Demilitarise your way out XBox Live NATing Problems…
As reported by Rob, we’re having a nightmare with XBox Live.
Out of our group of friends there were two of us who couldn’t hear each other on team speak or connect to any games that the other was hosting… and then it spread to Rob and me!
I emailed Microsoft’s help desk who took 12 hours to get back to me with the following:
Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!
I do apologize for the inconvenience. I understand that when you try to join a game session, it has an erro! r message “unable to establish connection to other players.”
With most NAT-type routers, you can connect to the Xbox Live service. However, if you, or other gamers you play, use an aggressive NAT-type router, you may experience some of the following symptoms:
* You can play with one person on your friends list but not another.
* You cannot connect with a particula! r host in game sessions.
* You cannot hear voice during game sessions, even when you can play without interruption.
NAT stands for “Network Address Translation.� Typically, home users obtain one IP address from their service provider, and then connect multiple devices to their home network. To share one IP address among many devices, a NAT-type router provides a popular solution. NAT makes it possible for each device to use the same IP address and connect to the Internet.
To determine if your router’s NAT type is causing any one of the symptoms described in the “NAT-type symptoms� section, you must know both your own NAT type and the NAT type of the gamer you are playing. To determine your own NAT type:
1. Select the Y button on the Connect Status screen, and then press the A button to continue to the diagnostic read-outs.
2. You receiv! e the following information in the Diagnostic Server windo w:
NT: x
NAT Type x=0 ïƒ The API couldn’t be called (Couldn’t connect to determine NAT)
x=1 ïƒ Nat with Minimal port assignment, no port filtering (Open)
x=2 ïƒ Nat with Minimal port assignment, port filtering (Moderate)
x=3 ïƒ Nat with Aggressive port assignment (Strict)
It doesn’t have to anything to do with security. A router performing “open� NAT is no less secure than a router performing “strict� NAT. The classification system boils down to something called a port assignment policy.
Open NAT me ans that either the port assignment policy is minimal or the router has a fully compliant version of UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) enabled by default.
Moderate NAT means that the port assignment policy is minimal, but there is address or port filtering taking place.
Strict NAT means the port assignment policy is aggressive
If your NAT is set to Strict or Moderate, it is advisable to call your router manufacturer to ! set your NAT to Open.
To avoid these issues, you should use Xbox Live Compatible certified devices. These routers not only properly handle ICMP, MTU, and NAT issues, but are also designed to provide the best possible experience by eliminating a bunch of other issues that can occur with non–Xbox Live Compatible routers.
For further assistance, please don’t hesitate to write back or call Xbox Phone Support at!
I did as they suggested and was told that my router had ‘Moderate NAT’, that it was likely to cause problems and that I should consider upgrading my router to a Microsoft XBox Live recommended router…
Only instead of paying up more money, I logged into my router and moved my XBox into my LAN’s DMZ (Demilitarised Zone) where it would be free to talk to the internet without having to worry its self with confusing things like networking standards… and now it works fine!
Most routers (even home routers) will have some concept of a DMZ or unprotected computer… check yours before paying out more money for a Microsoft approved router!
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5 Responses to “Demilitarise your way out XBox Live NATing Problems…”
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Seems like it worked, routers always seem to be a problem with stuff like this. I have often spent days trying to get torrents and the like working… DMZ all the way
I have tried to port forward my router, turned on dmz and set my xbox to that ip address, upgraded my firmware of my router… I MEAN EVERYTHING!!! My NAT shows open but, I cannot connect to either all players or hosting player on every hosted game I try to join. I’m at my wits end here. I’m using a linksys wrt54g wireless router and a netopia dsl modem. If anyone can offer a solution it would be great!!!
Oh yeah, something that is weird is that if I set my xbox up to be in the dmz which means my settings are manual, the nat comes back as strict. However, if I set the config. to automatic and run tests it says open, still neither way will let me join my friends or other games. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Chris,
Did you get it fixed? I have the wrt54g Linksys router and am having same issues. thanks.
Scott and Chris, you should never have DMZ, UPnP, or Port Forwarding enabled at the same time. Doing so would only have multiple things doing the same job and confusing your router. Try doing each one seperately, one at a time.
Very well written and funny post. Big thumbs up!