Will this also work on the PS3 running Yellow Dog Linux? YDL doesn't detect the PS3's native Wi-fi card and there's no Ethernet port close enough to the console.

Victoria Sun

Another vote here for WRT54G or for another wireless bridge from me. I have a WRT54G (setup as a wireless bridge) in every room of my house, so I can easily plug devices into the network (such as my xboxes - we use XBMC and have an xbox/tv in the living room and bedroom).

Using a WRT54G as a bridge gives you 5 ports for your devices. They're small enough to hide well in media cabinets and they don't require nearly as much power or generate as much heat as having a laptop *just* to get one of your devices online ... no offense to the article writer, but that's crazy. Why don't I just pull my car into the house and turn it on to get an extra power outlet from its cigarette lighter?

remi

my experience has been this, bridged=nat is moderate
but when wireless connection is shared= nat is open.

here is a quick video of how to do it :)

[www.screencast.com]

oneshot417

Has anybody done this with an 802.11n equipped host machine (PC or Mac) to compare to G wireless? I'm curious, I finally got a new n-router and it would be cool if I could use this technique to move the Xbox into another room (instead of being tethered to the router by ethernet cable), but when I used g-wireless for this I found the speed inadequate for serious gaming applications, way too much lag compared to ethernet.

DaiMacculate

True, but I think Nintendo took the right approach. The kind of gamer who wants to play online is probablly already rocking a wireless router in their home.

And frankly, more and more homes will be going that route. Not going wired.

I find it funny how many people for instance lamented the cost of a PS3 when to get the most out of a 360 you need to spend as much or not more. Considering how much they lean on Marketplace and Live as one of it's supposed advantages over PS3 and Wii and you have to pay extra to even get that feature out.

I think the 360 is a fine machine, but the cavalcade of accessories one needs to maximise it turned it off to me. I'd rather pay a "higher" MSRP for my PS3 and not have to add anything to it down the line. The only thing I needed was an HDMI cable and I got one from newegg for $6 in the mail today.

kingpsyz

@kingpsyz: The flip side to that is you have to go through some monkey BS to connect your Wii online if you don't have a wireless network.

@griff311: Yes this will work with the PS3 as well.

balls187

Kinda sucks that for a "next-gen" gaming rig you have to do this when even a Wii included internal Wi-Fi...

kingpsyz

@That Girl: If you mean 'desktop' when you say 'PC', yeah, that should as well. I think the idea of the laptop was just to allow you to put the Xbox anywhere/not have to run wires too far.

rscotta

interesting, too bad I no longer have a lab top :P
hmmm just a thought but is it possible to use your PC with this... (sounds stupid I know but I had to ask.) I can't test it out right now since I don't have a 360 yet but when I do I really would like to keep it in my room instead of near my router...

That Girl Hates You

Can you do the same thing for the 20Gig PS3 since it is not wireless?

griff311

Wouldn't a network card that connects through an ethernet port work as well?

I was going to do the laptop thing, but then I found a 25 ft long ethernet cable in my box of electronic cap and I said screw it.

terrorsaur

EDIT: "how all" not "how my all"

Someday, I will learn to type without adding extra words to sentences.

Trystero

This is pretty much how my all the 360-kiddies utilize live on my all-wireless campus.

I know about some tech advice before it hits a website? I'm scared.

Trystero

@MantisDragon: What HOLYCHIMP mentioned may be true (about the 360), I haven't seen it myself, but very possible. I know Macs will also auto-detect and make the appropriate switch.

richard8a

@MantisDragon: Most modern network cards, including the one on the 360, can detect if a cable is crossover or not and automatically adapt.

HolyChimp

I've been doing that for almost a year.

chenry

Too bad it forgets to mention one important thing: You need to use a crossover cable.! Not everyone has one of these. Heck, I bet the average XBox owner wouldn't know what a crossover cable is!

MantisDragon

UFGATORSEAN - I did that myself... except I have 2 WRT54G routers as a WDS mesh.. one in my living room for my Wii, 360 [wired], and wireless laptop browsing.

Works great.

honestbleeps

Wow, this is a ghetto solution.

How is this *any* better than running an "ugly" wire across the floor? Having your 360 tethered to a laptop is pretty lame.

How about buying a Wireless Bridge for $45 on amazon instead?

balls187

a MUCH better solution is to get a WRT-54G and load DD-WRT for some 4 port wifi bridge fun!

Unless you only have 1 console....

ufgatorsean

So simple I never thought of it. I'd do this if I had a laptop...and hadn't bought the adapter already.

KaneTaker

Bridging. It can get you banned if you use it maliciously, such as only allowing it to connect to certain IPs, etc.

HarrisonHopkins

Sadly, people try to sell this info on eBay.

bauer19

Yeah, I've been doing this as well with my iMac and in other cases my laptop. It's good to know a well written tutorial since a lot of people don't really know about this technique. :D

shinryuu

Great tip! My cousin received an Xbox 360 for Christmas this year and did exactly this. I was at his house while he was unpacking it and he decided that he wasn't going to keep his Wi-Fi adapter because inside the box for the system, there is a pretty decent length ethernet cable.

Setup is a snap on Windows, but for Mac OS X I'm going to have to go out on a limb and configure the 'Internet Sharing' option in my sharing section of system preferences.

Once there, you just have to write down your LAN IP address (192.168.0.xxxx) and copy it into the Xbox 360's network preferences. Not hard at all, but you do have to go out on a limb to get it working. Other than that, flawless!

Julian

I've been doing this since I got my xbox 360, seemed like common sense to me... though that might not be true for all.

Kaemon

i posted this like a year ago... this isn't anything new... lol

epionx111

I have been using a Linksys phonebridge to connect to a home theater PC without a wireless connection for about a year and a half now. It has worked flawlessly, and speeds have been good. The part number/name are: Linksys WBP54G 802.11G Phone Adapter Bridge. I purchased it for ~40 dollars at Voipsupply, but you can get it anywhere. It has a label that says that it is only for linksys-sipura VOIP adapters, but don't let that fool you, it works just fine with PCs, x boxes, networked printers. You just need to bring your own five volt AC adapter. That is cheaper than gaming bridge, router with a firmware upgrade, and /or a laptop. Setup is also super easy. I just hooked it directly into the network adapter on my PC and used the setup software that came with it.

rtmey2000

This article is just a BIT late to the game...

thischarmingman

@kingpsyz: I think it's indicative of MS's habit creating needs around things instead of creating things that fill needs.

strider_mt2k

Yeah...won't a stand alone wi-fi ap like a D-link DWL-G730AP allow you to turn a wired segment into a wireless one with like zero configuration, for about $20 ?

OddManOut

Um, I think the real problem is getting me off Halo 3 and back on my dissertation.

I'm gaining recent momentum, but, man, I love me some Halo.

mc_spanky_mcgee

UFGATORSEAN: a MUCH better solution is to get a WRT-54G and load DD-WRT for some 4 port wifi bridge fun!

These days, you should be looking for a WRT54GL. The WRT54G versions 5 and up have half the ram/flash of the older versions.

The WRT54GL is based on version 4 of the WRT54G.

/also, you can actually use all 5 ports on the WRT54G if you change the setting in DD-WRT to convert the uplink port to another regular port.

lordargent

Hm, that's what I do anyway haha...

DrLilo

If you dropped $399 for an Xbox 360, dont be a cheapass and spend the extra $100. Its a one time investment.

holymogwai

We do something like this to get my girlfriend's Mac laptop on our home network.

We spent two hours one day trying to get her laptop to communicate with our wireless DSL modem. Got frustrated and plugged a cable into the unused network port on my HP and into her Mac, shared out my wireless connection and she was on in seconds. Now I just keep the cable stuffed behind the desk when she's not over, and it's long enough she can hang out on the couch while she surfs.

Pixel

One more vote for a pair of WRT-54Gs (rev 4)using WDS.

rbb

"How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" by Dale Carnegie is definitely a book that changed my life, it has all the essential techniques on how to remove stress and worry from your life. It was written in the 1940s, but I really recommend it to all of you.

MagHack

You can also use a standard linksys wireless router as a wireless bridge if you install a different firmware.

I personally have a Linksys wrt54g sitting behind my TV providing network access to 3 devices. The wireless router and internet connection are on the other side of my house.

The firmware you want is called DD-WRT [[www.dd-wrt.com]]

ManiacDan

Glad there are smarter folks out there pointing out DDWRT and wireless bridging.

The cheapest model I found that does Wireless bridging right out of the box is this Belkin which I use myself:

[www.newegg.com]

$30.00 bucks :/

neosoul

Get a cheap wireless bridge if you have to go wireless. Hell you will probably save enough on electricity by just buying a bridge compared to keeping your laptop running . Over time you will, how fast it happens depends on what you pay for electric.

Will

It's so good to finally find an article on this! My campus is wireless-only and so I had to set up ICS to try and get on Xbox Live. 'Try' being the operative word, unfortunately. You see, my college blocks all ports except 80 and 443. So much for freedom of speech! I have a proxy server set up that allows me to bypass it with my computer-based applications. However, I'm not sure how to get my Xbox traffic routed through it. Can anyone help me out with that or direct me to the right resources?

TrentBrooks

Having gotten a 360 for Christmas, I was anxious to find some way of not dropping money on a network adapter. I just used the cable that the 360 shipped with, and figured out things through Vista myself. It's worked perfectly, though I don't know if the lag is due to server problems or the way I've got it set up.

PositivelyJosh

@rscotta: Gotcha and thanks

That Girl Hates You

Geez, why didn't I think of that? Great article!

miss_ju

Would this work on the old PS2s?

eksodystech

I've tried this before and I get some error message on my Xbox. I set up my iMac to share its connection via wireless and set my iBook to share its wireless connection over ethernet to my Xbox. But it doesn't work and says something about not being able to get through or something (its been awhile).

timerider42