You have made your PC a game server and want to play games with your friends. But your firewall is preventing your friends from accessing your PC. What can you do in this case? The best solution is to port forward on your spectrum router.
You can port forward on the spectrum router through its app or the browser on your PC. In each case, you just have to login into the router’s portal and locate the Port Forward Setting. Then, configure and set it as per your needs.
This answer seems very short for you, right? So, further, in this article, I have explained the whole process of port forwarding in detail. But, first, you need to understand why people need port forwarding.
Port Forwarding: Why Do You Need It?
Port forwarding, in simple terms, means accessing or letting someone access an application on your device from outside of a network. For instance, giving access to files of your local PC to someone else on the internet or giving the public open access to a game server on your local computer.
All network routers have a firewall, which prevents external internet visitors from accessing the local apps on your system. However, some games required unblocked two-way access to the internet. For that, you need to forward some ports for these games on your router.
Now that you have learned what port forwarding is, let’s move how you do it on a spectrum router. There are two methods, one through a Mobile Application and the second through a browser.
We will walk you through the steps in each case.
Method #1: Port Forward on Spectrum Router Through App
The first method involves the role of an Application through which you can access the router’s setting and then port forward it.
Follow these steps to get the job done.
Step #1: Install Spectrum App
First, download and install the My Spectrum app on your phone. It is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
It is offered by the developer, Charter/Spectrum, and comes with a dark blue phonebook app icon.
Step #2: Create an Account or Sign In
Next, sign up on the Spectrum portal. However, you probably will have the login credentials if you already have an online account on Spectrum.
Step #3: Get to the Advanced Setting in the App
Once you pass the login screen, Tap the “Services” tab. Under it, find the name “Router,” and select it. Then, move toward the “Advanced Settings.”
Step #4: Create the Port Assignment; Fill In Its Port Numbers and Protocol
Under the Advanced Setting, you will find the “Port Forwarding and IP Reservations” menu. Expand it, and click on “Add Port Assignment.”
Name the assignment port. It can be the name of the game or app you want to assign it to. Then, enter the external and internal port numbers. These are the port numbers that will be accessible to your particular app.
Lastly, select the protocol for the port. You can assign it UDP, TCP, or a combination of both protocols; whatever you want.
Step #5: Save
Once you fill in all the blanks, click on the checkmark and save the setting. You have successfully forwarded a port on your router.
Method #2: Port Forward on Spectrum Router Through Browser
You can also port forward the spectrum router through a browser. This method is for those who want to do it on their PC and don’t have the luxury of installing the Spectrum App.
Like the previous case, stick to the steps, and you can forward your router in minutes.
Step #1: Find Out Your Router’s Static IP Address
In order to log in to your spectrum router, you will need its static IP address. Normally, for spectrum router is 192.168.1.1.
- To find out the exact IP address, press the Windows start key.
- Type “cmd” to enter the command prompt.
- Once you see the black screen of the command prompt.
- Type “
ipconfig/all” and enter. - The address displayed in front of the default gateway is the static IP address.
Step #2: Login Into the Router’s Portal Through IP
Copy the IP address you got from the cmd, and paste it into the browser. It will take you to the login screen of the router. The default username and password are “admin” and “admin.”
Step #3: Locate the Port Forward Setting
After you log in, you will see the home screen of the router’s portal. On the left side, you will find the “Network” tab. Under the “Network” tab, find the “WAN.” Once you click “WAN,” you will see “Port Forward.”
Step #4: Configure the Port Forward Setting
Now, it’s time to configure the port forward setting, as we did in the last method. Name the ports; enter the external and internal numbers and the protocol you want to set.
Summary
Sometimes you need to allow outside traffic to access your internet. In that case, port forwarding is the only solution. I hope that the methods explained in this article will help you forward ports on the spectrum router.
