In order to get the best out of Xbox Live you may need to open your NAT. Network Address Translation (NAT) is the process of modifying network address information in datagram packet headers while in transit across a traffic routing device for the purpose of remapping a given address space into another.

Xbox Live has 3 stages of NAT: Strict, Moderate, Open. If your NAT is Strict you may not be able to play some of your friends online. To solve this you need to edit the settings on your router.

Setting NAT to Open:

  • Navigate to the network settings on your Xbox 360 and set your IP address manually, this is so that it stays static
  • Login to the control panel of your router e.g http://192.168.0.1
  • Navigate to Services or Firewall as you need to open up 3 ports.
  • Enter the following ports into your firewall from the IP address you set in the previous step:
    • UDP: 88
    • UDP/TCP: 3074
  • Your router should now be setup to open these ports and your Xbox Live gaming should be pain-free!
  • To double check this login to your Xbox Live account on your Xbox 360 and check your NAT type in the Network Settings.

Happy Gaming!