MAMP Port 80 in use – Fixed

Are you seeing the MAMP port 80 in use error right after the installation? Scroll down for the solution. Recently we’ve decided to install a local Apache server so that we could test new plugins without breaking the live site. After much consideration we decided to go with a Windows version of MAMP which is a software similar to WAMP and XAMPP but primarily destined to Apple users.

We’ve decided to use MAMP because the installation was a lot easier and everything seemed to work right off the bat, except for one thing. Our first time using MAMP went like a breeze but we started noticing a pattern which would trigger the following error:

“‘APACHE’ needs open port ’80’ which is already being used by another service or application. Please reconfigure ‘APACHE’ to use free port.”

So, another program was using the port 80 and MAMP was unable to run without a free port 80. The pattern I refereed to before was that this error would only appear when Skype was already in use. To make sure that Skype was actually the culprit, a quick ran of the cmd console was necessary. Next we check which ports are being used by issuing the following command: netstat – a -b

It was obvious that Skype was the program using port 80 as you can see in the screenshot.

As predicted and underlined in red, Skype is using port 80.

If we started MAMP before starting Skype the error wouldn’t happen but that was only a temporary solution. The most effective way to solve this problem was to just disable the use of that port on Skype’s options.

To do that you first need to open Skype and click on “Tools” and then choose “Options”.

Choose Tools > Options.

One the new window choose the last tab “Advanced” and then the “Connection” tab.

On the top of the new window you’ll see this option: “Use port 80 and 443 for additional incoming connections”. Unckecking this box solve the issue. Skype will no longer use those ports. For the fix to take effect you must “Save” the new settings and restart Skype.

Select the Advanced tab and then click on Connection.
Uncheck the box on the top.

That will make the “MAMP Port 80 in use” error message go away completely. In this case, MAMP was being used but this procedure is usually required for other servers such as XAMPP and WAMP.