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RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

dejecteddogsb — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:57:27 GMT

jeeeeeeeessssssuuuss

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

FLAN uk — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:09:05 GMT

firmware is up to date, from what sparse information that i have gleaned from 'tinterweb it seems that there could be a specific problem with this router and live, because its so new. i could be reverting back to my trusty old Linksys until this is sorted...

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Chas — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:45:13 GMT

Not strictly true, it doesn't need to be 192.168.2.255, it can be whatever you want equal to or above the starting address, the difference between the starting address and the ending one will determine the maximum number of machines that can connect to your network. So it could make a difference in this case if Flan had more than 3 machines he was trying to connect to his network which I presume he hasn't otherwise he wouldn't have set it to 192.168.2.4, well I hope not anyway .

Have you tried stuff like latest firmware etc Flan?

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Pirrie — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:39:50 GMT

I doubt it will make a difference, but the pool ending address should be 192.168.2.255. Does the router have DMZ(firewall) or public ip settings?

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

FLAN uk — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:29:41 GMT

i'm also having problems with connecting to live. i've just changed my router to a Belkin N1, my laptop auto detected first time no problem, but my e-mail account only connects after two or three attempts. when i turn on the 360 it auto signs in and it shows how many friends are on line, but when i run the network connection test it fails to connect to live, all the other settings pass, which i don't understand as like i said when i first boot up it auto connects! once in a blue moon it passes all the tests and the NAT shows as open, then if i try again it fails! then i can try again and it passes and the NAT is moderate, so it's clearly not happy with one or two of the router settings.

the 360 settings are all set to automatic, listed below are the router settings:

ip address:192.168.2.1

subnet mask:255.255.255.0

DHCP server on, ip pool starting address:192.168.2.2, ip pool ending address:192.168.2.4

WAN: dynamic

WAN DNS:automatic from isp

UPnP:on

i have tried the port forwarding as suggested by Groove above, but this doesn't seem to make any difference.

help!...

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Pirrie — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:22:39 GMT

If you are behind a router and have problems that the port forwarding has not fixed then check to see if you can set up your 360 to get a direct public IP. This should be totally different from the IP address that the router hands out. Had open NAT settings both before and after so that isn't always a sign that everything is okay.

I had problems with COD 3 and the same Problems with COD 4 beta when trying to join specific games, this fix has sorted all that.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Pirrie — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:42:06 GMT

I know it's a bit late, but a BT home hub is accessed by double clicking on the 'hub manager' icon on the PC desktop. The install disk should put it there. The hub software allows application sharing which includes xbox live in the list.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

tony1869 — Tue, 15 May 2007 08:30:20 GMT

ok after all that, how do u access the ip addresses in bt home hub??? before my 360 was sent away for repair i had a lot of live crashes?

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

matty — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 18:58:29 GMT

wtf ???

just disabling it and then re-enabling it fixed it ???

weird......but cool you got it sorted[/quote]

yup.... i didnt believe it either i ran test after test on my xbox and it still says open, but hey.... at least it works now

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Boulderboy — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 18:07:26 GMT

Routers are strange beasts. BT sent me one of their 'Home Hubs' last year and I was very worried as I'd read loads of reports on t'interweb about them being a pain in the arse for Live. Reluctantly set it up and hey presto, not a single problem.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Groove — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:28:21 GMT

wtf ???

just disabling it and then re-enabling it fixed it ???

weird......but cool you got it sorted

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

matty — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:48:30 GMT

sorry bout the reply beingh the same twice lol i pressed the button agen lol

Mod Note: you can use the edit button next time this happens instead of making a third post

<=======

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

matty — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:42:09 GMT

its ok now , (IF ITS A BELKIN) i had to type my IP adress into the adress bar (no www. or co.uk or com) then clik on enter then when i was on te belkin page i had to clik on firewall on the left then sign in then disable the firewall and the NAT and then re-enable the NAT and the Firewall ... now on my xbox the NAT is showing as open ... but the foreigners dont help , "what is an xbox ? plaese explain it to me " lol

onion

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

DM — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 11:41:32 GMT

Goto start then choose run

in run type

cmd

and hit return

then type into the black window that opens up

ipconfig /all

and hit return

then select that info and paste it back here and we can start to help you. to select the info right click in the box, select all and then hit 'enter'.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

matty — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 10:33:11 GMT

oh god , how confusing is all of this , i have no idea wot half of the stuff means , i cant find anything anywer on my pc to get onto the routers settings or control panel...

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Groove — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:50:46 GMT

Here is an updated FAQ on the matter written by friend nexor -

1. Set a static IP address on the 360
2. Set up port forwarding
3. Turn on UPnP
4. Enable the DMZ

NAT in a nutshell...

NAT is an acronym for Network Address Translation.
It allows your home network to share the ip address given to you by your isp.
Additionally it keeps your network fairly safe from hackers.

As the internet can only see the shared IP address of the router, any data sent from Xbox Live needs to be directed to the Xbox on your home network. We do this with Port Forwarding.

All data on the internet is sent on a specific port, Xbox Live uses the following ports:

UDP 88
UDP 3074
TCP 3074

TCP 2074
UDP 2074

(It is very important to note the UDP and TCP parts, these are two different ways that data is sent.)

So, to make sure that the data we recieve from Xbox Live is 'forwarded' to the Xbox on our network we need to map the route for those ports.

For port fowarding to work we need to set a few things up correctly.

Firstly we need to set a 'Static' IP address on the Xbox. Doing this may stop something else on your network to stop working so we just need to do a little planning first.

I'm taking it that your routers IP address is 192.168.1.1 which is pretty standard, it may be 192.168.0.1 or something similar in which case just change the address range that I'm using for your own. If you wish to use my preffered addressing then you will need to change the Static IP address of your router to 192.168.1.1 before doing anything else.

Log into your routers admin panel and take a look at the DHCP Server options, it will list a range of addresses. Set them as follows:

Start Range: 192.168.1.100
End Range: 192.168.1.200

Make sure the DHCP option is enabled, this will make sure that any computer or other device that is set to automatically obtain an IP address will get one and they won't be affected by us setting a static address for the xbox.

I would advise rebooting any computers you have on your network to make sure they renew they're IP address from the router to reflect the changes we've just made.

Now we need to set the static IP address on the Xbox, set it as follows:
IP Address: 192.168.1.10
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1 (this is your routers IP address)
DNS Server 1: 192.168.1.1
DNS Server 2: 192.168.1.1

We can now set the Port Forwarding up. In the router admin panel go to your Port Forwarding options and set up the following rules:

Protocol:UDP
Port:88
Local Address:192.168.1.10

Protocol:UDP
Port: 3074
Local Address:192.168.1.10

Protocol:TCP
Port:3074
Local Address:192.168.1.10

Save those settings and reboot your router.

Now run the Network test on the System Blade and wait for the NAT test to finish. Use the following status results to determine your next action:

Status: OPEN - Post a nice comment about me in the forum, then go play coz your sorted.
Status: MODERATE - Ooooo your nearly there, keep reading this guide.
Status: STRICT - Blimey, grab a coffee and your favourite drug, take the lot coz we're in for a long night! oh ok, just keep reading this guide

Port forwarding should work for most routers, for the tricky ones we have a few more options...

UPnP

Universal Plug 'n' Play, by default this should be set off on your router. What does it do? well it allows different networked devices to communicate with each without setting them up, you plug it in and it starts working as if by magic.

Turn on UPnP on your router and run the network test again.

Status: OPEN - Post a nice comment about me in the forum, then go play coz your sorted.
Status: MODERATE - Ooooo your nearly there, keep reading this guide.
Status: STRICT - Blimey, grab a coffee and your favourite drug, take the lot coz we're in for a long night! oh ok, just keep reading this guide

Well if you've got this far then it's time to bring out the big guns.....

The DMZ demystified

The final option we have is to put your xbox on whats called a DMZ, an acronym for Demilitarized Zone. Put simply, it means putting your xbox directly onto the internet. You don't need port forwarding as your router won't stop data on any port from communicating with the Xbox, it will pass anything to the xbox.

In your router admin panel go to the DMZ option and enter your Xbox IP address (192.168.1.10).

Retest the NAT and see what you get!

Status: OPEN - Post a nice comment about me in the forum, then go play coz your sorted.
Status: MODERATE - hmmmmmm, not a good result. It is possible that the Xbox isn't reading the results correctly. Open a game room and get a few friends in who know their NAT result, test a few games, if everything is ok then go play!
Status: STRICT - Give up, buy a branded router

Well that's not strictly true, if you still can't get the holy grail of NAT results (that's OPEN by the way), then you should try turning off SPI and also try what we've already done in different configurations like using port forwarding and UPnP without the DMZ.

Also worth checking out http://live.tommccann.net/

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Groove — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:46:52 GMT

Onion , you need to get to the administration interface of your router and then follow the instructions in the first post of this thread.

Do you know how to do that ?

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

matty — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:28:01 GMT

how the hell do i turn the NAT off , it doesnt say anything about it in the manual ....http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=313637

i think that is it , and by the way i dont no how to do tht *linky thing that some people put in the posts ... so sorry

any help appreciated with NAT onion

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

matty — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:50:14 GMT

i did a test on my xbox and it says for the NAT > moderate and i havent a clue what that means lol

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Chas — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:06:36 GMT

It could be, first off you need to check your NAT as explained in the first post, if it doesn't say Open then it could be a cause of problems.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

matty — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 14:33:05 GMT

son of a b**** , mine is a belkin , and when i was connecting in gears of war it kept cumming up and it says connection lost with the player , oh is that because of the NAT thing ?

any help apperctiated , onion

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

G0rF — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 17:18:56 GMT

Yup.

Use the rightclick "View page in IE" IEViewer plugin here for a quick workaround.

HERE

Sorry, what am I thinking!?!?!? Thanks for the excellent info Groove!

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Pirrie — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 12:40:53 GMT

One or two, lol.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Agent Dread — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 12:25:43 GMT

Its a firefox issue again! damn why dont these forums like firefox?

check the attachment to see what it looks like.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Chas — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 10:30:59 GMT

strange, I don't get any smilies showing at all.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

DM — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 09:22:45 GMT

The multiple smilies in most of the lines of the post apart from the begining text.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Groove — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 08:33:36 GMT

What smilies ?

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Agent Dread — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 20:14:47 GMT

Damn thats alot of smilies.

Good work fella.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Groove — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 19:35:09 GMT

DMZ doesnt work as that is what i had and was still getting moderate NAT'ing.

Opening the ports seems the only way to 100% guarantee you wont have problems.

Problem is there's no guarantee other people your are playing with have theirs set up properly.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

arcl — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 15:28:40 GMT

I could have sworn I've seen the majority of this for the old Xbox Live (maybe except the NAT bit and the model, makes and firmware)

Nobody tried the DMZ again?

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Chas — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 15:14:03 GMT

Cheers Groove,

I'll doublecheck my setup later.

Fortunately my Xbox 360 won't connect to your bog standard Xbox anyway Fezza

Cheers,

Chas

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

bonobaby — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 12:24:47 GMT

bloody hell groove great info but might up set chas as im going to have to keep msn him "whats that mean" "how do you do that" as you prob remember that night trying to set up forza .

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Spoonman2 — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 11:44:12 GMT

Super information there.

Spoony.

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

FLAN uk — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 11:27:19 GMT

blimey groove! nice indepth help there...

RE: Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

DM — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 10:49:43 GMT

thanks for that Groove, hopefuly I shouldn't have any problems, but a lot of people seem to be.

Might be an idea to lob some code tags round that to stop the smilies

Troubleshooting tips for connecting to games

Groove — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 09:51:47 GMT

After experiencing difficulties last night in PGR3 connecting to certain games , but more importantly Chas and I appeared to not be able to get in any game at the same time I hunted down some info that may come in useful if you are having similar problems.

The cause of the problem appears to be the NAT'ing on routers. Go to the System blade and do a network test. The last setting `NAT` is the one you should be concerned with. For flawless xbox live play this needs a result of OPEN. anything else ( Strict or moderate) will cause you problems connecting to other people/hearing them etc.

Mine was on moderate. After making changes to the port forwarding as detailed below its now reading OPEN and my problems have gone.

The biggest problem with NAT is that poor connection you might receive when trying to hear voice chat during a game. Its either poor or not at all. With NAT you get the following condition (OPEN, STRICT, and MODERATE). You’re always going to want to have an OPEN NAT. Here is the reason

1. Lets say you have a STRICT connection and you are hosting a game (ex. Call of Duty 2) you will only be able to hear people that have STICT or MODERATE NAT's. If you had an OPEN NAT then it would never matter who connected when you hosted. If you want to know more about NAT go to your XBOX 360 dashboard and move over to System then Connection settings. Wait for the test to finish then look at what your NAT tells you (remember OPEN, STRICT, or MODERATE) then click on more details and it will give you a brief explanation on what NAT is.

IF YOU DONT HAVE A MICROSOFT CERTIFIED ROUTER OR GATEWAY!

1. The first thing you must do is make sure that UPnP is enabled. This stands for Universal Plug and Play (used for gaming the most)

2. Since you don’t have a Microsoft certified router or gateway you need to go to the Port forwarding option and make sure the following setting are in.

UDP 88

UDP 3074

TCP 3074

This will make sure you router (In my case) has all ports open when connecting to Xbox 360 live so that you get an OPEN NAT.

3. Also worth adding the ports to port triggering for 100% peice of mind-

To open the ports you will need to access your router via your PC and go to Port Triggering.

Label the post Xbox1 in the first address line, then input 88 in all boxes, and finally click ENABLE.
Label the second line Xbox2 and imput 3074 in all of the boxes and finally click ENABLE.

HERE IS WHAT NAT LOOKS LIKE IN A NUT SHELL.

To make this easy for everyone, we’ve created a chart for your use.

	To Open	To Moderate	To Strict
From Open	Yes	Yes	Yes
From Moderate	Yes	Yes	No
From Strict	Yes	No	No

Suppose you want to host an Xbox Live game and you’re using a router that’s classified as open. Armed with that information and using the chart above, you can be confident that your router’s NAT type will not keep your friends (who may also be using routers) from finding your session, hearing your voice, and enjoying a great game.

But let’s say you’re behind a router that’s a strict NAT. When you want to host a game, you now have something to consider. Anyone else who’s behind a router that uses a moderate or strict NAT may not be able to connect to your session.

Let’s look at one final example going the other direction: you joining someone else’s game. Will you be able to participate fully with everyone in the game? If you have a moderate NAT on your home network, you can get an idea of what may happen by looking at the chart. If the players you want to play with are using strict NATs, you will likely experience problems. You may not be able to hear them and they may not be able to hear you. You may not be able to see those players at all.

Note NATs don’t affect lag; this is all about connecting to other players!

Here are the Router, Gateways, and Wireless Bridges that are Cert. by Microsoft.

Microsoft	Supported Firmware
MN-100	1.08, 1.11.017
MN-500	1.08, 1.11.017
MN-700	02.00.07.0331, 02.00.08.0333, 02.01.02.0590

DLink	Supported Firmware
DI-524	1.05, 3.00
DI-604	2.18,3.2,3.36
DI-614+	2.18,3.2,3.35, 3.43
DI-624	2.25,2.28,2.42,2.50
DI-784	2.38
DGL-4100	1.2, 1.3
DGL-4300	1.2, 1.3

Linksys	Supported Firmware
BEFSR41(v3)	1.04.8, 1.05.00
BEFW11S4(v4)	1.45.3, 1.50.14
WRT54G (v1,v2,v3)	3.01.3, 3.03.6
WRT54GS (v2)	3.37.6
WRT55AG (v2)	1.10

Netgear	Supported Firmware
WGU624	1.0.1.2EN, 1.0.1.9EN
WGR614v1	1.40
WGT624 (v2)	4.2.6_1.0.1
WGT624 (v3)	1.0.12_1.0.1
WGT634U	1.4.1.8, 1.4.1.10

Incompatible Routers
These routers have been found to be incompatible with
Xbox Live.

DLink	Linksys	Netgear	SMC
DI-754	BEFSR11	MR314	7004VBR
DI-764	BEFW11S4 (v2)	RP114	7004WFW
	NR041	RP334
		RT311
		RT314

Wireless Bridges

The following wireless bridges have earned the Xbox Live
Compatible logo.

Microsoft	Supported Firmware
MN-740	1.0.2.21 and later

Linksys	Supported Firmware
WGA54G	1.10
WGA54AG	1.0
WGA54Gv2	1.6

Gateways

The following gateways have earned the Xbox Live
Compatible logo.

Model	Firmware	Logo-Certified on Provider
Siemens/Efficient Networks Speedstream 6300	3.0.2 (004-E771-A3Z), 3.2.0 (004-E771-A5X)	Sympatico (Bell Canada)
Siemens/Efficient Networks Speedstream 6520	4.0.0c (004-E752-A4E config 003-w093-G0A)	Sympatico (Bell Canada)
Netgear CG814WG	2.94d02	Comcast
Actiontec GT701R	QW04-3.60.2.0.6.3-GT701	Qwest
Actiontec GT701WG	QW04-3.60.2.0.6.3-GT701-WG	Qwest

About MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit)

What this checks for is the most information that can be transmitted by your IP address without having to be broken down into small parts. The MTU of your router or gateway must be greater than or equal to 1365. If it is less than 1365, you won't be able to connect to Xbox Live. Well you’re probably wondering how you check your MTU.

Select Xbox Live to sign in to Xbox Live from the Xbox Dashboard.
From the Xbox Dashboard, select MAIN MENU.
From the MAIN MENU, select SETTINGS.
From the SETTINGS screen, select NETWORK SETTINGS.
From the NETWORK SETTINGS screen, select CONNECT.
The Connect Status screen will automatically begin testing your network connection. When the test is complete, you will see 4 green balls on your screen.
When the network test is complete, press the Y button on your controller. A drop-down diagnostic screen will appear containing W, X, Y and Z diagnostic codes.
With the diagnostic screen visible, select OK to see additional information.
Find MT: x, where x is your MTU test result of either 0 or 1. 0 means your MTU size is not 1365 or greater and it won’t work with Xbox Live. 1 means your MTU size is 1365 or greater and you’re good to go for Xbox Live!

What if my MTU size is not compatible with Xbox Live?

If the MT value is 0, you have a router or gateway that is incompatible with Xbox Live because of its MTU setting. You’ll need to change the MTU setting on your device. See your device documentation to accomplish this.

*****You can change your MTU by accessing the router and editing the settings.*****

LAST BUT NOT LEAST ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)

For a great experience, your router or gateway must properly handle a certain type of Internet traffic called ICMP port unreachable traffic. ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol. It’s not important that you know much about ICMP, but you should be sure your home gateway or router properly handles this kind of traffic.

How does ICMP traffic influence Xbox Live?

If your router does not handle ICMP traffic properly, you won’t be able to connect to Xbox Live.

How can I tell if my home network properly handles ICMP traffic?

With the latest update of the Xbox Dashboard, you can now determine whether your router or home gateway is handling ICMP traffic properly!

To see your ICMP test results in the Xbox Dashboard

Select Xbox Live to sign in to Xbox Live from the Xbox Dashboard.
From the Xbox Dashboard, select MAIN MENU.
From the MAIN MENU, select SETTINGS.
From the SETTINGS screen, select NETWORK SETTINGS.
From the NETWORK SETTINGS screen, select CONNECT.
The Connect Status screen will automatically begin testing your network connection. When the test is complete, you will see 4 green balls on your screen.
When the network test is complete, press the Y button on your controller. A drop-down diagnostic screen will appear containing W, X, Y and Z diagnostic codes.
With the diagnostic screen visible, select OK to see additional information.
Find IC: x, where x is your ICMP test result of either 0 or 1. 0 means your router or home gateway has failed the ICMP test and is not compatible with Xbox Live. 1 means your router or home gateway has passed the ICMP test, and you’re good to go for Xbox Live!

What if my device doesn’t properly handle ICMP traffic?

If the IC value is 0, the test failed and your device is not properly handling ICMP packets. Typically this is not a setting you can change, though you may be able to update your device’s firmware from the device manufacturer.