What you will do: choose how staff PCs reach the server: Prixl Magic, which needs no router work, or Classic Static IP, which needs a public IP and a port forward. You change it from one dropdown and the staff apps follow on their own. Most offices should stay on Prixl Magic; this page is mainly for your IT person.
Time: about 2 minutes to switch to Prixl Magic; longer for Classic Static IP if the router needs a port forward. You need: the Warden dashboard on the server and, for Classic Static IP, access to the office router.
Which one to use
| Prixl Magic | Classic Static IP | |
|---|---|---|
| What the dashboard says | “Prixl Magic (default) – peers connect with no router setup; works on most networks.” | “only use if this server has a real public IP and UDP/51820 port-forwarded.” |
| Router work | None | Forward UDP 51820 to the server’s office (LAN) address |
| Works on CGNAT internet connections | Yes, with the automatic relay as a fallback | No |
| Needs Prixl’s cloud for each new connection | Yes | No, once set up |
| If your licence expires | Staff are disconnected within minutes | Existing connections keep working |
Choose Prixl Magic unless you have a reason not to. Choose Classic Static IP if the server has a real public IP, you can forward UDP 51820 on the router, and you want a direct link that does not depend on Prixl’s cloud for each new connection. With Classic Static IP, Warden notices when the public IP changes and registers the new one, so the name is a little misleading: what matters is a public IP that reaches the server, not one that never changes.
New installs start on Prixl Magic. A server that was registered with Guard before Prixl Magic existed may still be on Classic Static IP.
Steps
- If you are switching to Classic Static IP, set up the router first: forward UDP port 51820 to the server’s office (LAN) address. Then look at the Network Status card on the Secure Access tab. If External IP says CGNAT detected, stop here: port forwarding cannot work on that connection, so stay on Prixl Magic.
- Open the Warden dashboard with the desktop shortcut Prixl Warden Dashboard and click Secure Access.
- Scroll to Secure Access Settings and find the row Connection method. The text beside it shows the current choice, for example Currently: Prixl Magic.
- Pick Prixl Magic or Classic Static IP from the dropdown. There is no separate Save button for this: the change applies straight away and the dashboard shows “Saved – applying (the tunnel switches within ~30s)…”.
Staff do not need to do anything. Their Guard app picks up the new method and reconnects. Anyone connected at the time may lose the connection briefly while the switch happens, so do it outside busy hours.
Check it worked
- After about 30 seconds, the text after Currently: shows the new method. Refresh the page if it has not changed.
- A staff member’s Guard icon says Connected again and Remote Desktop works.
- For Classic Static IP: the status card shows a green Inbound: Verified once a staff PC has connected, which proves the port forward works.
If something goes wrong
- Nobody can connect after switching to Classic Static IP: the port forward is missing or wrong. Check the UPnP port mapping row; “No router IGD found – forward UDP 51820 manually” means the router did not set it up for you. Switch back to Prixl Magic while you fix the router.
- Staff see “Prixl Magic is unavailable on this server. Ask your admin to switch mode, then reconnect.”: Prixl Magic is not being offered to this server at the moment (for example after the licence lapsed). Switch to Classic Static IP if your network allows it, or renew; then staff click Connect.
- One person cannot connect on Prixl Magic while others can: their Guard app may be too old to support it. Ask them to install the latest version from https://downloads.prixl.io/guard/PrixlGuard.msi, or to choose Update available in the Guard menu if it is shown.
- More: Troubleshooting Guard.
Next
Previous: Revoke access, replace a laptop, re-invite. Next: Troubleshooting Guard. Background: How Guard works. Back to Prixl Guard (Secure Access) guides.