Zte Mc801a Port Forwarding

[Boyan Atanaschev]

Ihave encountered 2 problems with the ZTE-MC801A so far, 3 days into the subscription. 1st one is port forwarding. Even though I have the public IP address (julkinen IP-osoite), the port forward does not work.

The problem is the bridge mode speed. I would get 400 Mbps for about 15 minutes, then the speed drops to 80 Mbps. At first I thought this is some problem with the 5G connection. But I change back the modem to wireless broadband mode, and the wifi will get a solid 400 mbps while the access point (Deco) connected to the ethernet port only get 80mbps.

Oh crap, this is exactly what I am doing. I setup public IP, saw it change, confirmed everything is OK. Setup port forwarding and went nuclear option with DMZ to my local linux box and still just ZTE management web server ? I was thinking of exactly same thing, get a small router to handle DHCP+Wifi for local network and have actually good software even with some firewall capabilities in it but alas now I am scared if the bridge mode is wack.

To access the OpenVPN server on my home network from outside, I need to set up port forwarding on the ZTE MC801A 5G router provided by Three. I found the settings in the router settings under Advanced Settings - Firewall - Port forwarding. I entered the LAN IP address of my OpenVPN server, set the port range to the port used by the server, and applied the changes. However, both canyouseeme.org and yougetsignal.com reported that the port was still closed. Restarting the router and my computer didn't help.

I called Three Customer Services. They said that they didn't restrict port forwarding, and advised me to contact the device manufacturer, ZTE. I called ZTE and described what I did. They confirmed that my procedure was correct, and told me that my router was custom-made for Three, so Three could have limited the functionality... When I called Three again telling them my conversation history, another Advisor said that it could be due to the default Safe Browsing restriction (adult content filtering, of which I failed to see the relevance) on Three home broadband. However, even if they removed the Safe Browsing block, port forwarding is still not working.

This is frustrating - I used to have the same settings on my Virgin Media Superhub 3 and it worked smoothly. I saw a few posts online reporting similar problems on this router. Someone said port forwarding only worked when it was in bridge mode, but I don't have another router and don't plan to have one. Has anyone successfully set this router up for port forwarding?

The 'Three.co.uk' APN puts users behind a CGNAT and prevents port forwarding and causes all sorts of issues as all users are essentially sharing the same WAN IP so these users cannot be uniquely identified.

I had an issue today where the Three router acting as a bridge did not let the replacement router connect to the internet. The fix was strangely setting the APN mode to 'manual' without changing anything else, haha!

Maybe this port forwarding issue is specifically related to the MC801A then? I have the NR5103E and both port forwarding and UPNP are working for me and the process is similar to port forwarding on the majority of consumer routers.

You said Three share IP address and as such port forwarding is not possible but I was simply stating that's not correct, as when using the 3Internet APN each user is allocated their own IPv4 address (not shared) and as such port forwarding is possible, however if using the Three.co.uk APN then many users sit behind a shared IP address and as such users cannot be uniquely identified which makes port forwarding NOT possible in that case.

Like I said above this thread/question is related to the the MC801A which I don't have, I have the NR5103E and it works for me but my screenshots wont be of any use as the hardware/firmware are different, I was simply stating facts about APN's and port forwarding at the network level, not router hardware level, so maybe someone with the MC801A can assist you.

Hi, As you can see by my previous messages on this platform I contested that port forwarding is not possible however the same person maintained that it is so I asked that person several times for a screen shot of the relevant pages but they did not respond to that request.

I eventually discovered Tailscale software that enabled me to create a VLAN using a rasberrypi as the bridge between the networks and this gave me Ip addresses that could support port forwarding. The people at TAILSCALE are extremely helpful and assisted me throughout.

this was the only way I could port forward using a 3 5G router. No doubt someone will jump on board and say it is possible but to them I say , screenshot the relevant pages of their setup. I will guarantee they will not do that.

it instructs how to set up a raspberry pi as a subnet router, this creates a virtual LAN that mirrors your 3 router LAN because the raspberry pi is always accessible. It acts like a open port in to your LAN and anything connected to your 3 router LAN network is accessible.

Thanks for following this up and sharing your findings. I happened to use a Raspberry Pi as my OpenVPN server at home, which I tried to access from outside my home through port forwarding. I wonder whether I could set up Tailscale on the same Pi. I'll find out more this weekend and may have to ask for your help if I'm stuck - hope it's OK.

I did manage to get the port forwarding working on the same model/router, a few months ago. I only used it in PF mode for about two months and then took a break for three months or so. .. went to set it all up again two months ago, and I have been trying ever since, but I cannot get it working again.

Odd I just spoke to 3 business today as I have a ZTE MC888. They categorically stated 3 does NOT support port forwarding. I mentioned that of the 6 ISP's i have used over the years, none have blocked port forwarding. However the lady I spoke to confirmed from technical that Three as a company do not support port forwarding. In addition there is no second line support for these routers an I should speak to the router manufacturer. I plan to call back as this doesnt sound right but the lady was adment they do not support port forwarding.

Guys just tried port forwarding and everything work like a charm. The key is that you can't reach public ip and forwarded port from the network itself. You need to setup it and check it via other network e.g. your phone with mobile internet (not the same as in router) and it works. But if you will try to do it from router network it will not work!

A screen shot for my port config:

Olen muutaman pivn yrittnyt avata portteja kyseisest reitittimest siin onnistumatta. Parin pivn jlkeen tajusin, ett pit ilmeisesti tilata telia yhteyspiste, jotta mobiililaajakaistasta pystyy avata portteja port forwardingia varten. En kuitenkaan edelleenkn saanut sit toimimaan, joten soitin viel telian Helppiin. Hn vain ohjeisti kdest piten, miten APN tytetn, vaikka minulla se oli jo kunnossa. Portit eivt auenneet ja koneella oleva ohjelmisto ei lhtenyt toimimaan. Tmn jlkeen helppi ei osannut auttaa enemp ja poisti minulta yhteyspisteen kytst tarpeettomana. Osaisiko joku tt kautta auttaa vai pitk tss siirty elisaan/ostaa uusi reititin?

Nyttk kyttmsi ZTE MC801A -reitittimen asiakastuen ohjeistus silt, mit teitte asetuksiin muutoksia Telia Helpin kanssa? Sinun pit hankkia ensin liittymlle opengate eli Yhteyspiste-palvelu uudelleen. Sen jlkeen kokeilla asetuksien laittamista. Huomioithan, ett yhteyden pit olla poikki, kun asetusmuutoksia teet ja sen jlkeen tallentaa muutokset. Tietoomme ei ole tullut, ett asetusten muutos ei olisi yleisesti mahdollista.

Ei pitnyt painaa tuosta asia ratkaistu. Teimme muutokset tuon ohjeen mukaan. Ja kynnistin reitittimen uudelleen varmuuden vuoksi muutosten jlkeen. Yhteys toimi normaalisti mutta portit eivt olleet auki, eik port forwarding toiminut. Tytyy viel kokeilla tuota prointernet, mutta opengatea en en tilaa kun sen verran tapellut sen kanssa.

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