Cannot connect Xbox360 wireless adapter to airport sharing network

[JRR]

Hello,
I have been using the sharing function in my airport network for my PSP for a while and it has worked flawlessly. Recently I decided to get a wireless adapter for my xbox 360 so I didnt have to move it every time I wanted to connect to the internet per ethernet. However, I'm having problems connecting through my shared airport network.

I have a 128bit encrypted network with a 13character password.
My xbox finds the network and, once i give in the password, states that I have connected.

However, it does not automatically gather IP or DNS Settings. They are all at 0.0.0.0.

The only information it gives is:
Wireless mode - 802.11g
My SSID
Network type - Infrastructure (Chanel 11)
Wireless Secutiry - WEP

I have tried doing it without a WEP password but that hasn't worked either.
When I input the IP settings I have tried inputting the IP address and subnet mask of my ethernet connection, or that of my self assigned airport IP which I found under TCIP/IP in advanced settings.
However, it also asks for a "Gateway". I cannot find that in my Mac settings, so I'm wondering what to input there.

The DNS settings also stay at 0.0.0.0 on automatic. I have tried manually inputting my two DNS servers, but that didn't help.

Under advanced settings on my xbox all I can find are my wired MAC address, the MAC address of my wireless device and the options to enter an alternate MAC address or a Host Name.
I don't know if that's of any help.

I would be extremely grateful for any help. Cause... if I don't get this to work, I will have wasted 60£!

Thanks again

[trevor]

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR I have been using the sharing function in my airport network for my PSP for a while and it has worked flawlessly. Recently I decided to get a wireless adapter for my xbox 360 so I didnt have to move it every time I wanted to connect to the internet per ethernet. However, I'm having problems connecting through my shared airport network.

You will always be much better off using a real wireless router instead of "Internet Sharing", which is a bad kludge. Once you have a router, set it up so that the Xbox is in the DMZ (which stands for demilitarized zone, basically a part of your network that is not protected from the outside world). This will give you the best results.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR I have a 128bit encrypted network

WEP is broken, and should not be used. Script kiddies with no real knowledge can use easily available tools to break any WEP network within minutes. WPA2 is preferred, WPA is acceptable. Also, WPA2 and WPA do not have several cross-platform issues that WEP has.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR My xbox finds the network and, once i give in the password, states that I have connected. However, it does not automatically gather IP or DNS Settings. They are all at 0.0.0.0.

I'm not sure why that would be, but you can give your Xbox a static IP in the same subnet as the rest of your network, and manually enter DNS Server IP addresses.

Look at the IP addresses of other devices in your network, and simply change the last number in the IP so it's out of range of DHCP but less than (and not equal to) 255, and give that number to your XBox.

So, for example, if you have the router at 192.168.2.1, and three computers at 192.168.2.2, 192.168.2.3, and 192.168.2.4, and your DHCP server is set to give out numbers between 192.168.2.2 and 192.168.2.50, then give your Xbox the IP address of 192.16.2.51. And make sure that you're not using that IP in any other place that takes a static IP.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR When I input the IP settings I have tried inputting the IP address and subnet mask of my ethernet connection,

I'm not sure what you mean by "the IP address of your ethernet connection, but that sounds very very wrong. Use an IP address on your network, as mentioned above. And the subnet mask for 99.9% of all home networks should be 255.255.255.0, meaning that only the last number of the IP addresses will vary on the network.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR or that of my self assigned airport IP which I found under TCIP/IP in advanced settings.

If your Airport has a self-assigned IP, then sharing is not going to work. Once again, get a wireless router.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR However, it also asks for a "Gateway". I cannot find that in my Mac settings, so I'm wondering what to input there.

The Gateway is the device doing the routing. So it is asking for the IP address, on the current network, of whatever is routing between the current network and the upstream network. If you are using the kludgy "Internet Sharing", then it is the IP address of Airport on the computer that is sharing. If you set this up the way it should be set up, it will become the IP address of the wireless router.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR The DNS settings also stay at 0.0.0.0 on automatic. I have tried manually inputting my two DNS servers, but that didn't help.

That should work fine. It is likely that it didn't work because that computer is not getting an internet connection, and thus can't see those DNS servers. Once it is set up properly, you are correct to manually enter the DNS Servers IP address there.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR I would be extremely grateful for any help. Cause... if I don't get this to work, I will have wasted 60£!

I don't think you've wasted 60£, but you may want to spend another 20£ - 40£ on a wireless router now.

Trevor

[JRR]

Hmm. Thanks first of all.
My ethernet connection IP address on my Mac is currently
212.x.xxx.xxx
and the subnet mask is
255.255.254.0

and under my advance airport setting I find
IPv4 Address: 169.254.172.69 which I assume would be the gateway.

So, I'm not quite sure how your suggestions would apply.

I have tried a few things and have still not got it to work. If there are any final things I can try before I give up, help would be much appreciated.

The problem I might have with acquiring a router, is that I am living in dorms for another semester and we have to log on to the internet every time we open our browser. this is the reason why I could not connect the xbox per ethernet (whereas the ps3 which has a browser inside, could be logged in first, and would then be connected). If I buy a router will that pose any problems with transmitting the internet, as - basically - there is none until I log in?

[JRR]

I have tried a few things, but it still doesnt work.
Currently my ethernet IP address is: 212.x.xxx.xxx
And my subnet mask is: 255.255.254.0
Router: 212.9.106.1

So, I'm not sure how your advice would apply...

Under advance airport settings it says:
Ipv4 Address: 169.254.172.69 which I assume is the gateway.

Any further help would be appreciated. If not, I assume I would have to buy a router. The only problem that might occur, is that I am in a student dorm for this semester and the internet provider requires one to log in first everytime I open a browser. That is why I could not connect the xbox 360 per ethernet (whereas on a PS£ which has a browser, one can log in and then use the internet).

Would that pose a problem in using a router, seeing that there is no connection to pass on to my computer, until I have logged in and accessed it?

[trevor]

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR Hmm. Thanks first of all. My ethernet connection IP address on my Mac is currently 212.x.xxx.xxx and the subnet mask is 255.255.254.0

That is the external IP address of your Mac. It's not a great idea to publish that number openly, just in case someone decides to start attacking your computer, so I've obfuscated your computer's external IP address when I quoted you above, and in your original post.

The reason that your external subnet mask is not 255.255.255.0 is because on your school network, they vary more than just the last number of the IP address--it's a big network. My statement that 99.9% of home networks should use 255.255.255.0 for a subnet mask is because 99.9% of home networks have less than 255 computers and other network devices, so they don't need anything larger. Your school obviously does need something larger, so this rule of thumb does not apply.

Remember that there are lots of networks. If you have a router, or use "Internet Sharing" (which basically turns your computer into a bad router with little ability to configure and a bunch of security holes), then you are creating a new network, and the router (or the computer doing the routing) bridges between the two networks.

What I'm talking about is your local network, or LAN, that is on the inside of whatever device is routing.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR and under my advance airport setting I find IPv4 Address: 169.254.172.69 which I assume would be the gateway.

That's a self-assigned IP address. I'm not exactly sure where you are seeing that, but if it allows you to manually assign a new address to your airport card, you could enter (for an example) 192.168.1.1 there, then assign your two game consoles to the manual IPs 192.168.1.2 and 192.168.1.3, all with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. With that scenario, the "Gateway" that you set in your game consoles would be the Airport address of 192.168.1.1.

Quote: Originally Posted by JRR The problem I might have with acquiring a router, is that I am living in dorms for another semester and we have to log on to the internet every time we open our browser. this is the reason why I could not connect the xbox per ethernet (whereas the ps3 which has a browser inside, could be logged in first, and would then be connected). If I buy a router will that pose any problems with transmitting the internet, as - basically - there is none until I log in?

I'm not positive, but I would guess that if you have a router, once you've logged in from any computer on your local network behind the router, all of your computers and consoles would then be able to connect.

That's because to the devices on the outside of your router, all devices inside your router show the same IP--which is the external IP address of the router. The router handles sending the packets that it receives from outside to the correct device inside your local network--that's its function.

Trevor