Sunday, December 14, 2008

Xbox 360 Live connection problems

I've tried connecting to Xbox Live to get the MPEG4 media update and it kept disconnecting in the middle of the sign-up process, very annoying. I've tried a few suggestions floating around on the web, like changing the router configuration and forwarding ports 88 and 3074 to the box, no luck. I thought at first that it was due to the WDS link I have between the two wireless routers, nope wasn't that. The Xbox Live test even complained of a low MTU setting, couldn't find that any setting for that in my 3Com wireless router (3com OfficeConnect Wireless 11g Cable / DSL, 3CRWE554G72T) and even less luck with the NTL cable modem, to which I don't even have access to (well, I sorta do if I hook up my computer directly in the modem and change the IP in the 192.168.1.x class and connect to 192.168.1.1, but I can only see technical data, like signal and stuff, no MTU or anything like that). I even changed the DNS servers to OpenDNS ones, thought it might help somehow, nope no luck.

Anyways, back to the my 3Com wireless router, checked the firmware version, being a discontinue product it was last updated a couple of years ago and the last time I talked to a 3com support person didn't help much... Turned back to the internet to find a few others having the same problem and no solution... Decided to keep poking around in the router menu, until I got into the Firewall > SPI section. Unticked a few options in Stateful Packet Inspection section, still no luck - then I took the courage and unchecked the main SPI entry and bulzeye! My box was talking to Bill's computers loud and clear!!! :-)

I don't have a full Xbox Live account, one of those gold ones (used to have one for the old Xbox, actually Microsoft was very nice and refunded me when it got renewed without my approval, but that's another story :-), I only needed to connect once to get the update. I might go back again every now and then for those free downloads or even get a gold subscription someday, although very unlikely given my spare time, I might have to decide to disable SPI for good. While I sorta do understand what SPI does, I'll need to understand it a bit more and give it a good run with and without to make a final decision.

6 comments :

  1. I got the exact same problem, but now I think you've solved it :D God bless you if this works!

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  2. Hahaha, thank you :D I left the SPI disabled since - connects to Xbox Live right away - and I haven't had any problems - I do have firewalls enabled on each computer in the house, and who's gonna attack me and why? :-)

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  3. Yeah! exactly! Brilliant is the word! Have been looking for a solution for God knows have long : ) Again, thank you very much! Only useful post among thousands of others!

    -JoeC

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  4. Thanks Joe, I know the feeling, had to go through that myself and luckily I found the solution the next day. Glad you found it useful, enjoy! :-)

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  5. This seems to have sorted my son's access problem too, thanks ... plenty of talk about MTU settings all over the web, but if your Router doesn't give you an option to change said settings you're a bit buggered really, aren't you :-) ?!?!?!?

    Cheers again, much appreciated ...

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  6. Didn't even get there, in my case I have an NTL cable modem I can't even get into (well, I know it has a 192.168.1.100 IP or something like and can connect to it with a web interface if I change my IP class to match, but I recall I couldn't change anything it, just view things).

    I should've tested as well connecting directly the Xbox to the NTL modem, but one is downstairs and the other is upstairs, anyways :-) glad it worked out, we couldn't let the boy miss his friends on live ;-)

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