Do-it-yourself free Xbox 360 wireless
- December 31, 2008 09:46 AM PST
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Hate the fact that Microsoft charges Xbox 360 extra for a wireless networking? Try this "free" workaround.
That's one way to do it
The words "free" and "Xbox 360" are like J.D. Salinger and a gaggle of paparazzi -- never seen together. Still, Popular Science just invoked them with this curious bit of homebrew trickery that might (and having not tested it, I stress might) save you the $100 Microsoft hoodwinks consumers to pony up for its vanilla Xbox 360 USB wireless adapter.
It only costs you the spare router you might (and I once more stress might) happen to have lying around. If not, the article aptly suggests you can pick something up for $15 to $50 between spots like eBay and Amazon, which is more in line with what you'd pay for a reasonably priced third-party USB wireless adapter for a desktop or laptop. Assuming your cheap-o router's supported (there's a list) all you have to do is flash it with this tool (called DD-WRT) and presto, retire-that-mile-long-ethernet-cable-o!
Of course, if you already have an extra wireless router, you could just bridge it to your network, plug the 360 in with the same bit of abbreviated RJ45 cabling, and accomplish the same thing (well, assuming the boxes speak the same lingo). If I understand what the DD-WRT utility adds here, it's the "allowing disparate wireless routers with Broadcom or Atheros chip reference design[s] to bridge with each other" bit.
Source: PC World
It still smittens me that Xbox 360 doesn't come bundled with wireless. The technology costs like $5-10 bucks now, a far cry from the $100 MS charges for the wireless adapter. Preposterous!
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- Dec 31 2008 at 10:08:25:AM PST
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wish i knew bout this before i drilled holes in my walls for wired cables
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im way to cheap to waste 100 bucks that i could and did spend on gears 1 and gears 2
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It kind of sucks that I can't play my 360 on my HD TV since Microsoft wants $100 for wireless connectivity. Its bullshit.
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My new 360 is upstairs in the computer room near the router for now. Once I get an HDTV, It will move downstairs. I am very disappointed that Wifi isn't built-in, and that the adapter is so overpriced. However, with the DIY solution, I am not keen on having yet another power cord plugged in to an area that will already have a lot of things that need plugging in. I'll most likely end up looking for a used adapter.
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...or you can just buy the regular Xbox wireless adapter which cost $30-$40 on amazon. Personally I like hard wiring because i'm guaranteed NO LAG for those crucial games of COD4 and Madden. I only use my wireless to stream movies and music.
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Kubrick wrote:
They should just have it built into future 360's
Smartest sentence of the day.
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