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How to Play Xbox Live on a College Campus Network

I started college in the fall of 2010 with great anticipations of faster internet speeds for Xbox Live. However, it did not work because my school requires me to first register computers on the network. No web browser exists on an Xbox (for now, wink wink) for registration so I needed a workaround. Here is the secret.

NOTE: This fix works on all models and dashboards of the Xbox 360. This fix isn’t really changing anything on your Xbox, it’s simply making the information on your Xbox appear as if it is your computer. The real question as to whether or not this will work for you is how your school’s connection is setup, though, I haven’t had anybody not get it to work eventually.

PLEASE NOTE: This tutorial is for connecting to Xbox Live using an Ethernet cable. I’ve yet to find a workaround for wireless connections. If you figure one out, please post in the comments below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If_EuhJsVJs?rel=0]

First and foremost, connect your desktop (or laptop) to your school’s network via an Ethernet cable. Do not plug the cable to the Xbox yet. If you unplug and then plug it back into your computer, some settings could get changed and you would have to do the first few steps over again.

PC Ethernet PortWall Port

The second step is to register your computer on your school’s network. I am not going to go into detail about this because it is likely different for each campus. Once you are registered, you will probably see a screen similar to this:

Registered

MAC Users: Go to the following links, follow what they say and write down the corresponding info. Skip the next four steps.

IPv4 Address: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Your-IP-Address-on-a-Mac
DNS Servers: http://www.askdavetaylor.com/find_the_dns_servers_on_your_mac.html
(Choose your OS from the list)
Subnet: https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-find-my-subnet-mask-address
Default Gateway: http://kb.iu.edu/data/ajfx.html

PC Users:

Once you’ve registered your PC on the network, open your Start menu.

Start Menu

Search for “CMD.” (Without the “quotes”) When you find it, click it.

Search CMD

Type “ipconfig /all” (without the “quotes”) into the Command (CMD) Prompt that you opened and hit Enter.

IP Config

You will be presented with a list of information concerning your computer’s current network configuration. There could be many things listed here, but you’re looking for a section titled “Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:”. When you find this section, copy down the information highlighted in red.

LAN Info

DOUBLE CHECK that you’ve written down the numbers correctly and make sure you’ve labeled them so you don’t get them mixed up.

MAC Users continue here…

Now, unplug the Ethernet cable from your PC and plug it into your Xbox 360. Turn your Xbox on. Since you’re not connected to the internet yet, I’ll assume you’re presented with a screen similar to this:

Start Screen

If not, scroll up or down until you get to the My Xbox menu. Press until you get to System Settings. Press .

System Settings

Scroll down to Network Settings and press .

Network Settings

Press  on Wired Network.

Wired Network

Press  on Configure Network.

Configure Network

Under the Basic Settings menu, press  on “IP Address, Subnet, Gateway.”

Basic Settings 1

Make sure Manual is selected and press .

Basic 1 Manual

Press  on IP Address.

IP Address

Enter the number you wrote down for “IPv4 Address” from the CMD. Be sure you press  on the (Done) button.

IP

Go down to Subnet Mask and press .

Subnet Mask

Enter the number you wrote down for “Subnet Mask” from the CMD. You must press  on the  button.

Subnet

Go down to Gateway and press .

Gateway

Enter the number you wrote down for “Default Gateway” from the CMD. Once again, be sure you press  on the (Done) button.

Go down to Done and press .

Basic 1 Done

Go to DNS Settings and press .

Basic 2

Press  on Primary DNS Server.

Primary DNS

Enter the first number you wrote down for “DNS Servers” from the CMD. MAKE SURE you press  on the (Done) button.

Go down to Secondary DNS Server and press .

Secondary DNS

Enter the second number you wrote down for “DNS Servers” from the CMD. You must press  on the (Done) button.

Go to Done and press .

Basic 2 Done

This will bring you back to the Basic Settings menu. Go right to the Additional Settings menu. Go down to Advanced Settings and press .

Advanced Settings

Press  on Alternate MAC Address.

Alternate MAC Address

Enter the alphanumeric address you wrote down from the CMD. NOTE: On the CMD it’s listed as “Physical Address”. It’s vital to press  on the  button.

Alternate MAC

Go down to Done and press .

Advanced Settings Done

Now press  to return to the Network Settings screen. Go down to Test Xbox LIVE Connection and press.

Test XBL Connection

Three things will happen now.

  • 1. Your Xbox will test for a connection to a Network. If this passes then you know everything you entered worked. If it doesn’t pass then you need to double check your credentials.
  • 2. Once the Network connection is established your Xbox tests for a connection to the Internet.
  • 3. Finally, your Xbox will test to make sure it can connect to Xbox Live.

Test For Connection Test For Network Test For Xbox Live

Once all three pass you’ll be fully connected to Xbox Live.

Connected!

Troubleshooting

On rare occasions, while testing for your Network, your Xbox will give you a DNS Error.

To fix this error, try entering Google’s free DNS Servers. (Primary: 8.8.8.8    Secondary: 8.8.8.8 or 4.4.4.4)

This is the only problem I’ve ran into thus far. If you have any other error PLEASE leave a comment below; I will respond ASAP.

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