• PortForward

PortForward

Overview

PortForward has a rating of 2.81 stars from 93 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. PortForward ranks 10th among Video Game Mods sites.

  • Service
    24
  • Value
    22
  • Shipping
    8
  • Returns
    9
  • Quality
    21

This company does not typically respond to reviews

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0%
Positive
0
Neutral
0
Negative
1
See all photos

What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

  • Also have two wired IP cameras that I haven't been able to view remotely because of the port forwarding issue.
  • The title of this review is PORT FORWARDING and Customer Service.

Critical highlights

  • Router login makes a suggestion but then returns a dead url for you to change your router settings.
  • As I said in the title, a waste of time and money!
How would you rate PortForward?
Top Positive Review

“Great software - works with my router perfectly”

Tom D.
8/8/21

I feel like I need to write a review for Port Forward. It took me a while to decide to buy their software because I wasn't sure if it would work for me. Now that I've got it, I'm super happy with it. I use it often on my TP-Link and it works great for my needs. I did have to get Allen to add support, but after a couple of message back and forth he got it working.

Top Critical Review

“This Software is USELESS!”

Benjamin E.
4/10/23

My ASUS router isn't supported by Network Utilities and they won't refund my $60 after guaranteeing that they support all ASUS routers, They say they need proof and want me jump through hoops when it's clearly not in the list of routers they support! DON"T buy from PortForward.com they are a SCAM

Reviews (93)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

port forwarding (14) customer service (7) router (35) support team (5) time (23) software (22) tedie (21) 100% guarantee (5)
Thumbnail of user jayg1017
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 18th, 2024

Stopped communicating with my router after a firmware update. Tried working with tech supp for a couple weeks until I requested refund and they stopped responding. Also wrote to *******@portforward.com and received no response.

Thumbnail of user benjamine235
1 review
1 helpful vote
April 10th, 2023

My ASUS router isn't supported by Network Utilities and they won't refund my $60 after guaranteeing that they support all ASUS routers,
They say they need proof and want me jump through hoops when it's clearly not in the list of routers they support! DON"T buy from PortForward.com they are a SCAM

Products used:
Network Utilities

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user cathyd456
1 review
2 helpful votes
September 6th, 2022
Verified purchase

My router is Mexican made and I tried for months to use the Port Forward Utilities. One they never added my router with all the info supplied such as model, pictures to their list of so called "updated" routers. Two of the programs kept going to trial mode no matter how many times I rebooted my computer and put in the registration info so features were unusable. After communicating with them where they kept saying I was progressing to no avail, they stopped their 12/24 hour support as soon as I asked for a refund. I asked multiply times. I used a You Tube video to port forward a port and was successful but they will not refund my money or even communicate about this.

Service
Thumbnail of user raymondb560
1 review
2 helpful votes
February 25th, 2022

I have tried to purchase this software twice and have received no communications from them although they have charged my pay pal for the software TWICE.
I know I was dumb for trying again.
They were supposed to end me a registration number TWICE but no communication from them at all to my email address.

Nothing at all from them

Tip for consumers:
Dont purchase

Products used:
Nothing

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Hey Raymond, sorry that you are having problems. Shoot me an email and I'll figure out where your registration details are.

jason@portforward.com

I'll reply ASAP.

Thumbnail of user robertm5701
0 reviews
2 helpful votes
January 21st, 2022

I want a refund. This program won't open on any of my computers. Not the macs and not the windows. I tried their support system and its harder than Ft. Knox to get into.

Tip for consumers:
Bypass this site. If anything, try the free version if you need to.

Products used:
software

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Sorry to hear that. It doesn't work on Mac, but it should work on Windows 10/11 just fine. I only get one chance to reply here, so I'll try to help as much as I can...

Head to https://secure.portforward.com/websupport/ and login with the email address that you used to purchase the software and Allen will help you out. You should have gotten an email with your registration code. Use that to login. If you didn't get the email them create a new account at that same address and tell Allen. He'll figure it out.

If you STILL can't get in, then send an email to sales@portforward.com and we should get that.

Thumbnail of user nathanh430
1 review
2 helpful votes
August 15th, 2021

Purchased online, received no code after purchase

Have emailed support numerous time with zero replies, these people are crooks DO NOT PURCHASE

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Thumbnail of user tomd866
1 review
0 helpful votes
August 8th, 2021

I feel like I need to write a review for Port Forward. It took me a while to decide to buy their software because I wasn't sure if it would work for me. Now that I've got it, I'm super happy with it. I use it often on my TP-Link and it works great for my needs. I did have to get Allen to add support, but after a couple of message back and forth he got it working.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Thanks Tom, we appreciate the feedback.

Thumbnail of user diallos1
1 review
4 helpful votes
September 1st, 2020

I wasted my time and money on this software which guarantees to forward ports or your $ back. Support has truly been HORRIBLE with several days between responses, ZERO help actually getting ports forwarded and GOOD LUCK requesting a refund. From WHERE. They keep it hidden really well unlike the MONEY BACK GUARANTEE you all over before you actually purchase the product.

Thumbnail of user toddd186
1 review
8 helpful votes
October 10th, 2019

Responded within 24 hours after I paid the $40. Once they determined that they could not help me - no further responses to any emails OR requests for a refund. I ended up having to dispute it with my credit card company.

Thumbnail of user flm3
1 review
0 helpful votes
November 11th, 2019

Had to run the software twice, making sure I had all the correct variables plugged into the correct places and my passwords set correctly, but it works! I've been try for week's to get this done correctly to no avail, and finally took the plunge and paid the $40 for the software. Seeing that I have nearly $1,000 invested into my current setup AND pay $100 monthly for fiber optic connection, I wanted it setup proper... and they certainly have delivered.

Thumbnail of user bryans415
1 review
3 helpful votes
April 9th, 2020

This is the first time i have written a review. This product does not live up to what it says its suppose to do,. On top of that i have to wait it seems 24 hours just to get a response. I have been trying to get this product to open a port for the last week and a half and i am no closer to getting this to work. I see it as a gimmick to hold on to your money as i have asked multiple times for a refund. I am very disappointed in the service as well as this product and would not suggest it to anyone.

"100% GUARANTEED!
We will get your ports forwarded,
Or your money back!"

I look forward to my refund
Thank You

Tip for consumers:
Don't bother

Products used:
None

Service
Value
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user roberto400
1 review
4 helpful votes
June 20th, 2018

Yours is the first phantom company I have ever come across and do not deal with phantoms or ghosts that advertises an easy to use port forwarding program that is not ready for the real world. Only 3 people, no phone number or address. Because of disappointing performance with your product, I expect the rest of my money back so I can use it on a real company instead if a phantom. I will continue to complain publicly until I get the refund I am demanding. Your long explanation did nothing to move me because you appear to be a fly by night company and are not up to the required tasks in the real world to deal with your clients efficiently.

Tip for consumers:
A phantom ghost company without resources to deal with customers by phone or mail. They do have a lot of excuses though.

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Hey Robert, I'm sorry that you got double billed and I'm glad that we were able to refund you. We allow people to make 2 purchases / day because some customers have needed to purchase 2 copies / day for them selves and others. In your case that rule allowed you to accidentally click the "Buy" button twice. In any case, we always refund accidental double purchases as long as you let us know within 90 days (the limit for processing refunds with our CC processor. In addition we are thinking about making our cart only allow a single purchase per day because the reality is MOST customers do only want 1 copy / day.

We don't have a phone number because there is just the 3 of us doing support and we get so many calls from people wanting free support that we simply can't handle the workload. We have a very popular site and less than 99.9% of our site traffic actually makes a purchase, yet most of them want their problem solved. When we had a public number it rang non-stop. There are not enough hours in the day to offer phone support for a $40 product. That's why we have the message system. Besides, supporting your network over the phone is pointless. We need to know things that you will have a hard time answering. That's why we have the ticket number system. A support ticket includes things like your network map, router IP address, hops to the internet... all the good stuff that allow to figure out why your port forward is not working.

For most customers it's not hard to get it working, but for a few it's really, really hard to figure out why your network is not doing what we expect. We can usually figure it out and get your ports forwarded. In order to break even we have to get it working in 2.5 hours or less ($40 at $15 / hour). We spend more than that on many of our customers because in the end that time spent is time making our software better.

I don't like being called a scam because I literally dedicate my life to this website. This is all that I do. This is all that Dave does. And we are very, very proud of our website and the guides and software that we offer.

Thumbnail of user kevinm1376
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
March 20th, 2020

I purchased the portforward utility software based on the information on their website. I was under the impression their software utility could make changes that either I could not make manually or was overlooking. They stated they would remote access and resolve the issue if their software failed. After paying they were initially responsive. My router was not supported therefore I had to run the utility with remote access to prepare the error log file. Basically they do not remote to your computer to manually resolve issues. After my router was added the utility merely overwrote the changes I had previously made manually on the router. My ports are still closed. The support person (Allen) responded that the software merely automated what anyone could manually perform on their own.
Their website stated they offer a 100% guarantee. I requested a refund and was informed by Allen that "Tedie" would respond when he he had a chance. It has been two weeks and two follow-up inquiries and no word from Tedie. I have filed a complaint with the BBB and will follow-up with my credit card company.

Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Hey Kevin,

We can and do remote admin people to get their ports forwarded all the time, when our software is not able to do it automatically, but we greatly prefer to make the software work so that you can forward and un-forward ports at your leisure. In addition the software is able to combine ports from multiple applications and optimize the limited space available in many routers' port forwarding tables.

The steps Allen took to have you run remote logs are the fastest way for us to get your router added to the software. The remote logs are much more useful to us than a visual "remote admin" session, even though remote admin seems like the fastest way to solve the problem. When troubleshooting a network with potentially multiple misconfigured routers, multiple firewalls, and "internet security" software our custom tools give us the information we need much faster than remote admin can. In the few cases that we can't figure it out with our tools we fall back on remote admin.

And Allen is correct, the settings we change can be changed by logging in to your router and doing it manually, it's just a lot faster. I'm sorry that you are not satisfied with our product and service and I'm sure that Tedie will get your refund processed soon.

- jason

Thumbnail of user darrellm71
1 review
6 helpful votes
October 25th, 2018

So they don't respond to any messages, because the program doesn't work. Your slick ads promise something that it clearly can't deliver. As I said in the title, a waste of time and money!

Thumbnail of user daniels794
1 review
1 helpful vote
March 13th, 2019

Jason (I assume the same Jason that comments on here) really worked hard to get my ps4 working. I've been trying to get the mythical "nat type 2" for months and these guys finally figured it out. It seems some of the reviews here are from people who just don't understand. All I know is that for me I got the help I needed. Highly recommended.

Tip for consumers:
Be patient!

Products used:
Network Utilities

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user petern131
1 review
4 helpful votes
March 12th, 2019

They guarantee to open your ports or your money back, this is furthest from the truth, it is a deception and waste of money.

Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

We will work with you until your ports are forwarded, and if we can't forward your ports we will give you your money back. There's no deception here, we literally forward ports for 100's of people daily. I'm sorry that you are unhappy with our service. Shoot me an email with your username and I'll make sure you get taken care of. Jason at portforward dot com.

Thumbnail of user stevel1076
1 review
0 helpful votes
December 14th, 2019

Hello, Allen ( support team) spent several days trying to get my router to except and pass through my ham radio weather cam to the internet. He finally got things to run PERFECT for me! I want to THANK PortForward for your software and EXCELLENT follow up support! This is the go to software and support team for ANY of your port forwarding problems!

THANKS again Allen for all of your time and efforts in dealing with my router problem/s!

Steve / N7DPX / Lakeside, AZ.

Thumbnail of user harveyk20
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
August 25th, 2017

This software is not a solution. It is a suggestion. You need to fight your way through a highly resistant defense against providing consumer service and then "work with" one of the techs to solve your issues. The software on its own is useless. I guess if you spend enough time, your issue might be resolved and you might feel grateful. It would be better if the software worked. It's a ripoff, in my opinion, or worse.

Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Hey Harvey,

I'm sorry that you feel ripped off. The software absolutely works, but apparently it didn't work for you. Keep in mind that we support well over 4,000 different routers. Add to that the fact that everyone's network is slightly different and you can imagine that there are times when it doesn't all come together. Does this mean that it's a ripoff? I don't think so.

As new routers come out we try to add support for them through the support ticket system and customers like you. If we were not able to forward your ports for you, either through the software or manually, then I'm more than happy to refund your money. We are not interested in defrauding anyone. Support costs money and when we fail to solve a port forwarding issue we lose money. That's just the way it goes.

If you'd like to talk to me more about this I'm available through email and on the support system. My name is jason, and my email is jason at portforward.com.

Thumbnail of user brianc441
1 review
3 helpful votes
August 3rd, 2018

Nothing works as it is said to work on this software.The support is painfully slow considering their advertising hype of 100% claims. I get one message back from them a day with questions but I have yet to see one answer as to whether the software can and will work. Had to get Paypal involved to try to get a refund or a solution

Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

I'm sorry that our support was not fast enough for you, and I'm sorry that you felt like you had to involve Paypal in the process.

Your very first message to our support system was 2018-07-31, and you filed a dispute with Paypal the very next day on 2018-08-01. Even after you filed a dispute against us Allen tried to help you.

Allen has sent you the following messages:
2018-08-01 - 2 messages
2018-08-02 - 2 messages
2018-08-03 - 1 message
2018-08-04 - 1 message

And continues to attempt to solve your problem to this day, which happens to be a Sunday. Maybe it's just me but I think we have done an excellent job of attempting to support you, even though you have attempted to make it very difficult for us.

Thumbnail of user coling47
1 review
4 helpful votes
June 18th, 2019
• Updated review

This was nothing to do with having two routers... it was about having an NVR attached to the router. The site comment is just obfuscation.

Extremely Disappointing
November 9th, 2018
• Previous review

This site is likely to work for you if you have a simple set-up (just a router) and relatively uncomplicated end objective such as gaming. Anything more than that and you'll be lucky to get what you want. I spent weeks trying to access my security cameras via the web with no result. A waste of money for me.and of course, no refund.

Thumbnail of user nated10
1 review
5 helpful votes
July 24th, 2017

Was having trouble getting ports open for my Xbox One, so I bought this program as it stated to be fast and easy. I've been talking to Tedie for more than a $#*!ing month. Fast and easy my $#*!, the staff have no $#*!ing idea what they're doing. Stay away from this and save yourself some money. Still waiting for refund.

Thumbnail of user benh100
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
March 4th, 2017

This absolutely was not worth it to try and use to port forward for my xbox. After going through 3 weeks of back and forth with them, it still didn't work and even though if they say you get your money back if you're not happy; you don't. Don't bother!

Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Hey Ben, I'm sorry that you weren't able to get a port forwarded to your Xbox One. We are really good at making it work, so if Tedie or Allen had problems then most likely you just have a challenging network to work with. Getting Nat Type Open is one of the things that we are great at, so I expect it to work.

Any way, if you're not happy then just send me an email and I'll make it right. We are not in the business of having unhappy customers.

- jason at portforward.com

Thumbnail of user danl88
3 reviews
4 helpful votes
August 29th, 2016

I purchased PortForward and had issues with my router model. The customer support is a joke they ask the same question three times but it takes 4 hours or more to get a response

Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Hey Dan, send me a message with your username and I'll see what's going on. I'm jason at portforward.com. Just an FYI, our customer support is not "Real Time". We respond to questions in our queue as we get them. Usually it takes us a while because we try to actually solve problems between posts. Our technical support team are actually programmers who are responsible for making our software work on your computer. I realize that this is not a traditional support model where front end help is just answering questions from a list and you get a quick turn around. We don't hire front end support because in our business they wouldn't have a clue how to help you. If you give us a chance we will get your ports forwarded.

Thumbnail of user marks213
1 review
1 helpful vote
February 21st, 2015

Port forward.com wasn't able to forward the port, I called the help line and spoke with someone on the other side of the globe, I mean I tried to speak with them. They seem to have no Idea what I was talking about, I thought I must have miss dialed the number but no. Their Web site states 100% satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! So far I have sent 4 emails and left two messages and I'm still waiting for some kind of contact. DON'T USE PORTFORWARD.COM!

Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Hey Mark, I'm really sorry that you have seemed to get the run around. There's no way that was us that you talked to on the phone. Dave, Allen, Tedie, and I are all U.S. based and native English speakers. If we didn't receiver your messages then it is most likely that a spam filter deleted them. We respond to 100% of the messages that we receive.

Thumbnail of user stephaniel194
1 review
1 helpful vote
June 25th, 2018

The service was probably the best service I've ever gotten from an online program! They helped me so much! I would recommend this to anyone who isn't very good with computers/port forwarding! Amazing!

Thumbnail of user jasonb146
Jason B. – PortForward Rep

Thanks Stephanie, we're glad you got it working!

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2.8
93 reviews
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