Wireless Adapter tricks for the Xbox 360
Of all the current generation video game consoles out there, the only one lacking a wireless adapter is Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a HUGE fan of the 360, and I think it wins over the other consoles out there, its got the best game library, with big exclusive hits like the Halo series and Fable 2.
The xbox 360 is also an AMAZING media player/media center. It can stream videos off netflix, watch DVD’s, work as a media extender, and play videos off of external hard drives. The only big limiting issue is the lack of a built in wireless adapter.
The official wireless adapter sells for around $80.00, but there are numerous other options out there for getting your 360 online wirelessly.
Option 1: Generic Wireless Gaming Adapter
There are tons of products out there that simply plug into the ethernet port of any device that will connect into any existing wireless network. I recently purchased a linksys WGA600N, it works really well and actually gets you a little extra speed since it is a wireless N capable device. But if I had payed the normal sale price, I still would have been out of $80. Instead I only had to cough up around $40.00, but these generic options are great, there are plenty of cheaper ones out there, and they will also work with any older computers that are lacking a wireless adapter, or any future or older consoles that may not have wireless adapters built in.
Option 2: The laptop trick
There is a way to use a laptop with a wireless adapter to hook your 360 into the internet.
All you need is:
- A laptop with a wireless adapter and an ethernet port, and running windows
- An ethernet cable
First, You connect your laptop to the xbox 360 using the ethernet cable. Then, you have the laptop join the wireless network that you are planning on using. After that you go to the network properties and set the laptop to share its internet connection with the rest of the network. Voila!
The biggest problem with this is that it is considerably slower than using an actual network adapter. The other big problem is that it occupies your laptop, which you or someone else may wnat to be using, a $1000 laptop isn’t exactly an affordable wireless adapter.
Option 3: Official Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter
The wireless adapter that microsoft has created uses the usb plug next to the ethernet port on the back of the 360. It is really easy to setup and easy to use, there is no need for any computer, all you do is plug it into the 360, go to settings, choose network and change the settings around to be sure that the adapter connects to the right network and using the correct security keys.
Overall:
There are a lot of awesome options out there, and I highly recommend you guys trying them out. Either way you will have to pay a bit of money probably. Being on a network is awesome though I am always streaming media from my computer to my 360, and I love watching my netflix instant-stream movies on my 360. So enjoy!
