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A xbox 360 wireless adapter?

M

Mr. MacBook

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 28, 2007
337
0
Ok, so i just made my decision on the console wars. I think wii is going to win, but im going to have an Xbox 360 nevertheless, and my wii is going to go on sale soon when i get the chance.

Unfortunately, i plan to do quite a bit of gaming on the xbox live service, and since i have no intentions of dragging out a huge ethernet cable out to my family room, i really need a wireless card. The 1st party one costs... uhh... $100. Yeah. That's apple prices (no offense, my macbook is great and MS still blows).

I'm hoping for the price drop update to have them hopefully include wireless, but if the update doesent come, or they dont include it, are there any 3rd party adapters? I refuse to give microsoft $100 for something that probably costs $25 to manufacture.
 
I don't know of any 3rd party adapters, but if you can get your hands on an original xbox wireless adapter for cheap, i have heard that they work on the 360. Your could get a wired connection to your 360 (although it might be a hassle).
 
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/connecttolive/xbox360/connectionmethods/wirelessconnection.htm

Considerations

The Xbox 360 system was explicitly designed for easy integration with a wireless network. However, the quality and effectiveness of your wireless network depends on a number of factors. Please note:

* The Xbox 360 console supports only the Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adapter and Xbox Live Compatible wireless-to-Ethernet bridges, routers, and gateways bearing the Xbox Live Compatible logo.

For a list of all Xbox Live Compatible equipment, see Compatible Home Networking Equipment.
Click to expand...

Just get a wireless bridge, like the (listed compatible) WGA54G.

I already checked for you (just in case you were going to ask) - no, other normal/generic USB WiFi adapters will not work on the 360. Yes, I know that's lame. ;)

I have mine set up through wired anyway...doesn't bother me. /shrug
 
You could use your MacBook as a bridge. I use my iMac as a bridge. I can't guarantee everything will work out swimmingly (One friend can't do game or chat invites, but it might be just him. He has problems with Live in general. Another friend has successfully done a chat invite with me), however it can't hurt to try since it won't cost you anything (assuming you have your Ethernet cable). I found it helps to turn of the computer's firewall completely and open the proper Xbox Live ports on your router. You could also go the DMZ route instead.

I think Mac OS X Hints' post was the most useful.
 
applekid said:
You could use your MacBook as a bridge. I use my iMac as a bridge. I can't guarantee everything will work out swimmingly (One friend can't do game or chat invites, but it might be just him. He has problems with Live in general. Another friend has successfully done a chat invite with me), however it can't hurt to try since it won't cost you anything (assuming you have your Ethernet cable). I found it helps to turn of the computer's firewall completely and open the proper Xbox Live ports on your router. You could also go the DMZ route instead.

I think Mac OS X Hints' post was the most useful.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i've been trying to do that, but i havent been able to yet. I went to system preferences->sharing->internet and clicked sharing internet on. I don't have my 360 yet to test it on though, and there are no avalible laptops around.
 
Mr. MacBook said:
Yeah, i've been trying to do that, but i havent been able to yet. I went to system preferences->sharing->internet and clicked sharing internet on. I don't have my 360 yet to test it on though, and there are no avalible laptops around.
Click to expand...

I wrote a massive how to back in the beginning of 2006 for getting your 360 sharing connection with your apple, and got tons of pm's requesting help for that remaining year :rolleyes::D

Sad thing is I only did it to work out 'how' to do it - as I bought one of the USB wireless adapters with my 360 :D (Traded in some rubbish games at the time so it didnt cost me anything extra)

Now when you get your 360, drop me a PM and I'll see if I can route out my old threads from back then.

:)
 
Hey, if you want help, I can work with you. I actually use my Xbox 360 and my iMac as a bridge whenever I need to play online, currently. Everything is working well, with the proper adjustments.
 
applekid said:
Hey, if you want help, I can work with you. I actually use my Xbox 360 and my iMac as a bridge whenever I need to play online, currently. Everything is working well, with the proper adjustments.
Click to expand...

Could you post like some directions on how to do this? I'm curious.
 
applekid's unofficial guide to using your Mac as a bridge for the Xbox 360 v. 1.0

Disclaimer: Your mileage may vary. This guide is not guaranteed to work, but hopefully people here can help me edit this to make it better. I'm not a networking guru so some of my guesses in throughout the guide may be incorrect.

For starters, make sure your router is up and running, your Mac is connected to the router and the Internet, and there is an ethernet cable running between your Mac and Xbox 360.

Setting up your router

The following ports need to be forwarded to your Mac (so find the IP address in the Network pane of System Preferences under the TCP/IP tab) for Xbox Live to function:

-UDP 88
-UDP 3074
-TCP 3074

source http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908874

If you are somewhat network savvy, you can use a DMZ server instead. For more on that, please use Google. I attempted using it, but I didn't know if I was even doing it right. And in the case of using a Mac as a bridge, I think that leaves your Mac vulnerable to attack, since I believe you have to set the Mac as the device that will be in the DMZ.

Setting up the Mac

First, let's go into the Network pane in System Preferences. Make sure under Network Status you have a Built-in Ethernet connection option. Open it up. Configure IPv4 should Using DHCP. It's just important that you haven't disabled your Ethernet port.

Go into the Sharing pane in System Preferences. Choose the Firewall tab. Make sure the firewall is off. Yes, that's right. Off. Your Mac should not be vulnerable to any attack, assuming your router has a firewall.

If you're feeling paranoid, you can open up the mentioned ports in the router section and leave your firewall on, but you can't access Windows Live Messenger or the Video Marketplace. It seemed like I had some lag issues here and there in certain online games with my Mac's firewall on. And, I think this will block your ability to give/receive invitations for games/chats. Not confirmed because all of my friends have some kind of issue with Xbox Live in one way or another...

Setting up the Xbox 360

The fun part. Go to the System blade and select Network Settings and choose Edit Settings.

Start with the first section. Choose Manual for IP Settings.

IP Address: 192.168.2.50 (I think anything that isn't your Mac's IP address is fine... Or maybe anything connected to the router? Lack of networking knowledge...)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.2.1

Choose done.

Go to the second section. Choose Manual for your DNS Settings.

I have no idea how important the DNS settings are, but I put in:

Primary DNS Server: 192.168.2.1
Secondary DNS Server: 192.168.1.1

Choose done.

Now back out to the Network Settings menu. Test out your Xbox Live Connection using the Test Xbox Live Connection option in the Network Settings pane. Hopefully things go well here. Everything should be Confirmed. Depending on your luck, you might get Open or Strict for NAT. I get Strict for reasons beyond me.

My only failure with Live has been receiving/giving invites to friends for games/chats. I had one friend that was able to invite me to a chat successfully, but I didn't have my headset hooked up, so I'm not sure if that's 100% working. However, if it wasn't working, I would've gotten some kind of error or been kicked out of the chat instantaneously, so I believe everything is working on my setup. I probably should really test it out with some MR members...

Other sources:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20041112101646643&query=xbox+live

http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2007/04/26/xbox-live-via-a-mac-laptop/

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/03/26/how-to-using-your-mac-as-a-nat-router/

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/connecttolive/xbox360/homenetworking/equipmaent.htm

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/04/16/tuaw-guide-xbox-360-and-mac/

Feel free to comment and complain. I'm doing this partly from memory, partly from looking at the settings on my router, Xbox, and System Preferences, and finding links that I think I used.
 
Wtf

i just bought the wireless 360 adapter, i have a wireless-g 2.4 GHz Linksys router. xbox live worked fine when i had the wire going to it, i was even able to get songs off my mac, so it detected that too. now i buy this wireless adapter, and it wont detect ****. i dont get why. can anyone help me wit this???
 
mDiGug said:
i just bought the wireless 360 adapter, i have a wireless-g 2.4 GHz Linksys router. xbox live worked fine when i had the wire going to it, i was even able to get songs off my mac, so it detected that too. now i buy this wireless adapter, and it wont detect ****. i dont get why. can anyone help me wit this???
Click to expand...

you probably have to go into the network settings and manually change the ips and such. Probably due to the fact that you still have it set up to be wired.
 
stagecustom said:
you probably have to go into the network settings and manually change the ips and such. Probably due to the fact that you still have it set up to be wired.
Click to expand...

k, ill give that a try, how do i find all that stuff, IP, subnet mask, on my mac? i have no clue where it would be, i have a mac OS X tiger if u need to know in order to tell me.
 
okay, listen to this now

first of all, i just wanna say thanx to everyone who is tryin to help me on here, i really appreciate it.

so, i got the wireless connection up and running, but, its faulty of course. if im playing and my brother turns on his PS3, it disconnects me from xbox live. but, if he turns his PS3 on first, then i connect, we can both be on at the same time. still, if im playing while hes playing, and he turns the console off, it boots me off xbox live. ridiculous right? oh it gets better.

also, any phone usage in my house (house line) kicks me off. whether its an incoming call or an outgoing. i have iO optimum voice, idk if that matters to why its doin that?

so, i called xbox support, one lady didnt have a clue, the other guy told me to double my bandwidth, i asked him how, but i could barley understand him and he just rushed me off the phone. the last guy said i shouldnt have to increase my bandwidth, he said i should call linksys and downgrade my router from a version 6 to a 1, 2, or 3.

when i call linksys i just get endless automated voices and never really get to speak to anyone, can anyone here help me????? it would greatly appreciated, thank you
 
mDiGug said:
so, i got the wireless connection up and running, but, its faulty of course. if im playing and my brother turns on his PS3, it disconnects me from xbox live. but, if he turns his PS3 on first, then i connect, we can both be on at the same time. still, if im playing while hes playing, and he turns the console off, it boots me off xbox live. ridiculous right? oh it gets better.
Click to expand...

Are you using a wired connection or wireless, and are you sharing from your mac ?

Basically it sounds like the problem you have is

IP address conflicting with PS3's IP address

Booting is usually a NAT problem. I bet your NAT is moderate or Strict.


Bascially you need to investigate your problem further, the hardware isn't at fault - the settings are.
 
MacRumorUser said:
Are you using a wired connection or wireless, and are you sharing from your mac ?

Basically it sounds like the problem you have is

IP address conflicting with PS3's IP address

Booting is usually a NAT problem. I bet your NAT is moderate or Strict.


Bascially you need to investigate your problem further, the hardware isn't at fault - the settings are.
Click to expand...

im using a wireless connection. when i had the ethernet cord going from the xbox to my wireless router, i never had these problems, now since i got the wireless adapter ive run into all this. what do u mean am i sharing from my mac? my xbox detects my mac, like i can play songs on my xbox offa itunes, if thats what u mean. how would i change my settings??
 
We're planning on getting a wireless bridge in our house so I'll bookmark this thread.

See even with this MIMO router thingy we bought there isn't a signal in my brothers room. Plus it'll just be cheaper to get a bridge, or so I hear!
 
I read somewhere that if your phone is on the same frequency as the xbox wireless thing, then it can cause problems.. your phone is probably 2.4ghz frequency so if you get an older one it should be fine.
 
k i still have no clue why i'm getting kicked off. i dont know where to change my NAT settings if thats the problem. can someone please help me??
 
hi, i appreciate this is an old thread, could anyone help?

applekid said:
applekid's unofficial guide to using your Mac as a bridge for the Xbox 360 v. 1.0

Disclaimer: Your mileage may vary. This guide is not guaranteed to work, but hopefully people here can help me edit this to make it better. I'm not a networking guru so some of my guesses in throughout the guide may be incorrect.

For starters, make sure your router is up and running, your Mac is connected to the router and the Internet, and there is an ethernet cable running between your Mac and Xbox 360.

Setting up your router

The following ports need to be forwarded to your Mac (so find the IP address in the Network pane of System Preferences under the TCP/IP tab) for Xbox Live to function:

-UDP 88
-UDP 3074
-TCP 3074

source http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908874

If you are somewhat network savvy, you can use a DMZ server instead. For more on that, please use Google. I attempted using it, but I didn't know if I was even doing it right. And in the case of using a Mac as a bridge, I think that leaves your Mac vulnerable to attack, since I believe you have to set the Mac as the device that will be in the DMZ.

Setting up the Mac

First, let's go into the Network pane in System Preferences. Make sure under Network Status you have a Built-in Ethernet connection option. Open it up. Configure IPv4 should Using DHCP. It's just important that you haven't disabled your Ethernet port.

Go into the Sharing pane in System Preferences. Choose the Firewall tab. Make sure the firewall is off. Yes, that's right. Off. Your Mac should not be vulnerable to any attack, assuming your router has a firewall.

If you're feeling paranoid, you can open up the mentioned ports in the router section and leave your firewall on, but you can't access Windows Live Messenger or the Video Marketplace. It seemed like I had some lag issues here and there in certain online games with my Mac's firewall on. And, I think this will block your ability to give/receive invitations for games/chats. Not confirmed because all of my friends have some kind of issue with Xbox Live in one way or another...

Setting up the Xbox 360

The fun part. Go to the System blade and select Network Settings and choose Edit Settings.

Start with the first section. Choose Manual for IP Settings.

IP Address: 192.168.2.50 (I think anything that isn't your Mac's IP address is fine... Or maybe anything connected to the router? Lack of networking knowledge...)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.2.1

Choose done.

Go to the second section. Choose Manual for your DNS Settings.

I have no idea how important the DNS settings are, but I put in:

Primary DNS Server: 192.168.2.1
Secondary DNS Server: 192.168.1.1

Choose done.

Now back out to the Network Settings menu. Test out your Xbox Live Connection using the Test Xbox Live Connection option in the Network Settings pane. Hopefully things go well here. Everything should be Confirmed. Depending on your luck, you might get Open or Strict for NAT. I get Strict for reasons beyond me.

My only failure with Live has been receiving/giving invites to friends for games/chats. I had one friend that was able to invite me to a chat successfully, but I didn't have my headset hooked up, so I'm not sure if that's 100% working. However, if it wasn't working, I would've gotten some kind of error or been kicked out of the chat instantaneously, so I believe everything is working on my setup. I probably should really test it out with some MR members...

Other sources:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20041112101646643&query=xbox+live

http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2007/04/26/xbox-live-via-a-mac-laptop/

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/03/26/how-to-using-your-mac-as-a-nat-router/

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/connecttolive/xbox360/homenetworking/equipmaent.htm

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/04/16/tuaw-guide-xbox-360-and-mac/

Feel free to comment and complain. I'm doing this partly from memory, partly from looking at the settings on my router, Xbox, and System Preferences, and finding links that I think I used.
Click to expand...


i got this working last night (by changing one number to a 2 i dont know which one!!!)
im trying to do it this morning and my 360 cant find the ip address. i have found the range and tried everything in that but still the ip address fails. the network adapter shows up ok, i have sharing on from airport to ethernet and firewall off, still wont find the ip, ANYONE HELP!!!!!!!
\ta
paul
 
I think I am having the same problem. I use my mac mini and airport to share Internet with my roomates. When I would use an Ethernet cable from the modem to the xbox everything worked fine. I recently purchased the xbox wireless adapter and I can connect to the computer but when I test the connection it says ip address failed. I don't really know my way around networks to well so I am sure this is an easy fix.
 
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