[NFS]

My nephew is trying to set up a wireless connection for his xbox 360 at the moment and it's proving to be a bit of a nightmare.

He has a netgear WRG614 wireless router, which is in turn connected to a virgin media cable modem. He is using the new black xbox wireless 'n' adapter.

The PC and Wii connect to the router wirelessly and can both access the internet without any problems.

The xbox found the wireless network straight away, but initially completely refused to connect. It seemed to be an issue with the security settings, so I changed these from WPA to WEP.

The good news is that this allowed the xbox to connect to the router. The bad news is that it isn't connecting to the internet. The error message says:

Originally Posted by xbox

dns server can't resolve the names of the xbox live servers or xbox.com

The router is set to asign DNS servers automatically. The PC is also on automatic, which suggests that the router is asigning servers as the internet connection is working fine.

Something funny is happening with the xbox though as the IP address it claims to have been given for the primary DNS server is actually the address for the router itself.

Have tried manually entering details for 'open DNS' but that made no difference.

From google searches I've seen that there are NAT issues with this router and the xbox, so I assume some port forwarding is going to be necessary, but at this stage it's not connecting to the internet at all. I have UnPnP enabled on the router as well.

Can any of the xbox experts on the forum assist? This is proving to be a bit of a bugger to resolve.

[magic77]

the primary DNS on the xbox willbe the router, the xbox will request a name resolution from the primary dns (router) which will then forward the request to the DNS servers it has in its list.

From memory I do recall you have to setup port forwading for Xbox to go online correctly, you will need to google the ports.

Also what happens if you use a hard line does it work ok,

I would first give the xbox a fixed IP address with gateway and primary dns set as the router. This is safer especially if Virgin Media change the DNS as they can sometimes, this way the router will update its list and all other pcs on network are fine.

Next configure the port forwards, looking on line it sems you need to forward the following to the new fixed IP of the 360

Port: 88, Protocol: both (TCP & UDP)
Port: 2074, Protocol: both (TCP & UDP)
Port: 3074, Protocol: both (TCP & UDP)

[NFS]

Originally Posted by magic77

the primary DNS on the xbox willbe the router, the xbox will request a name resolution from the primary dns (router) which will then forward the request to the DNS servers it has in its list.

From memory I do recall you have to setup port forwading for Xbox to go online correctly, you will need to google the ports.

Also what happens if you use a hard line does it work ok,

I would first give the xbox a fixed IP address with gateway and primary dns set as the router. This is safer especially if Virgin Media change the DNS as they can sometimes, this way the router will update its list and all other pcs on network are fine.

Next configure the port forwards, looking on line it sems you need to forward the following to the new fixed IP of the 360

Port: 88, Protocol: both (TCP & UDP)
Port: 2074, Protocol: both (TCP & UDP)
Port: 3074, Protocol: both (TCP & UDP)

Thanks for the advice. Am going to get them to try a hard line connection next to make sure it's the router that is causing the blockage.

The xbox already has the router listed as the primary DNS, which sounds correct based on your post. So it seems that the router is stopping the DNS request (either outbound or inbound)? Will try the port forwarding now too see if this helps.

I may suggest that they go for an ethernet connection instead though as this router seems to be promlematic for xbox due to difficulties with the NAT settings.

[- Paul -]

Some setups just don't work from what I've read. Good idea to give the 360 a permanent ip on your subnet at the router. Then you can put it into a DMZ which should help.

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1118

[NFS]

Originally Posted by - Paul -

Some setups just don't work from what I've read. Good idea to give the 360 a permanent ip on your subnet at the router. Then you can put it into a DMZ which should help.

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1118

Cool .. had forgotten about DMZ as it's not possible on my speedtouch router at home.

Might be a better option than port forwarding in this case as other people seem to have struggled with this router. I already have upnp enabled, but this does not seem to be enough.

[magic77]

I personally would avoid DMZ as it could leave the xbox too open to outside , I've not had issues with fixed IP and port forwarding.

If you can get them on a wired connection the better on ebay you can get good cat6 network cable for next to nothing. I picked up 10M for £4.99 an you can get even longer if needed

[- Paul -]

Nothing able to hack on a 360 (remotely) - you can leave them wide open all day.

[NFS]

There is only one ethernet port on the back of the cable modem.

So not possible to leave xbox AND the wireless router plugged in directly by ethernet.

If I want to plug both in what do I need? Is this what a 'network switch' is for?

[ECBMW]

Originally Posted by NFS

There is only one ethernet port on the back of the cable modem.

So not possible to leave xbox AND the wireless router plugged in directly by ethernet.

If I want to plug both in what do I need? Is this what a 'network switch' is for?

You can use a network switch or just get a new router (one with more ports of course) which allows you to fine control your settings i.e. assigning an IP address, registering an IP against a MAC, forwarding ports etc etc but many can be done manually by X-Box.

Just a hunch, i would turn off the firewall at the router and see what happens, but would also check if you can connect with the ethernet before getting any additional equipment.....

Remember to turn on the FW after testing.