This goes over the port forwarding process for Parsec specifically. Note that this is time-consuming and there's room for error, you should probably only do this if you know what you're doing. You should also only have to do this if Parsec cannot negotiate your connection, and you are getting error -6023.
Before trying to port forward, check the -6023 article to ensure you don't have a double NAT or carrier-grade NAT, as those will prevent port forwarding from working on your network. Keep in mind this can be done on both the host and client, whichever one does not have a double NAT or carrier-grade NAT.
Getting info about your network
- Press Windows key + R, type
cmd /k ipconfig /alland press Enter - Take note of the Physical Address, IPv4 Address and Default Gateway, all shown in the result here. These three things will be used throughout the tutorial
Accessing the router settings
- Type your Default Gateway into your browser's address bar and press Enter
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Enter the user and password. Google for the default login info for your specific router model if you don't know the correct one. Keep in mind someone may have changed it on your router
Checking UPnP is activated
Search through the router's menus for UPnP (Universal Plug and Play). This feature automatically sets up port forwarding for you, and in case it's turned off, you can try turning it on and testing Parsec again. If turning it on does not fix anything, or it was already turned on, proceed with manual port forwarding below.
Setting up address reservation
It's important to do this before port forwarding because you need your computer's private IP to always be the same. If you don't set this up, eventually the port will redirect to some other computer in your network, not yours.
Search through the router's menus for DHCP, Address Reservation, IP Binding or Static Lease. When you find the right place, you may see fields with names similar to the ones below. To add a new address, you might need to click Add or something similar. These options may look a bit different from router to router.
- IP Address or Reserved/Ipv4/Assigned Address: Set to your IPv4 Address
- MAC Address or Physical Address: Set to your Physical Address
- Name or Description: Put whatever you want or leave it blank
After that, click a button to save and apply your changes, and reboot your router.
Setting up port forwarding
Search through the router's menus for Port Range Forwarding, Port Forwarding, Virtual Servers, or similar. When you find it, you may see fields with names similar to the ones below (to make a new one, you might need to click Add, or something similar). These options may look quite different from router to router.
- IP Address, Local IP or Internal IP: Set to your IPv4 Address
- External IP: Leave it blank or unaltered
- Protocol: Set to UDP or All / Both
- External Port, Service Port or Start/End Port:
- If you're the client, we recommend setting to port 9000
- If you're the host, we recommend setting to port 8000 to 8010 - Each additional port allows for an additional person to join the host, you can increase or lower the number of ports from 8010 at your discretion. If you can't set a range of numbers on this router (or aren't sure how), create a separate rule for each number (see image below for reference)
- If you plan to use Parsec on this computer as both a client and host, do these steps twice; once for port 9000, and again for ports 8000
- Internal Port or Internal Start/End Port: Set it to the same port as above
- Name: Put whatever you want or leave it blank
After that, click a button to save and apply your changes.
Changing Parsec's network settings
After tweaking the router settings, open Parsec and go to the Network tab in the settings.
- Client Port: If you configured a port for the client in the router, add the port here (9000 if using our recommended port)
- Host Port: If you configured the ports for the host in the router, add the starting port here (8000 if using our recommended port)
Once these changes have been made, click the Restart button at the top of the settings.