If you didn’t know, Minecraft is a highly popular open-world, survival, and adventure game. Minecraft is one of the few titles still going strong in the age of realistic graphics, based on pure gameplay since 2011. Since it’s open-world, users can create immersive worlds.
This blog will share how you can invite your friends to your Minecraft server, which involves port forwarding Minecraft on Spectrum and getting a Static/Dedicated IP.
For those things to happen, you first need to set up a Minecraft server. If you have already done that, read on, or go to the blog’s bottom.
You need 3 things prior to Port Forwarding Minecraft on Spectrum
- Access to Spectrum router webpage
- Public IP (Static IP/Dedicated IP)
- Minecraft Port number for your preferred device
If you have the above then you will not face any issue Port Forwarding Minecraft on Spectrum, if not then keep reading to understand how you can get them.
Understanding Port Forwarding
Computers use ports to send and receive traffic on the internet. TCP (Transfer Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) use ports for communication. Operating systems have several ports that applications can specify to communicate with web servers.
In total, there are 65,535 virtual ports available for network communication. Some applications have selected which port they will use; HTTP traffic uses port 80, while HTTPS traffic uses port 443, for example.
For security reasons, the firewall managing inbound and outbound traffic may restrict communication from an external network.
Which Ports To Use
Use the following ports on your gaming consoles and PC for optimum results.
Xbox One
Protocol TCP: 3074
Protocol UDP: 88, 500, 3074, 3544, 4500, 1935, 3478-3480
PC
Protocol TCP: 25565
Protocol UDP: 19132- 19133, 25565
Xbox 360
Protocol TCP: 3074
Protocol UDP: 88, 3074
PlayStation 3
Protocol TCP: 3478-3480, 5223, 8080
Protocol UDP: 3074, 3478-3479, 3658
How to Port Forward Minecraft on Spectrum
Port forwarding on Spectrum can prove challenging for a beginner. Thus, the following is a step-by-step guideline:
- On the left of your screen, click on the Network tab.
- Find the WAN link and click on it.
- Click the Port Forward tab on top of your screen.
You need a Minecraft account to connect to the server and play. Forward port 25565 (the default Minecraft port) within your router to your server’s internal IP address.
Keep in mind which Spectrum router you have installed at your end, for details check out this blog, for how to Port Forward Spectrum routers.
Things to Know Before You Port Forward Minecraft on Spectrum
Here are all the things and info you need before you can initiate Minecraft Port Forwarding:
- Your router’s IP Address.
- Your PC/Gaming console’s IP Address (Read our PS4 and Xbox One Port Forwarding guides to learn how to find these out).
- The TCP/UDP ports that need to be forwarded.
How to Find Your Spectrum Router’s IP Address
Finding your Spectrum router’s IP address is a matter of minutes. Here’s how:
- Open Command Prompt.
- Type in “ipconfig”.
- You’ll see your router’s IP Address next to Default Gateway.
Minecraft Port Forwarding on Spectrum Made Easy
The process of Forwarding your Ports is straightforward. All you need to know are the correct IP addresses and where to put them. Here’s the entire process:
- Log in to your Spectrum router via any web browser (explained below).
- Find the Port Forwarding section (explained below).
- Add the IP address (Public IP) of your PC or gaming console in the relevant box (explained below).
- Insert the TCP and UDP ports for the game in the matching boxes. (Scroll down to find out which ports to use).
- Reboot your router for these changes to take effect.
How to Port Forward on Spectrum Routers
To open ports on your Spectrum router, you will follow the steps below:
- Set up a static IP address to the device you are performing port forwarding for (such as your console)
- Log in to your router
- Navigate to the Port Forwarding section on your Spectrum router
- Create a port forward entry and test your ports to check whether they are open.
Setting Up a Static IP Address
An IP address is a special number that identifies devices within your network. This address can be public or private. The public IP address is what the rest of the world uses to see you on the internet.
Your internet service provider (ISP) will assign your router a public IP address, while your router will assign a private or internal IP address to the devices connecting to it.
The private IP is strictly for private use and cannot be routed over the internet. It identifies the devices within your network and comprises a series of four numbers separated by periods in between.
An IP address can also be static or dynamic. A static IP address does not change, while a dynamic IP address will change in case of a power outage, if the other device disconnects, or if your device reboots. The changing nature of the dynamic IP address makes it unsuitable for port forwarding, as it will break the port forwarding process.
Thus, for successful port forwarding, you will need a static IP address of your device. If you use a static IP address rather than the dynamic IP address, you will eliminate downtime. This is because a dynamic address will obtain a new address in the case of the above scenarios.
Obtaining a new address means that all connected users will be removed from the current connection and will have to wait for a new one. In the process, a lot of time is wasted, causing frustrations.
Thus, to deal with this problem, we will guide you on how you can set up this address. Depending on your console, the process of setting a static IP address may vary. If you are using Windows, you can set up this address using the Command Prompt as follows:
- Click the Windows Start icon on your PC or press the Windows key on your keyboard. This action will open the Windows Search bar, and on the Search field, type cmd, then press Enter. Alternatively, you can double-click the Command Prompt app to open it.
- On the open Command Prompt window, type ipconfig/all, then press Enter.
- You will see your router’s IP address next to the Default Gateway title.
Log in to your Spectrum Router
The Spectrum router features a web interface. This means that to log in to this router and access its setup page, you will need a web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. Follow the steps below to log in:
- Find the Address bar on your chosen browser, enter your Spectrum router IP address, and press Enter. This action will open a window prompting you to log in with your credentials.
- Enter your Spectrum router’s default credentials to log in or your updated credentials if you had not changed them in the past. You can search for the default Spectrum usernames and passwords depending on your router model. If you have forgotten your credentials and cannot log in after trying different password combinations, you will need to do a hard reset. However, a hard reset should be the last resort as your router settings will go back to default, losing all your saved information.
Learn More: How to Find Any Router IP Address
How to Assign a Static IP to Your Console
To assign a static IP address to your console for successful port forwarding, follow the steps below:
- Log in to your router;
- Scroll to the DHCP section under the Advanced Networking section;
- Hit the + (plus) sign;
- Find a device matching the mac address that you want to reserve;
- Specify an IP address you can easily remember or save the one currently assigned. This address is your new IP; address and your router will assign it a static IP address each time you power on the device.
Finding the Port Forwarding Section
Once logged in to your router, you will be on its home page. From this page, you can navigate to the Port Forwarding or Port Triggering section by following the steps below:
- Click the Network tab on the left of the screen;
- Find the WAN link on the left of your screen and click it;
- You will see the Port Forwarding section at the top of your screen.
How to Open Ports on your Spectrum Router
Now that you have your Spectrum router IP address, you can create a port forward entry. Port forwarding your Spectrum router bypasses the firewall limitations and allows incoming requests from the internet into your home network. To port forward your Spectrum router, follow the steps below:
- Enter a name for this port forward entry in the Services box. This name does not affect the configuration. Instead, it acts as a reminder of why you set up this port forward entry.
- On the Public IP dropdown box, select your external IP address.
- Enter the port numbers in the Port Range boxes. If you are forwarding a single port number, you will enter this number on the Port Range box. However, if you are forwarding a range of ports, you will enter the lowest number in the range in the Port Range box, followed by a hyphen and the highest number.
- In the Local IP box, enter the IP address that you are forwarding the ports to. This address could be that of your PC or any other device on your network that you are forwarding the ports to.
- Leave the Local Port box blank.
- Select the Protocol in the Protocol dropdown. If your router has the Both protocol, select this Protocol, and, in this case, you will need to create one port forward entry. On the other hand, if your router lacks this protocol, you will select either TCP or UDP. In the case of the UDP and TCP protocols, then you will need to create two entries.
- Click the Apply tab at the bottom of the page to effect these changes once done with this setup.
- Test your ports to check whether they opened successfully.
Minecraft Port Forwarding on Spectrum Made Easy
The process of Forwarding your Ports is straightforward. All you need to know are the correct IP addresses and where to put them. Here’s the entire process:
- Log in to your Spectrum router via any web browser.
- Find the Port Forwarding section.
- Add the IP address (Public IP) of your PC or gaming console in the relevant box.
- Insert the TCP and UDP ports for the game in the matching boxes. (Scroll down to find out which ports to use).
- Reboot your router for these changes to take effect.
Now here comes the main problem, the IP assigned to you will be most likely a private IP by Spectrum, for this you need to specifically ask for a Static IP or Dedicated IP.
Why does Spectrum provides a private IP instead of public IP, because like many ISPs Spectrum uses NAT or CGNAT.
What is CGNAT?
CGNAT stands for Carrier Grade Network Address Translation. Most ISPs, including Starlink, use CGNAT to conserve their IPv4 pool. The IPv4 protocol only supports 4 billion IP addresses. ISPs perform CGNAT to assign a single IP address to multiple users, saving their already depleted IP pool.
Let me know if this blog was helpful or not, or comment if you’re stuck in anything else