Complete NavCoin port forwarding guide

content/General Support/how to open firewall ports for NavCoin.en.md

@@ -1,8 +1,83 @@
 ---
 title: "How to open the firewall ports for NavCoin Wallets"
-draft: true
+date: "2026-05-13"
 order: "100"
 ---
 
+### When to open the NavCoin port
 
-Please note that these steps are only necessary if you are getting zero connections to your NavCoin wallet. On MacOS X the firewall is disabled by default. On NavPi port 44440 is unlocked by default. If you are on Mac or the NavPi you can skip directly to unlocking ports in...
+Only follow these steps if your NavCoin wallet has trouble finding peers or stays at zero active connections. If your wallet already connects and syncs normally, you do not need to change your firewall or router settings.
+
+NavCoin uses port `44440` for peer-to-peer wallet connections. Opening this port can help other NavCoin nodes connect to your wallet and can improve connection reliability.
+
+### Check your wallet connections
+
+Open NavCoin Core and look for the active connections count at the bottom of the wallet window.
+
+If the wallet has zero active connections after it has been open for a few minutes, first check that:
+
+- your internet connection is working
+- you are using the latest NavCoin Core wallet
+- your computer clock is set correctly
+- your local network is not blocking all peer-to-peer traffic
+
+If those checks look fine, continue with the port forwarding steps below.
+
+### Reserve a local IP address
+
+Port forwarding works best when your computer keeps the same local IP address on your home network.
+
+In your router settings, find the DHCP or LAN section and reserve a local IP address for the computer running NavCoin Core. This may be called a DHCP reservation, static lease, or address reservation.
+
+For example, your router may reserve an address like:
+
+```text
+192.168.1.50
+```
+
+The exact address depends on your network. Use the address shown for your own computer.
+
+### Add a router port forwarding rule
+
+Log in to your router and find the port forwarding section. This may be under advanced settings, firewall, NAT, or virtual server settings.
+
+Create a new rule with these values:
+
+```text
+Service name: NavCoin
+External port: 44440
+Internal port: 44440
+Protocol: TCP and UDP
+Internal IP address: the reserved local IP address for your computer
+```
+
+Some routers ask for a port range. If yours does, use `44440` as both the starting port and ending port.
+
+Save the rule and restart the router if your router asks you to.
+
+### Allow NavCoin through your computer firewall
+
+Your operating system firewall may also need to allow incoming NavCoin connections.
+
+On Windows, open Windows Defender Firewall and allow NavCoin Core through the firewall on private networks. If you create a manual inbound rule, allow TCP and UDP traffic on port `44440`.
+
+On Linux, allow port `44440` in your firewall tool. For example, with `ufw`:
+
+```bash
+sudo ufw allow 44440
+```
+
+On macOS, the firewall is disabled by default on many systems. If you enabled it manually, allow NavCoin Core to accept incoming connections.
+
+### Restart and check again
+
+Restart NavCoin Core after saving the firewall and router changes. Leave the wallet open for a few minutes, then check the active connections count again.
+
+If you still have zero active connections, try the troubleshooting steps in [Wallet balance is wrong or not syncing](/navcoin-core/wallet-balance-is-wrong-or-not-syncing/).
+
+You can also ask for help in the NavCoin community Discord and include:
+
+- your operating system
+- whether you are using NavCoin Core, NavPi, or another wallet
+- whether port `44440` is forwarded in your router
+- whether your computer firewall allows NavCoin Core