Cannot use or see any open ports?

Question

I'm trying to use port forwarding (51234) so that I can host a server on MapTool, but nothing I do seems to work.

I've added port 51234 as an exception both in my router's port forwarding settings, AND in Windows Defender Firewall, but I can't get anyone to connect; everyone gets a "timed out" message. I've been trying to use canyouseeme.org, which cannot see 51234 or in fact ANY ports that I put in. I've tried turning my firewall on and off, and that hasn't changed anything either.

I put in "netstat -ab" in my command prompts to bring up my ports, and 51234 does not even appear on the list. I also tried to put ports that were listed and were marked as "ESTABLISHED" or "LISTENING" into canyouseeme.org, and it couldn't see those either. I tried the same thing with Simple Port Tester by PcWinTech.com, which also returns every port I check as "failed."

I'm at the end of my rope, as I feel like I've done everything I need to in order to open this port, but none of my ports are being detected by every tool I try.

Answer 1

You stated earlier you got no result from netstat, looks good now. 0.0.0.0 means listening on any adapter. Assuming the router setup is correct and the windows firewall is off then the other thing left is the ISP blocking which you may not be able to do much about. Might submit a ticket with them to see what happens.

--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

Answer 2

command prompts to bring up my ports, and 51234 does not even appear on the list

Nothing is going to work until you can get the application or service to run. I'd get in touch with the vendor for help with configuration.

--please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

Answer 3

What application do you mean? If you mean the program that's supposed to use the port (MapTool) I could not get the port to open whether or not the application is running.

I tried bringing up the port list again with the server running, and get the following results for port 51234

 TCP    0.0.0.0:51234          LAPTOP-73G0P4HF:0      LISTENING
 [MapTool.exe]
 TCP    127.0.0.1:51234        LAPTOP-73G0P4HF:55016  ESTABLISHED
 [MapTool.exe]
 TCP    127.0.0.1:55016        LAPTOP-73G0P4HF:51234  ESTABLISHED
 [MapTool.exe]
 TCP    [::]:51234             LAPTOP-73G0P4HF:0      LISTENING
 [MapTool.exe]

Despite them showing as listening or established, I still cannot get anyone to connect or get canyouseeme.org or any other tool to see these or any other open ports.

Answer 4

I contacted my ISP, and they confirmed that their own device had a gateway blocker of some kind. After they removed it, I was able to get through the open port. Thanks for the help!