Do I need a wireless adapter to access Xbox Live?

S

steve_k

CAGiversary!
I just bought a house and now keep my router/modem in a separate room from the Xbox 360. In the past, I lived in an apartment so small that everything was clustered together. Plugging the Xbox 360 directly to my router/modem was not a problem. Now, that is not the case.

I now cannot go online with my Xbox 360. My PS3 and Xbox 360 are connected to the same television in the same room. I thought maybe I had a problem with my conneciton, so I tested the PS3. The PS3 goes online with no problem and I have access to the PSN. However, the Xbox 360 gives me instruction to use a special wireless adapter to go online.

My first question was 'how much will THAT cost?'. I went to Best Buy's website and saw the Xbox 360 wireless adapter sells for SIXTY DOLLARS!!! Does this mean I need to go out and spend another sixty dollars on a special adapter to do what the PS3 can already do out of the box without some stupid adapter?

I cannot connect my router/modem directly to my Xbox 360 because they are in different rooms. My PS3 is hooked up wirelessly and goes online without a problem. Please do not tell me Microsoft expects me to spend $60 for some adapter so I can go online and spend even more money on Xbox Live games. I just want to play some Radiant Silvergun from the Xbox Live store.
 
[quote name='steve_k']I just bought a house and now keep my router/modem in a separate room from the Xbox 360. In the past, I lived in an apartment so small that everything was clustered together. Plugging the Xbox 360 directly to my router/modem was not a problem. Now, that is not the case.

I now cannot go online with my Xbox 360. My PS3 and Xbox 360 are connected to the same television in the same room. I thought maybe I had a problem with my conneciton, so I tested the PS3. The PS3 goes online with no problem and I have access to the PSN. However, the Xbox 360 gives me instruction to use a special wireless adapter to go online.

My first question was 'how much will THAT cost?'. I went to Best Buy's website and saw the Xbox 360 wireless adapter sells for SIXTY DOLLARS!!! Does this mean I need to go out and spend another sixty dollars on a special adapter to do what the PS3 can already do out of the box without some stupid adapter?

I cannot connect my router/modem directly to my Xbox 360 because they are in different rooms. My PS3 is hooked up wirelessly and goes online without a problem. Please do not tell me Microsoft expects me to spend $60 for some adapter so I can go online and spend even more money on Xbox Live games. I just want to play some Radiant Silvergun from the Xbox Live store.[/QUOTE]


you have three choices.

choice # 1 the cheapest way buy an Ethernet cable long enough to connect your xbox.

Choice #2 sell your xbox and buy one that is built in the xbox

choice # 3 haggle on CL, barter trade, buy
 
If you have a laptop, you can just put it in the room near the Xbox and connect your Xbox to it with an Ethernet cord.
 
yes, if you're going the laptop route, use a crossover network cable and do Internet Connection Sharing. really easy to set up.
 
another thing is if you have spare wireless routers (which I do as I upgrade my network regularly) is you can turn you older routers into access points. great for getting great wireless coverage throughout a house and for providing ethernet ports throughout the house.
 
The adapter for the original xbox will work just as well, and can be had for cheap on ebay. Specifically you'll need the Original XBOX Wireless Adapter MN-740. Right now I see 2 listed on ebay. One is at a Buy It Now of $40 minus w/e shipping charges, and another is an active aution with no bids and starting at $9.99 with just about 2 days left in it.

Here's the link to both auctions for you to check out: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=original+xbox+wireless+adapter&_sacat=0

Those are the two cheapest listings I see, though there is more if you refine the search to merely "Xbox Wireless Adapter MN-740". Those 2 show up with that along with six other listings, and again they are the cheapest. Hope that helps you out.
 
Don't get the Microsoft wireless adapter. That piece of crap will stop working after a few months. I had 2 go bad, then did some reading and found out it's a fairly widespread problem. Set up an access point like others have suggested, or run a cable to just plug into.
 
They have two wireless adapters, the new one has two antennas sticking up. That one supports the "N" communication standard if your router has that. The other only supports up to "G". You should be able to find the older one relatively cheap these days.

Another option that no one mentioned is that you could try ethernet over powerline adapters. I've read mixed things about them but have considered them for various purposes on and off for a few years now. I never tried them though. The good thing about it is that it would be useful with other devices in the future as opposed to the wifi adapter which will not.

Here's one with excellent reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-XAVB2101-Powerline-Nano-Adapter/dp/B006OOKT3Y/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

Basically, you plug one of your router's ethernet out cables into one of the boxes (I think the big one?) and plug that into one of your outlets. On the other end, near your Xbox 360, you plug the other one into an outlet. Into that second one, you plug another ethernet cable into it and the other end into your Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 shouldn't know what's going on, it should think it's ethernet all the way.

If you go this route, please come back and report success/failure and how good the connection is.
 
I'm a homeowner as well and when the cable guy (U-Verse) came out to install everything I asked him to install an Ethernet port in my TV room. It cost an extra $35 bucks.
 
[quote name='Kevlar281']I'm a homeowner as well and when the cable guy (U-Verse) came out to install everything I asked him to install an Ethernet port in my TV room. It cost an extra $35 bucks.[/QUOTE]

That's probably dependent on the type of house you have. A colonial on the East Coast for instance would be quite difficult to do compared to a single floor house that they might have in Texas. In some situations they'll try to run the cables on the outside of your house and it doesn't look good.
 
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