This article describes the various network ports that are required for Windows Live Messenger features to work. It also lists the URLs that Messenger uses.
return to contentsThe following table lists the network ports that are required for various features of Windows Live Messenger 8.1 on a Windows Vista-based computer.
Collapse this tableExpand this table
| Feature | Port that is used |
| Sign in to the Messenger service | TCP 80, 443, 1863 |
| Network Detection | TCP 7001
UDP 9, 7001 |
| Audio
| TCP 80, 443, 1863
TCP/UDP 30000 - 65535 |
| Audio (Legacy) * | UDP 5004 – 65535 |
| Webcam and Video Conversations | TCP 80
TCP/UDP 5000 - 65535 |
| File Transfer | TCP 443, 1863
TCP/UDP 1025 - 65535 |
| File Transfer (Legacy) * | TCP 6891 - 6900 |
| Sharing Folders | TCP 1863 TCP/UDP 1025 – 65535 |
| Whiteboard and Application Sharing | TCP 1503 |
| Remote Assistance | TCP 3389
TCP/UDP 49152 – 65535 |
| Windows Live Call | TCP 443, 5061
UDP 5004 - 65525 |
| Games | TCP 80, 443, 1863
TCP/UDP 1025 - 65535 |
* These ports are used when you are connected to a contact through a legacy client program, such as MSN Messenger 5.0 or any version of Windows Messenger.
URLs
The following table lists the URLs to which Windows Live Messenger connects.
Collapse this tableExpand this table
| URL used | URL function |
| https://Login.live.com | HTTP over SSL (HTTPS) authentication to Windows Live ID and acquiring of x509 certificates for secure peer-to-peer (p2p) connections for the Sharing Folders feature |
| http://Login.live.com | HTTP authentication to Windows Live ID |
| https://*.contacts.msn.com | To get the contact list |
| https://*.storage.msn.com | Storage of the user tile, personal status message, and display name for a user so that the user can have the same set of information across all Windows Live experiences on work and home computers; (Simple Object Access Protocol [SOAP] over HTTPS) |
| http://*.storage.msn.com | Storage of the user tile (HTTP DAV) and acquiring pictures from a user's Windows Live Space |
| http://c.msn.com | To set an anonymous unique ID for a user to personalize the Windows Live experience |
| http://*.messenger.msn.com | Various core messenger operations |
| http://g.msn.com | Redirect URLs used for tracking the start of a URL for a particular page to Microsoft Web sites |
| http://crl.microsoft.com | To access the latest Certificate Revocation List (CRL) in order to check the validity of a certificate |
| http://messenger.hotmail.com:1863 | Communications channel for messenger server; Microsoft Notification Protocol (MSNP) for messaging |
| http://gateway.messenger.hotmail.com | In case a firewall is blocking the ports, Messenger can use this gateway over HTTP |
| http://config.messenger.msn.com | Download configuration information that is used by the Messenger client |
| https://ows.messenger.msn.com | Send offline messages |
| https://rsi.hotmail.com | Receive offline messages |
| http://sqm.microsoft.com | Upload Service Quality Monitoring (SQM) data to Microsoft; (no personally identifiable information [PII] is transferred) |
| http://*.edge.messenger.live.com | Various core Messenger operations. For example, echo servers that are used to establish direct connectivity between two messenger clients for peer-to-peer (p2p) communication when clients are behind firewalls |
| http://relay.data.edge.messenger.live.com | Media relay used to transfer binary data (files, voice, or video) |
| http://rad.msn.com | To download advertising content display in the client and to download ad-sponsored personal expression content, such as display pictures, and emoticons |
| http://appdirectory.messenger.msn.com | Used by Messenger activities/games applications that run inside Messenger applications |
| https://images.messenger.msn.com | For messenger image files |
| http://spaces.live.com | For the contact card |
| http://relay.voice.messenger.msn.com | Media relay used for voice |
Note
Users behind some authenticating proxy servers may experience sign-in issues. They might have to configure the proxy servers to force authentication for the following User Agent string:
MSN Explorer/9.0 (MSN 8.0; TmstmpExt).
To do this, users should see the documentation for their proxy server or contact their network administrator.
return to contentsArticle ID: 927847 - Last Review: June 30, 2007 - Revision: 2.11
| kbmessengerportal kbhowto kbinfo kbmsnreachportal kbmsnia kbpubtypekc KB927847 |