[SOLVED] Port Forwarding not working to make game server. Need help.

[electraraven]

Hello I am new here and in desperate need of someone to help me. I have been trying to resolve this issue for 3 days now. I don't know much about this kinda thing so please bear with me.
I am trying to make a private server for me and a friend on a game called Dark and Light.
The problem is my ports won't open. I have contacted my ISP which is ATT&T Uverse, and they helped me set up the ports for the game, saying they were open on their end.
But when I checked using some online port checkers, it says they are still closed, and my server just won't show up saying 'not responding' in Steam.
I noticed something else that could be the problem. When I google what my ip is, it shows my public IP address is different from my router's address. It starts with 99, while my internal one from the router starts with 192.
I'm also using an Acer laptop.
I did research, and do I need to create a static ip, or do something else?

 

[kanewolf]

Hello I am new here and in desperate need of someone to help me. I have been trying to resolve this issue for 3 days now. I don't know much about this kinda thing so please bear with me.
I am trying to make a private server for me and a friend on a game called Dark and Light.
The problem is my ports won't open. I have contacted my ISP which is ATT&T Uverse, and they helped me set up the ports for the game, saying they were open on their end.
But when I checked using some online port checkers, it says they are still closed, and my server just won't show up saying 'not responding' in Steam.
I noticed something else that could be the problem. When I google what my ip is, it shows my public IP address is different from my router's address. It starts with 99, while my internal one from the router starts with 192.
I'm also using an Acer laptop.
I did research, and do I need to create a static ip, or do something else?

You need to compare the public IP to what is listed in the router as the WAN IP. If the WAN IP in the router is a 192. They you have a double NAT situation.

 

[electraraven]

Strange cuz I only have 1 router?
Okay so...I went to my router online and I'm not 100% sure where to find it as it dousn't exactly say WAN, but I checked the Broadband IPv4 Address and its the same as my public one. MAC address is letters and numbers like 2c.
checked in Device list says IPv4 address starts with 192.
Checked under Home Network Status> Device IPv4 address it also starts with 192. which it says is the LAN side of the device.
My apologies I have little knowledge of this type of thing so kinda its confusing...but in the case that I do have a double NAT, is there a solution for it?

Edit: before I got my own ISP, I borrowed my nieghbor's wifi but it was bad so i disconnected...couldn't be possible im still connected to hers.

 

[kanewolf]

Strange cuz I only have 1 router?
Okay so...I went to my router online and I'm not 100% sure where to find it as it dousn't exactly say WAN, but I checked the Broadband IPv4 Address and its the same as my public one. MAC address is letters and numbers like 2c.
checked in Device list says IPv4 address starts with 192.
Checked under Home Network Status> Device IPv4 address it also starts with 192. which it says is the LAN side of the device.
My apologies I have little knowledge of this type of thing so kinda its confusing...but in the case that I do have a double NAT, is there a solution for it?

Edit: before I got my own ISP, I borrowed my nieghbor's wifi but it was bad so i disconnected...couldn't be possible im still connected to hers.

OK, your "broadband IPv4" address is your WAN address. That means you should be able to port forward.
The 192 addresses are LAN addresses. You use that when port forwarding.
Based on this -- https://portforward.com/dark-and-light/ There are a lot of ports you need to forward to support that game.

 

[electraraven]

Okay so I don't have a double NAT problem then...so then why won't the ports open? ATT&T already set up the port forwarding for me. I did it once myself but it didn't work. Here is how it looks right now:
https://postimg.cc/mz4h7BzH
I go to the Port checker online and it shows me this, not just this one but all of them say its closed:
https://postimg.cc/fk192n9J
This is supposed DNL Server running, with more text appearing after a few minutes, but it just stays like that, and when I view my server in steam it says its not responding, or when I check the LAN tab it says there are no servers running on your local network.
https://postimg.cc/H8LgDsPX
I'm not sure if its my pc, ISP router or the game itself at this point. Or maybe I set up something wrong the last time...maybe I need to try opening ALL the ports from that site you showed me in my router?

 

[kanewolf]

Okay so I don't have a double NAT problem then...so then why won't the ports open? ATT&T already set up the port forwarding for me. I did it once myself but it didn't work. Here is how it looks right now:
https://postimg.cc/mz4h7BzH
I go to the Port checker online and it shows me this, not just this one but all of them say its closed:
https://postimg.cc/fk192n9J
This is supposed DNL Server running, with more text appearing after a few minutes, but it just stays like that, and when I view my server in steam it says its not responding, or when I check the LAN tab it says there are no servers running on your local network.
https://postimg.cc/H8LgDsPX
I'm not sure if its my pc, ISP router or the game itself at this point. Or maybe I set up something wrong the last time...maybe I need to try opening ALL the ports from that site you showed me in my router?

What I don't see on the AT&T screen show is where those open ports are supposed to forwarded to. I see the ports listed. But I don't see a rule that says "If you get a packet on port 7777 send it to 192.168.1.99 port 7777 . For port FORWARDING to work the router has to have rules that tell it what to do with the packets. Not just holes opened in the firewall that allows the packet in.

 

[electraraven]

I see...well I looked again, and perhaps showing you this might help, since it mentions packet rules...
https://postimg.cc/Ff5DtfdJ
I already contacting my ISP a second time on online chat. They adjusted some settings and said it would work in 15-20 min. Its already been pass that time, and nothing has changed. So I did some more looking around, checked their forum. My router is type BGW210, and apparently a ton of people are having issues with Port Forwarding this type of router with AT&T. Some suggest trying to turn on IP Passthrough, not sure if that would work.Mine is off it seems.
https://postimg.cc/c6RWPYvf
I'm at my wits end with this, and sorry for all this trouble. One would think this would be simple to do. Idk if getting a new router would work, or if I want to go through that process.

Edit: Forgot. Here is another image that could help...
https://postimg.cc/nXJJHGWH

 

[kanewolf]

I see...well I looked again, and perhaps showing you this might help, since it mentions packet rules...
https://postimg.cc/Ff5DtfdJ
I already contacting my ISP a second time on online chat. They adjusted some settings and said it would work in 15-20 min. Its already been pass that time, and nothing has changed. So I did some more looking around, checked their forum. My router is type BGW210, and apparently a ton of people are having issues with Port Forwarding this type of router with AT&T. Some suggest trying to turn on IP Passthrough, not sure if that would work.Mine is off it seems.
https://postimg.cc/c6RWPYvf
I'm at my wits end with this, and sorry for all this trouble. One would think this would be simple to do. Idk if getting a new router would work, or if I want to go through that process.

Edit: Forgot. Here is another image that could help...
https://postimg.cc/nXJJHGWH

I can't find any screen shots that look like your router. I don't have that device. I don't know how to setup when there is no place to tell the router what to do with the traffic. Sorry I can't help.

 

[electraraven]

Its alright, thank you for trying. I think its packet filter rules that tell the router where to direct the traffic. I might have found a youtube video that can help. Also can try IP Passthrough, or simply getting a different router from AT&T.

Last question, an idea I have and I googled it and might solve my problem. What if I buy a Netgear router, and hook it up to my AT&T one? I read something called 'bridging'. Could it be possible I can use the Netgear router for Port Forwarding instead of my ISP's router? I just hope I don't cause a double NAT problem...

 

[kanewolf]

Its alright, thank you for trying. I think its packet filter rules that tell the router where to direct the traffic. I might have found a youtube video that can help. Also can try IP Passthrough, or simply getting a different router from AT&T.

Last question, an idea I have and I googled it and might solve my problem. What if I buy a Netgear router, and hook it up to my AT&T one? I read something called 'bridging'. Could it be possible I can use the Netgear router for Port Forwarding instead of my ISP's router? I just hope I don't cause a double NAT problem...

Bridging is setting the AT&T unit to act like a modem only. If you don't have phone or other services that have to plug into the router, that might work.

 

[electraraven]

Oof, yeah that might be an issue. I have myself and two other family members who use the unit for phones and a gaming console over wifi. Is it possible I can use the netgear not only to port forward but to connect the other services like phone, console, etc to it? And then whenever I finish hosting the server I can disconnect the netgear and use the AT&T router as before?
If not the other possible solution is contacting my ISP and asking if they can send me a different router.
For now I'll try adjusting my router settings, and as last resort, enable IP Passthrough.
Anyway ty for trying to help and for your patience.

 

[kanewolf]

Oof, yeah that might be an issue. I have myself and two other family members who use the unit for phones and a gaming console over wifi. Is it possible I can use the netgear not only to port forward but to connect the other services like phone, console, etc to it? And then whenever I finish hosting the server I can disconnect the netgear and use the AT&T router as before?
If not the other possible solution is contacting my ISP and asking if they can send me a different router.
For now I'll try adjusting my router settings, and as last resort, enable IP Passthrough.
Anyway ty for trying to help and for your patience.

Not WIFI phone, but landline phone. OR ATT TV service. I don't know if you can bridge with non-internet services enabled.

 

[electraraven]

ahh thats not an issue for me, i dont use any non-internet services from them such as landline phone or tv, only internet services with AT&T uverse.
im also thinking of just getting a different router than the one they provided me, like netgear. because it seems there's an issue with the model they gave me.