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Actiontec C1000A Port Forwarding Instructions

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Setup Router Staff
(Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 3 minutes

This page will show you how to setup a port forward on the Actiontec C1000A router.

Use a VPN Instead

Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.

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  • Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
  • Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
  • Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.

This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.

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Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.

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If you are not sure what port forwarding is you can read our What is Port Forwarding guide to help get started.

Other Actiontec C1000A Guides

This is the port forwarding guide for the Actiontec C1000A CenturyLink. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Configure your Computer to Have a Static IP Address

Port forwarding the Actiontec C1000A to your computer can be more reliable if you first configure a static IP address on your computer. We have instructions to setup a static IP address for Windows 7, Windows 8, and a variety of other devices on our Static IP Address Settings page.

Please note that while setting up a static IP address on your computer is optional, it is still a very good idea to go ahead and do it. In the long run it will make your port forward much more reliable.

Login To The Actiontec C1000A

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To get started forwarding a port you need to login to your Actiontec C1000A router. If you are already logged in you can skip this step.

To login to the Actiontec C1000A, follow our Actiontec C1000A Login Guide.

Forward a Port on the Actiontec C1000A router

Find The Port Forwarding Section of the Actiontec C1000A

router status mac address internet IP
This is the status page from your Actiontec C1000A router.

Once you have logged into the Actiontec C1000A CenturyLink you begin on the Home page of this router. Click the choice on the far right labeled Advanced Setup, it is in red.

A new page comes up with choices on the left in a side bar find the heading of Security and under this click the choice labeled Port Forwarding.

Configure the Port Forwarding section of your Actiontec C1000A

Now to forward a port, make the following changes:

port forwarding nat screenshot
This is the port forwarding page from your Actiontec C1000A router.

Step one, in the drop down menu labeled Select Device choose Manually Enter IP Address. In the next box, labeled Enter IP Address enter the IP Address you are forwarding the ports to. If you are forwarding ports so you can run a program on your computer be sure and use your computer's IP Address here.

Step two, if you are forwarding a single port then enter that number in both boxes, Starting Port and Ending Port. If you are forwarding more than one, then enter the lowest number in that range in the box labeled Starting Port and the highest number in the range in the Ending Port box.

Step three, use the Protocol drop down menu to choose the type of protocol you wish to use.

Step four, check the dot labeled All IP Addresses.

Step five, click the Apply button. Congratulations you are done!

Test if Your Ports are Open

Now that you have forwarded ports on the Actiontec C1000A you should test to see if your ports are forwarded correctly.

To test if your ports are forwarded you should use our Open Port Check tool.

Other Actiontec C1000A Info

Don't forget about our other Actiontec C1000A info that you might be interested in.

This is the port forwarding guide for the Actiontec C1000A CenturyLink. We also have the following guides for the same router: