How to open firewall ports in Windows 10 [Step-by-step guide]

If you’re looking for a simple solution for opening firewall ports in Windows 10, you’ll find all the necessary details in this article.

Opening Firewall ports allows apps and programs to communicate with the network. So, if some of your apps and programs fail to launch, opening firewall ports is one of the first troubleshooting solutions that you can use.

How do I open a port on my firewall?

Users can manually allow a program to get access to the Internet by opening a firewall port. All you need to know is what port it uses and the protocol to make this function.

1. Go to Control Panel> System and Security > Windows Firewall.
2. Go to Advanced settings
3. Right-click Inbound Rules > select New Rule.
4. Add the port you want to open > click Next.
5. Add the TCP or UDP protocol and the port number into the next window > click Next.
6. Select Allow the connection > hit Next.
7. Select the network type > click Next.
8. Name the rule > click Finish.

These are all the necessary steps for opening a port in Windows 10. Remember that you can also use this method for blocking programs or ports.

Why should I use a Firewall on my PC?

Firewalls are targeted at protecting your network from various threats coming from outside and trying to get in or threats coming from inside trying to get out. A threat does this by blocking network-enabled ports.

Every time a program tries to communicate through this port, the firewall verifies its database rules to check if it is allowed or not. If it doesn’t know, it will ask the user and that’s why you sometimes see a prompt asking you if a certain program is allowed or not to access the Internet.

A firewall is an essential issue regarding computing and every PC must have one installed. This is the reason for which Windows has a firewall bundled and active as standard.

Windows firewall must occasionally be told to allow a program communicate with the network and this is the point where opening ports step into the picture.

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How to Open a Port on Windows Firewall

By Bryan Clark 13 June 2019

Firewall is an essential security feature for any PC that works alongside antivirus software to shield your computer from worms and hackers. But sometimes a program has to communicate with an outside network, which requires you to open an inbound or an outbound port. Windows Firewall wizard allows you to create rules against which it checks permissions for a program to communicate over a specific port.

Once these rules are created, you’ve essentially whitelisted this application from triggering your firewall — so long as it’s connecting to this port. Here are a handful of fairly simple steps to follow in order to use this feature.

How to open a port on Windows Firewall

Type Firewall in the search box on the taskbar, clicking the Windows Defender Firewall to open it.

2. Click Advanced Settings from the left sidebar in the next window.

3. In the left pane, click Inbound Rule.

4. In the right pane, click New Rule.

5. Select Port under What type of rule would you like to create?

6. Click Next.

7. Type a port number for Specific local ports.

8. Click Next.

9. Select Allow the connection.

10. Click Next.

11. Select any network type you are OK to allow the connection over.

12. Click Next.

13. Type a name for the rule.

How to open port in Windows 10 Firewall?

Original Title: Open port in the windows 10 firewall?

How do you open a port in the windows 10 firewall?

I tried to search here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/search?query=open%20a%20port%20in%20the%20firewall but this thing returns answers that link you here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/products/windows?os=windows-10 it seems no matter what I click on the answer is https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/products/windows?os=windows-10

THEN I come here try to ask and I get a popup trying to FORCE more useless answers on me.

I clicked on the help in the firewall program and it takes me here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/products/windows?os=windows-10 its like a giant cycle of stupidity.

Sorry if I sound harsh but Microsoft used up all my patients first with the firewall with no help (what if I was off line Microsoft then what) then even more patients trying to SIGN IN to these forums with more security hoops than Hillary’s email server.

I Googled for windows 10 firewall help but none of the instructions come close to matching what I am seeing in my firewall.

Last question, with security being a high priority why isn’t the firewall INTUITIVE to the point where a user never even needs to click on the «Help» button? I am to the point of just turning the firewall off and leaving it off taking my chances with it open.

The good people at Microsoft, the engineers and software writers REALLY needs to Google (NOT BING) Gufw Firewall then they will understand my current demeanor.

Thanks in advance.

FYI I just picked the top one on the list of «Windows Topics» a moderator who knows this place can move this topic if its in the wrong place none of the choices made any sense to me.

Replies (5) 

Follow the steps below and check if you are able to open a portal in Firewall on the computer.

1. Press Windows logo + X keys on the keyboard and select Control panel from the context menu.
2. Select System and Security from the options and click on Windows Firewall from right side panel of the window.
3. Click on Advanced settings and select Inbound Rules from left side panel of the window.
4. Click on New Rule under Actions tab from right side panel and select Port radio button from the window.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions and check if the changes are effective.

Write to us with the status of opening port in the Windows 10 Firewall on the computer in the same post for further assistance. Your reply is most important for us to ensure we assist you accordingly.

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Thanks for the reply but too late after my experience with Windows 8 and now the UN-intuitive Windows 10 I have decided to focus my efforts on learning Linux Mint 18. We are done with Windows products in this home.

FYI we installed Linux Mint 18 on our laptop that we made the mistake of upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 FOR FREE now it runs 10x faster and even has a intuitive firewall that is not hidden or buried some place where you have to perform 19 maneuvers to access.

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Followed directions, but port still will not open (port 8000).

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You can manually permit a program to access the internet by opening a firewall port. You will need to know what port it uses and the protocol to make this work. Let’s follow these steps to open ports in Windows 10 firewall:

1. Navigate to Control Panel, System and Security and Windows Firewall.
2. Select Advanced settings and highlight Inbound Rules in the left pane.
3. Right click Inbound Rules and select New Rule.
4. Add the port you need to open and click Next.
5. Add the protocol (TCP or UDP) and the port number into the next window and click Next.
6. Select Allow the connection in the next window and hit Next.
7. Select the network type as you see fit and click Next.
8. Name the rule something meaningful and click Finish.

Let us know if you need any other assistance.

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How To Open Firewall Ports In Windows 10

By Nathaniel Mott 02 February 2018

This tutorial was written by Tom’s Hardware Community member JamieKavanagh. You can find a list of all their tutorials here.

A firewall is an essential aspect of computing and no PC should ever be without one. That’s why Windows has one bundled and active as standard. Windows Firewall occasionally has to be told to let a program communicate with the network, which is where opening ports comes in. If you want to open firewall ports in Windows 10, here’s how you do it.

Firewalls are designed to protect a network from threats. Either threats from the outside trying to get in or threats from the inside trying to get out. It does this by blocking network-enabled ports. Every time a program tries to communicate through this port, the firewall checks its database of rules to see if it is allowed or not. If it doesn’t know, it asks you, which is why you sometimes see prompts asking you if a particular program is permitted to access the internet.

Open firewall ports in Windows 10
You can manually permit a program to access the internet by opening a firewall port. You will need to know what port it uses and the protocol to make this work.

1. Navigate to Control Panel, System and Security and Windows Firewall.
2. Select Advanced settings and highlight Inbound Rules in the left pane.
3. Right click Inbound Rules and select New Rule.
4. Add the port you need to open and click Next.
5. Add the protocol (TCP or UDP) and the port number into the next window and click Next.
6. Select Allow the connection in the next window and hit Next.
7. Select the network type as you see fit and click Next.
8. Name the rule something meaningful and click Finish.

You have now opened a firewall port in Windows 10!

Open Port in Windows Firewall in Windows 10

Windows Defender Firewall is a great feature in modern Windows versions. It was introduced in Windows XP and improved in Windows XP Service Pack 2. In Windows 10, it is part of the Windows Security app (formerly Windows Defender Security Center). Today, we will see how to open a port in Windows Firewall in Windows 10 for an app or a service.

In Windows 10, Windows Firewall is based completely on the Windows Filtering Platform API and has IPsec integrated with it. This is true since Windows Vista where the firewall added outbound connection blocking and also comes with an advanced Control Panel called Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. It gives fine-grained control over configuring the firewall. The Windows Firewall supports multiple active profiles, co-existence with third-party firewalls, and rules based on port ranges and protocols.

You may have an app (e.g a local FTP server) which requires a port(s) to be open so other computers on your network can connect to it.

Before you open or close ports in the Windows Firewall, ensure that you are signed in as an administrator.

To open a port in Windows Firewall in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Open Windows Security.
2. Click on the icon Firewall & network protection.
3. On the next page, click on the link Advanced settings.
4. Click on Inbound Rules on the left.
5. On the right, click on the New Rule link.
6. Select Port as the rule type and click Next.
7. Fill in the Specific local ports box. Type there the required port number or a range of ports. Set the required network protocol (TCP or UDP) and click Next.
8. On the next page, select the option Allow the connection. Click Next.
9. Select the Windows Firewall profile the new rule should apply to. E.g. leaving the Private profile enabled and disabling others will make your app available only on home networks.
10. On the next page, provide some meaningful description for your firewall rule. Click on the Finish button.

Voila, you have opened the inbound port in Windows 10 Firewall.

The same can be done for an outbound port if it is required by your app. In Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, click on the Outbound Rules instead of Inbound Rules and follow the wizard.

Finally, to close the opened port, remove the rule or just disable it.

The change will take effect instantly.

There are a couple alternative methods you can use to open a port in Windows 10. Let’s review them.

Open a port using netsh

Netsh is a console utility which allows changing a lot of network related parameters. Here are just a few examples of what you can do with netsh:

To open a port using netsh, do the following.

1. Open an elevated command prompt.
2. Type the following command: netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name=»TCP Port 6624″ dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=6624 . Modify the appropriate values to match your app, e.g. the port number, the rule name, the protocol (TCP or UDP).
3. To delete the rule, execute the command as follows. netsh advfirewall firewall delete rule name=»TCP Port 6624″ protocol=TCP localport=6624 .

Open a port using PowerShell

PowerShell is an advanced form of command prompt. It is extended with a huge set of ready-to-use cmdlets and comes with the ability to use .NET framework/C# in various scenarios. You can use it to open or close a port in Windows 10.

There is a special cmdlet New-NetFirewallRule that can be used to open or block a network port in Windows 10.

To open a port with PowerShell,

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About Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer from Russia who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.