How to use Bittorrent with a Lynksys Router

If you channel your high speed internet connection through a Linksys router to your modem, your router may be slowing down your bittorrent connections. This is because most routers block bittorrent ports by default. Fortunately, speeding up your bittorrent downloads requires just a few simple steps. The setup in your router's configurations screen may be slightly different, but overall most aspects will be the same.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Linksys router
• Broadband internet connection
• Bittorrent client

1. Open your web browser and type in your Linksys router's IP address number. Most are 192.168.1.1 by default. Log in if necessary.

2. Click Applications and Gaming > Port Range Forwarding. Under Application Name, type Torrent. In the area marked Start ~ End Port type 6881 to 6889. This is the extent of the bittorrent range. Under Protocol, select Both. This ensures that both TCP and UDP are enabled.

3. To find your network's IP address, you will have to go into DOS mode. In Windows, click Start > Run > Command. Wait for the information to appear on the screen and for a command prompt to appear. Type ipconfig and hit enter. Your network's address will appear under IP Address. Enter the last number in the sequence into the To IP Address field. Check the box under Enabled. Go back to your DOS window and type exit, then hit enter.

4. Click Save Settings. If your settings were properly saved, the router will send you a message which states "Settings are successful."

5. Set up the Windows Firewall to allow the bittorrent port range. Click Start > Control Panel > Network Connections. Click Local Area Network Connection. In the left panel, click Change Settings of this Connection, then click the Advanced tab. Next to Windows Firewall, click Settings.

6. Click the Exceptions tab, then click Add Port. Under Name, type Torrent. Under Port number type 6881. Check the radio button marked TCP. Click OK.

7. Repeat step 6, adding port 6881 but this time click the radio button marked UDP. Go through the instructions for step 6 again until ports 6882 through 6889 have been added for both TCP and UDP. Click OK to exit the Windows Firewall Settings. In Local Area Connection Properties, click OK.

8. Check your bittorrent client to see which port is used for incoming connections. Enable that port to be forwarded to your router's static IP address in the same manner as mentioned in steps 1 through 4. You may enter a range which includes your port for incoming connections, but which includes a range of about ten port numbers. Your bittorrent client may include a link to a website where you can check to see if your listening port is open. Be sure to take advantage of it.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure that Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is enabled both on your router and in your bittorrent client.

• Set your bittorrent client up for multiple simultaneous downloads to get the most use of your bandwidth.

• Never make changes to the system registry to speed up your internet connection. Doing so may require you to reinstall your operating system.