How Do I Add A Custom Port Forwarding Service On My NETGEAR ...

By default, the firewall of your NETGEAR router blocks all incoming connection attempts by devices on the Internet to devices in your local network. If you want devices on the Internet to connect to devices on your local network, you can set up your router with port forwarding rules to do so. For more information, see What is port forwarding?

The router uses port forwarding rules to forward incoming traffic with specific protocols to devices on your local network. For example, you might want to make a local web server, FTP server, or game server visible and available to the Internet. You can specify the servers for applications and you can also specify a default DMZ server to which the router forwards all other incoming protocols.

Your NETGEAR router supports many services without the need to add a custom port forwarding service. For more information, see How do I set up port forwarding to a local server on my NETGEAR router?

If the service that you want to set up is not included in the default settings, you can set up custom port forwarding rules from your router's web interface.

To add a custom port forwarding service on your NETGEAR router:

1. Determine which port number or range of numbers the application uses. You can usually find this information by contacting the publisher of the application or user groups or news groups.
2. Launch a web browser from a device that is connected to your router's network.
3. Enter www.routerlogin.net. A login window displays.
4. Enter your user name and password. The user name is admin. The password is the one that you specified the first time that you logged in. The user name and password are case-sensitive. The BASIC Home page or Dashboard displays.
5. Select ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > Port Forwarding/Port Triggering.
6. Ensure that the Port Forwarding radio button is selected as the service type.
7. Click the Add Custom Service button.
8. In the Service Name field, enter a descriptive name.
9. In the Service Type field, select a protocol. If you are unsure, select TCP/UDP.
10. In the External Starting Port field, enter the beginning port number. If the application uses a single port, enter the same port number in the Ending Port field. If the application uses a range of ports, enter the ending port number of the range in the External Ending Port field.
11. Specify the internal ports by one of these methods:
    • Leave the Use the same port range for Internal port check box selected.
    • Type the port numbers in the Internal Starting Port and Internal Ending Port fields.
12. Type the IP address in the Internal IP address field or select the radio button for an attached device listed in the table.
13. Click the Apply button. The service is now in the list on the Port Forwarding/Port Triggering page.

If you create more than one port forwarding rule, the order that they appear on the screen matters. Each inbound packet is checked against the top rule first, followed by the second-from-top, and so on until a rule that matches the packet characteristics is found. This means that if, for example, the top rule forwards all packets to server A, and a later rule forwards some packets to server B, all packets will get forwarded to server A and none to server B.

For more information:

• How do I edit a port forwarding service entry on my NETGEAR router?
• How do I delete a port forwarding service entry on my NETGEAR router?

Last Updated:07/07/2025 | Article ID: 24290 Was this article helpful? Yes No