Why Does My Local WAMP Server Return a \'403 Forbidden\' Error When Accessed via IP Address?

Inaccessible WAMP Server on Local Network Prompts "403 Forbidden"

Despite following numerous troubleshooting guides, users accessing their WAMP server by IP address (e.g., 192.168.0.188:1234) face the persistent "403 Forbidden" error. This article delves into solving this issue.

Troubleshooting for WAMPServer Versions <= 2.5

By default, WAMPServer restricts access to the localhost. To allow network access, edit the httpd.conf file and make the following changes:

Change:</p>
<h1 id="onlineoffline-tag-don-t-remove">onlineoffline tag - don't remove</h1>
<div class="code" style="position:relative; padding:0px; margin:0px;"><pre class="brush:php;toolbar:false"> Order Deny,Allow
 Deny from all
 Allow from 127.0.0.1
 Allow from ::1
 Allow from localhost

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To:

onlineoffline tag - don't remove

Require local
Require ip 192.168.0

This grants access from internal network IP addresses (e.g., 192.168.0.x) and the server's own IP address.

Troubleshooting for WAMPServer Version 3

WAMPServer 3 employs a different approach. Edit the httpd-vhosts.conf file and adjust the access settings for the Virtual Host:

Change:</p>
<div class="code" style="position:relative; padding:0px; margin:0px;"><pre class="brush:php;toolbar:false">Require local

Copy after login