Two separate things need to be open on Windows — router and OS firewall. Port forwarding on the router is not enough.

lnd.conf settings to verify:

Without , LND won't advertise itself correctly to peers even if the port is open.

Windows Firewall (often missed):

1. Open Windows Defender Firewall → Advanced Settings
2. Inbound Rules → New Rule
3. Port → TCP → 9735 → Allow the connection
4. Apply to all profiles (Domain, Private, Public)

Verify it's working:

Look for and check — your node's URI should show your public IP:9735. If that field is empty or shows , the line in lnd.conf isn't set.

The fact that 8333 works but 9735 doesn't usually means the firewall rule exists for Bitcoin Core but wasn't added for LND.