How to Setup Port Forwarding on TP-Link Router? Sep 2026
Port Forwarding is an awesome way of protecting clients and servers from unwanted access on a certain network. It’s a nifty little technique to add an extra layer of security to your network. In short, Port Forwarding keeps unwanted traffic off of your network which is ideal for gaming and other purposes.
But the question is, how do you implement Port Forwarding? Well, if you have a TP-Link router, it can be quite easy. With models such as the TP-Link TL-WR940N, you can easily install addons for various VPNs like PureVPN that support Port Forwarding.
So in this short guide, I’m going to tell you how to set up PureVPN’s Port Forwarding on TP-Link TL-WR940N and also tell if it works on TP-link AC1200 and TP-link AC1750.
What is Port Forwarding?
Port forwarding is a networking technique that allows external devices to communicate with a specific device inside a local network by directing traffic through designated ports. It involves configuring a router to listen for incoming data on specific ports and then forwarding that data to the correct internal device based on its private IP address.
This is particularly useful for services like online gaming, web hosting, and remote desktop access, where you need to expose certain applications or devices to the outside world while keeping the rest of the network secure.
To set up port forwarding, you typically log into your router’s admin panel and specify which port numbers should be forwarded to which internal IP addresses. Each device or service requiring access from outside the network is assigned a unique port, ensuring that data is sent to the right place.
Port forwarding can be essential for enabling smooth communication between external users and devices within a home or business network, but it also carries security considerations, as improperly configured port forwarding can expose devices to potential threats.
How to Set up Port Forwarding on TP-Link TL-WR940N Router?
In case you’re a bit tech-savvy, here’s how you can quickly open a port on the TP-Link TL-WR940N router. Don’t worry, we’re also going to cover the steps below in more detail in case you need a bit more help getting started with the TP-link Port Forwarding feature.
1- Start by setting up a static IP address on your device that you want to forward a port to.
2- Next, log in to your TP-Link TL-WR940N router.
3- Now you’ll need to navigate to the port forwarding section.
4- Click on the option that says “Forwarding“.
5- Next, click on “Virtual Servers“.
6- Once you’re done with that, click the “Add New” button.
7- Finally, create a port forward entry to start making the most of Port Forwarding and its perks.
That’s it, this is how easy it is to set up TP-Link Port Forwarding. Now in case, you have no idea how the above-mentioned steps work, follow the steps below which I’ve covered in more detail.
Step 1: Set up a Static IP address on your device
The first thing that you’re going to want to do is set up a static IP address on the device that you’re going to forward a port to.
Doing so will ensure that your ports don’t close once your device reboots. Since we are covering the setup for PureVPN, you can check out PureVPN’s guide to set up a static IP address on a router.
Step 2: Log in to your TP-Link router
In this step, you’ll need to log in to your TP-Link TL-WR940N router. You can use any web browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer to do this.
1- Fire up your web browser, click on the address bar, and type in your TP-Link router IP address which is also your computer’s default gateway. This address is by default set to 192.168.1.1.
2- Once you’re done entering the IP address of your router, you just need to press enter.
3- Now when the popup window appears, enter your username and password and click on the Login button. By default, both the username and password for TP-Link TL-WR940N is admin.
Step 3: Port Forwarding Section on your router
Next up, you’ll need to find the Port Forwarding section on your router. For this, follow the steps below:
1- First things first, click on the Forwarding link which you can find on the left side of the page.
2- Now you will see a new menu. From this menu, click on Virtual Servers.
3- Lastly, click on the “Add New” button which should be at the center of your page.
Step 4: Enter the port number
In the last step, you’ll need to enter the port number that you want to forward. For instance, for Xbox Live, here are the ports you can forward to:
TCP Ports: 3074
UDP Ports: 3074
1- Once you know what ports you can use for your device, enter the port that you wish to forward in the “Service Port box“.
2- Next, enter the IP address of your computer or some other computer that you wish to forward any ports to in the “IP Address box“.
3- After that, select the protocol that you wish to forward these ports to in the “Protocol box“.
4- We’re almost there. Now you’ll just need to choose “Enabled” from the Status drop-down box.
5- Finally, click the “Save” button and your ports will now be open for forwarding.
The setup process is more or less the same for other Port Forwarding routers.
How to Set up Port Forwarding on TP-Link SMB Router?
Follow these steps to set up port forwarding on your TP-Link SMB router:
- Open your browser and type the IP address of your router in the address bar. Click Enter. The default IP address is 192.168.1.1.
- Type in the username and password. The default username and password are admin.
- Now click Forwarding > Virtual Servers.
- Click the ‘Add New’ button.
- Type the service port you want to open, the IP address of your device and select the protocol (TCP, UDP, or All). Change the Status to Enabled.
- Save the settings.
Does PureVPN’s Port Forwarding Work on TP-link AC1200 and TP-link AC1750?
Although PureVPN’s Port Forwarding feature is compatible with the TP-Link TL-WR940N router, unfortunately, its not compatible with the TP-link Archer series. I contacted PureVPN’s support team and they told me that their Port Forwarding feature currently is incompatible with TP-Link AC1200, TP-Link AC1750 and other models from the Archer lineup.
Setup Port Forwarding on TP-Link Router FAQs
What is port triggering in TP-Link router?
Port triggering is a feature that is used to dynamically forward incoming traffic on a certain port to a specific server on a local network.
How to know if a TCP port is open or closed?
To check if the TCP Port is open or closed follow these steps:
- On your Windows computer, press the Windows Key and type ‘Windows Features’ in the search bar.
- Select ‘Turn Windows features on or off’.
- Now select the Telnet Client and click OK.
- Press Windows Key + R, and type ‘cmd.exe’. It will open the command prompt.
- To check the TCP port status, enter “telnet + IP address or hostname + port number” (e.g., telnet www.example.com 1723 or telnet 10.17.xxx.xxx 5000) .
- If the port is open, the screen will only show a cursor.
- If the port is closed, the message will say ‘Connect failed’.
Do routers automatically port forward?
Port forwarding and port opening (for IPv6) are mostly configured automatically between the routers and connected devices using UPnP. If you wish to select specific ports, you need to manually set them up.
Wrapping up!
So this is how easy it is to set up Port Forwarding onthe TP-Link TL-WR940N router. I’ve personally used Port Forwarding for gaming and it works amazingly well. Do give it a try and I’m sure you’re not going to regret it.
