OPEN NAT causing TV streaming problem

[#1]

Last night I decided to change my XBOX NAT type from Moderate to Open.

I used port forwarding to point the following to the XBOX:

UDP: 88, 500, 3544, 4500

TCP & UDP: 3074

The NAT type immediately changed to and stayed open (usually the xbox shows Moderate and occasionally Open) however my Wife immediately found problems streaming TV buffering occurring around every 10 seconds! As soon as I deleted the above everything on the TV was good and of course my NAT went back  to Moderate. Does anyone know a way around this? 

[#2]

One possibility I can think of.

When you have ports forwarded it usually means you can host the games on the xbox yourself, so that could mean it's just when you're the host for the game. Better for your gaming but many people connecting to you could cause the slow down depending on your kit and how big your internet package is.

Ideally you don't want port forwarding on all the time, as it's a security concern. A slightly better solution is to use upnp. This causes ports to be forwarded only when something compatible with upnp is turned on, which as far as I know the xbox is. I'm not sure if they are compatible with the upnp security extensions, but you should have that option ticked on your router where possible.

You could try with upnp and see if that's a good enough solution for you, and see if there's no more lag on the other devices. If you're intent on having port forwarding you could look into QoS which will prioritize certain types of services for you.

[#3]

The Upnp option is already set to on.

[#4]

Some things may struggle with the extended security option if there is one, I should say I don't use the stock PN router so I'm not familiar with the default settings for it. But you may try turning off extended security options instead if it's on, which is still safer than always have ports forwarded. Up to you though obviously.

Is it xbox 360 or xbox one? Also, what speeds do you get?

[#5]

What a terrible misinformation!

UPnP is usually the first option people go for when opening up a NAT, that is a far larger security concern than having a few ports open to a device which is turned off 90% of the time!

If you are port forwarding, turn UPnP off, in fact, do it anyway!

It is a strange one though as the TV streaming wouldn't be affected in the way you are mentioning, for a start it doesn't rely on new connections being forwarded to it.

Are you on a "fast" service? Maybe you were hosting a game and getting a bit of bandwidth saturation?

[#6]

I have to disagree with that since UPnP will only forward ports when devices request it. Personally I would say not to forward anything for consoles but it's up to you.

You'll use a lot of bandwidth when hosting the games which will happen when you have ports forwarded so it's helpful if you have a decent upload speed since it's often much less than download, but if you already have decent speeds then try using wired connections for the consoles and maybe look at routers with decent QoS features.

[#7]

"I have to disagree with that since UPnP will only forward ports when devices request it. Personally I would say not to forward anything for consoles but it's up to you."

And when a device contracts malware which then opens ports on the router to allow more malware into the network? I'll take manual control and know what ports are open ANY day thank you.

[#8]

Don't get me wrong on that, I just think it's a slightly better choice than always forwarding if you really have to. For an always on server with a static IP or lease I'd prefer port forwarding, but not for something that is off some of the time as best practise would be then to disable the port forwarding when not in use.

Malware is one of my concerns about UPnP along with devices just getting the configuration wrong. I wouldn't really call it secure, but it's a poor choice to have to make between the two. I favour it in this situation only, but honestly think it's just a way for game makers to save money instead of providing proper dedicated servers.

[#9 · Accepted solution]

I have finally found the solution to this!

I came across some advice on the net that suggested:

1. Log in to your router’s setup webpage, and make sure its UPnP setting is turned on. You can usually find first time help with this in the router manual or on the manufacturer support site.
2. Turn the UPnP setting off, and save your changes.
3. Restart your console, your modem, and your router.
4. Turn the UPnP setting back on, and save your changes. If there’s a Zero Config setting, make sure it’s turned on as well.
5. Restart your modem and router

The NAT is now permanently OPEN with no upnp errors and no port forwarding. I am not really sure what would have changed in flipping upnp to off and then on again but it has fixed it!