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Common TCP/UDP ports used by Apple programs and services

<p>As with any network and internet-capable computing system, many of Apple's services and programs require access to the internet and/or local network using TCP and UDP ports to function properly. When ports are blocked for a given service, applications

CNET staff

As with any network and internet-capable computing system, many of Apple's services and programs require access to the internet and/or local network using TCP and UDP ports to function properly. When ports are blocked for a given service, applications and system features can be limited or nonfunctional.

Some of the common programs people use are iTunes, iChat, Mail, and Safari, and when ports that these programs use are blocked, they will simply not connect and give errors claiming that network services are unavailable. In addition to individual programs there are many background services such as file sharing and screen sharing that also require network access.

When these problems occur, troubleshooting generally starts with the computer's firewall and any other network firewalls the computer may be behind, and seeing if various ports need to be either forwarded or enabled to clear the problem. To help with this troubleshooting, Apple maintains a list of common ports for their services and applications. While practically any TCP and UDP port can be used for a particular application, this list is a good starting point and while the list is not complete, we recommend looking it over to get a sense of what port ranges are used by Apple.

The list of common TCP and UDP ports used by Apple is available here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1629

Resources

  • http://support.apple.com/k...
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