wi-fi

The Xbox 360 WiFi Adapter - Worth It?

Your Xbox 360 can connect to a network router for wifi internet access and access to Xbox Live. The Xbox 360 does not come standard with a wifi network adapter, so one must be purchased if you want to give yourself Xbox 360 wifi access. These can be purchased from Microsoft, but are typically rather expensive.

The Pros And Cons

Microsoft offers a wifi adapter for the Xbox 360. It looks great, but Xbox 360 wifi doesn't come cheap. It is stylishly crafted to blend perfectly with your Xbox 360 system, and is generally very easy to install. The Xbox 360 wifi adapter is typically quite a bit more expensive than other wifi adapters, because it uses dual-band 802.11 a, b, and g bandwidth; and because it is usually smaller than other wifi adapters. The Xbox 360 wifi adapter uses a USB cable, which supplies both power and also allows the user to utilize the Ethernet port for computer hookup.

Installation

Installation of the Xbox 360 wifi adapter is easy for most end users. The first step is to connect the wifi adapter to the Xbox 360 with a usb cable. Keep in mind that although you can connect a regular Xbox to wifi as well, you must use an Ethernet cable to do so.

Second, navigate through your Xbox 360 settings until you find the Xbox 360 wifi settings, or network settings on some consoles. Be sure to set your network name, or SSID, setting so that it matches the name on your wifi router. If the router has preinstalled network name broadcast, then the network name will automatically show up on you Xbox 360 wifi screen. If not, you should select the option for an unspecified network, and enter the name found on your router.

Wireless routers will only use the ‘Infrastructure" setting as the Network Mode. The next step is to set your Security Type so that it is the same as on your Xbox 360 wifi router. If your router uses a WPA, or WiFi Protected Access, you need to disable it, because the Xbox 360 does not support that type of encryption.

Be sure that you save all of the settings for your Xbox 360 wifi adapter, and test to make certain that the network is functioning correctly. You should receive an on screen message, letting you know that your Xbox 360 wifi connection is live. The Xbox 360 offers a test option that will be titled ‘Test Xbox Live Connection'.