By setting a specific port for your devices, you are telling your router to always accept requests for those ports and forward data to a device’s private IP address. Port forwarding is a way of making your router use a specific port to communicate with certain devices. Here’s how to forward ports on your router using a Mac or Windows 10 PC. While it might seem complicated, once you understand what port forwarding is and how it works, it can be quite simple. Port forwarding can help you set up a Minecraft server, access your files and desktop remotely, improve your internet connection speeds, and more.