NAT settings

[Woundup]

First of sorry guys if this is the wrong place to put this post. I recently ran into some xbox live voice communications problems where I could hear maybe 1 or 2 guys in the game and that was it. I decided to check my NAT settings and they are at moderate when I do the connection test. Can someone please post what was on the other site "of which we do not speak" of what I need to do to correct this situation.

[Crippler]

Woundup, could you post what router you are using? It's usually as simple as opening the two ports needed by Live. I can't think of them at the moment. I know it's on the Xbox.com site. I'll look around and see if I can post them here.




Edit: Found the info: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908874/en-us?sd=xbox

Open these ports to your 360's IP address. You may need to assign a static IP address to your 360 also.

[Peench]

I think Serren wrote something up on this not too long ago. I need to get it posted along with some follow up information.

[Woundup]

It's the linksys WRT54G. I know how to get into the router settings screen I just am not sure what I need to do after that (ex. ports to open)

[Rhino Chaser]

Woundup, how old is your router? I couldn't get mine to work properly unitl I did an update to the firmware. Also, have you been to your config page to play with your settings? I have a good link at home that I will post later today that should be helpful.

[Peench]

That's the same router I have Woundup. Lemme look around for the screencaps. If I can find them I'll post them up with a really quick write up for you.

[Peench]

Here ya go Woundup:

Here's where you would do the firmware upgrade. Make extra sure you download the one for your correct version. Check the bottom of your router.



And here's where you do the port forwarding:



In order for this to work though you will need to set up your xbox 360 on a static IP address. In the pictures above I have mine set to 192.168.1.7. You will also need to know your subnet mask (usually 255.255.255.0) and your gateway. Your gateway is the IP address of your router (usu. 192.168.1.1). Once you punch those into the console test your settings again.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, for some reason this router is a little funky. I had to change the settings on my 360 quite a few times before I was able to get it to work. Also, for some reason it would NOT work if I had the DMZ set to opn for my 360's IP address. Very strange, but after trying a few different IP addresses it finally ended up working for me.

Good luck and post back if you have any further questions!

[Woundup]

thanks for all the help guys. I actually got it straightend out and then when I came back here to post I seen all the posts from you guys. Thanks again for the time you put into helping me out it's very appreciated.

[Jon Liu]

I really enjoy the Linksys router except it was really funky with the macbook pro (known issues) when I had it so I had to get a different router.. I am debating whether or not I want to use the newer belkin router I got or go back to the linksys... either way I don't think it matters nonetoomuch...

I've never had a problem really keeping my NAT settings open...

[Rhino Chaser]

Good to hear! I had all sorts of issues getting set up for XBL with my router….

I was going to put in a call to Linksys to get that expedited for you if our advice didn't help.

....sorry couldn't help that one...feel free to moderate as needed.

[Quo]

Originally Posted by Peench

In order for this to work though you will need to set up your xbox 360 on a static IP address. In the pictures above I have mine set to 192.168.1.7. You will also need to know your subnet mask (usually 255.255.255.0) and your gateway. Your gateway is the IP address of your router (usu. 192.168.1.1). Once you punch those into the console test your settings again.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, for some reason this router is a little funky. I had to change the settings on my 360 quite a few times before I was able to get it to work. Also, for some reason it would NOT work if I had the DMZ set to opn for my 360's IP address.

Guys... I messed around with Schlick's router and 360 settings last night trying to get an open NAT. No luck, he remains moderate. Very tough doing this stuff over the phone.

I don't think we tried port forwarding with the DMZ turned OFF. based on the above comment in red, is that what we need to try next?

Also, when you make changes in the router software, can you just press "Save" or do you then have to back out and reboot the router?

Schlick has the same Linksys router depicted in Peench's example.

The first thing we did (and it actually got him open) was turn off all of his computers and the 360, reboot the router and modem, and turn on only the 360. Since he was open after that I figured that we need to put him on a static IP to avoid future conflicts.

Sure enough, when he got home later he turned on his 'puters (two in the house right now) and instantly he's back to moderate. So we changed the IP on the 360 to a specific address and make the port forwarding changes listed in Peench's example, plus turn on DMZ and direct all the changes to the 360's IP address... (makes sense, right?)

But nada, still moderate. I missed the point on the DMZ and leaving it off, because there's another thread here that talks about turning it ON.

I's cornfused.

[Peench]

It took me messing with the settings too to get them to work. The DMZ didn't do jack shiznit for me when I tried using it. Also the uPNP settings didn't work the way they were supposed to. In theory you should just be able to save it and it should work. But you may want to have him unplug it for a minute after he saves the settings and see if that works.

Unfortunately it seems like it is more of a "adjust one thing and then another" to see if it works thing with the Linksys routers. My recommendation is to try different settings one at a time until he finds the one that works. I had to do mine more than a few times to get it to work the way it should have right out of the gate.

[Serren]

He needs to turn off DHCP. DHCP is what assigns IP's, and it does so randomly. After turning off DHCP, he will need to config every device on his network with a static IP in the advanced network settings tabs. He will need to enter an IP, different for each device, the gateway, and the DNS info.

[Quo]

First off, forgive my ignorance...

He frequently has visitors who bring over their laptops. If he turns off DHCP, will they still be able to log on to his network and use his internet access?

[KEEZY]

They (the guests) will have to assign their own IP address if DHCP is off.

If youre 360 has a static IP, it will ignore the DHCP, so you can leave it on. HOWEVER, you should make his 360's IP outside of the range of address that DHCP will use. I think by default, the router has a range of 192.168.1.[2 to 50] or maybe it is [100 to 150].

So have him set the DHCP range to 100 to 150, and then put his 360 as 192.168.1.35 or something. That way, the DHCP will not assign another computer the same IP as his 360.

Peench is right though, you have to mess with all three settings to get it to work, it seems.

1. DMZ
2. Port Forwarding
3. UPnP

I recently had to do this with my new Elite. I'll go home and check what my settings are.

[Quo]

ok, I'll have him find the DHCP settings and limit them to a more narrow range, and place the 360 in the DMZ outside that range.

*crosses fingers, knocks on wood, rubs Keezy's belly*