The Router is the device that is responsible for forwarding the data packets from your computer between different networks, usually a local or LAN and an external one with a WAN port that you can use, for example, to connect to ADSL or fiber and from there to the Internet. Come on, that the data of your local network, like that of your computer, are sent by the Router to the devices or servers of the websites you want to visit.

When you connect to a web page using a dell server, another external device, or any service with its server, an exchange of data occurs between this server and your computer. The device that controls this traffic, the one that acts as a messenger between you and the webserver to which you connect, is the Router.

When sending data from your local network to the external one, your Router uses a series of channels or ports in which the content you send is organized. These are the ports, and as if they were ship ports, they are like doors that you open and close and through which the information you send or receive on Your network passes.

How To Open The Ports Of Your Router

The first step in opening the ports on your Router is knowing your private IP address. There are several methods to find out, from pages like See my IP or WhatsMyIP.com to the IPCONFIG command of the Windows console, going through the network configuration of your operating system (Configuration -> Network and Internet -> See the properties of the network in Windows 10).

Router Session

Next, go into your Router’s configuration using the IP addresses 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1, and log in with your administrator account. The steps that we are going to take next depend on each Router. In the example shots, we are going to use the configurator of the ZTE F680.

Add App

Once inside the router configuration, in the case of our F680, you must click on the Application List section of the Network section (1). Once inside, click on Click here to add an application (2) since it can add applications and open the necessary ports. On other routers, you may have to look for a Nat section, another related to network, or directly for a menu that mentions ports.

Put exception

And then, in the case of the ZTE F680, you only have to write the name of the application and write the ports you want to open, some data that should be provided by the application you are running. In other routers, you may have to write your IP. Hence, we recommended you write it down at the beginning.

Automatically Open Ports

Some routers also have another method of opening ports automatically. This is the UPnP or Universal Plug and Play function, which is responsible for automatically opening and closing the ports that are being used.

This greatly facilitates the process and prevents you from opening the ports manually, since when the Router detects that an application is trying to access a port, even if it has not been configured correctly in its configuration, the Router will open and return it. To close automatically after when it has not been used for a while.