Forwarding option in the left sidebar.
A new set of options appears below that. Pick Virtual Servers.
Looking in the center section of the page, click Add New.
You are now on the correct page to make a port forward.
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 port to forward into the Service Port box.
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.
The protocol that you want to forward is selected from the Protocol box.
Use the Status dropdown box to choose Enabled.
When you are done click the Save button.
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 TP-Link TL-WDR4300 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 Info...
Check out our other guides. We have a growing list of free gaming, networking, and software guides here at portforward.com.
Our other site setuprouter.com can help you setup a secure home network with your exact router.
