FAQs

Two Xboxes using one router Internet connection

( 7 Votes )

Details: Parent Category: Frequently Asked Xbox Live Questions; Created on Monday, 10 May 2010 10:08; Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 13:53; Written by Administrator

Yes it can be done. There are a few things to bear in mind though

Not many routers will give both of your Xboxes a NAT status of Open. This is crucial for the best gaming experience. If your router cannot do this, both of your Xboxes may not even be able to play in the same game. Your router must fully support UPnP for this type of setup. Lots of routers have this functionality, but not many actually implement it correctly to allow an Open NAT on multiple Xboxes
The size of your internet connection is crucial. If you want to use two Xboxes on the same Internet connection I would recommend 2Mb or above. Obviously the more Xboxes you use, the more bandwidth you require

Works with Vista / Windows 7

Please note, any router displaying the above logo means it has gone through Microsoft certification and is categorised the same as "Xbox Live Compatible" and as such will support two or more Xbox with an Open NAT as long as you are using the correct certified firmware

25/1/2013 - It appears that Xbox.com has removed their list of certified routers whilst they change their site so I have made available a list of the certified hardware from April 2012 as a temporary measure here

The Myth

You will find some people on the Internet will tell you its an easy thing to solve "Just port forward to one Xbox and put the other in the DMZ" - Wrong. Try it for yourself it you want, it won't work. The only way to get Open NAT on multiple Xboxes connected to the same router is via UPnP or Port Triggering and it has to be the right router and right firmware.

Cable Customers

All of the networking equipment listed on the Microsoft sites above here and here will allow you to use two or more Xboxes "out of the box" with no extra configuration, if you use the firmware version listed for the particular router on that page.

(UK users look here although if you can get a router from the US list, do, as the UK version is very limited, they US one's will still work here)

Also the following routers that may not be on the official list also work with two or more Xboxes:-

Highly Recommended - Billion BiPAC 7800N firmware 1.06d, this works straight out of the box no configuration needed, due to its flexible WAN connectivity this router can be used for DSL or Cable/Fibre connections
Belkin F5D7231uk4 (version 2) (firmware F5D7231-4_UK_5.01.03) - Ensure you enable UPnP, details for Belkin here
Dlink DIR-655 Extreme N Gigabit router (tested with firmware 1.03, higher versions of firmware may also work) (See here for External N adapter issue)
Dlink DIR-300/301 Wireless G Router(Also known as DKT-110 when bundled with wireless PC adapter
Dlink DIR-825 (firmware 2.01EU, higher versions may also work)
Linksys WRT160N v3 DD-WRT (Third Party Firmware) NEWD K2.6 Mini Generic http://www.dd-wrt.com/routerdb/de/download/Linksys/WRT160N/3.0/dd-wrt.v24-14311_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini.bin/3407
Linksys WRT310N v1 DD-WRT (Third Party Firmware) generic mini version build 14929
Virgin Media Super Hub (NETGEAR VMDG480 Wireless 'N' Cable Gateway) firmware version V5.5.2R20 hardware version 2.00 (higher versions of firmware may also work)

ADSL Customers

There are no ADSL routers certified for use with more than one Xbox by Microsoft.

But after obtaining feedback from the live community in the UK and my own personal testing, the following routers have been found to enable two Xboxes to join the same game and chat with no problems.

Highly Recommended - Billion BiPAC 7800N firmware 1.06d, this works straight out of the box no configuration needed, due to its flexible WAN connectivity this router can be used for DSL or Cable/Fibre connections
D-link DSL-2640B also known as DKT-710 (firmware 3.06, EU_4.00 - higher versions may also work)
D-link DSL-2640R - which replaces the DSL-2640B (firmware UK_1.06 - higher versions may also work)
D-link DSL-2740B (firmware v2.51b181 - higher versions of firmware may also work)
Belkin F5D7633uk4A (firmware 1.00.17) - Ensure you enable UPnP, details for Belkin here
Belkin F5D9630-4 (firmware 1.00.04) - Ensure you enable UPnP, details for Belkin here
BT HomeHub 1.0-1.5 (firmware 6.2.6.E onwards) - BT ISP's only
BT HomeHub 2.0 Wireless N version (firmware 8.1.A.E (Type A) onwards)
BT HomeHub 3 (firmware 4.7.5.1.83.8.45 (Type A) )
Zyxel 600 HW T1
Sitecom WL-174 (Firmware 2.9.5.0 - 3.5.18.9)

I have personally tested the DSL-2640B, F5D7633uk4A and the BT Homehub 1 & 2, all result in a NAT of Open with two Xboxes connected. For the HomeHub 3 I did a test using Halo 2 (Games For Windows) playing on live with an Open NAT and then testing the NAT on my Xbox, which resulted in an Open NAT, I have also had it confirmed by users of multiple Xboxes that the Home Hub 3 works with two Xboxes with an Open NAT in the same hosted game.

Out of the above ADSL routers I would recommend the Dlink DSL-2640B (now replaced by the 2640R) above any other.

You can also use a cable broadband router, which is another option, to do this you will need an Ethernet ADSL modem, I can recommend this combination which certainly works:-

D-Link DSL-320T Ethernet ADSL2/2+ (Ethernet modem) connected to a D-Link DI-634M Router running (v2.01 firmware) or a DIR-655 (basically any certified Cable router/Firmware combination)

The above solution works because the DI-634M Router is certified for more than one Xbox by Microsoft if you use the v2.01 firmware.

The DSL-320T is simply providing the interface to ADSL. ADSL Modems with Ethernet interfaces (as opposed to USB) are quite rare in the UK.

Looking for Xbox Live Certified Firmware for your router?

If you have a Netgear router look here
Some older versions of firmware are no longer available from vendors websites so we host some on this site here

Can your own router support Two Xboxes or more?

Remember this is a problem for the majority of routers, If you are not sure if yours will work this is the best way to test it:-

Obtain the latest firmware for the router, or if your router is on the certified list obtain the certified firmware version listed
Turn off any port forwarding or DMZ's you may have configured
Set the Xbox IP Addresses to AUTO
Ensure UPnP is enabled on the router
Restart the router and wait 2 minutes
Start up Xbox 1, run the Xbox live test, confirm NAT is Open and then log Xbox 1 into Marketplace (important)
Start up Xbox 2 and run the Xbox live test and check your NAT status, if its Open you should be fine to play in the same games on Xbox live and chat. If its moderate or strict its very unlikely your router will support two or more Xboxes with an Open NAT.
The ultimate test is to join the same hosted game and chat

Third Party Firmware

Some versions of third party router firmware (namely DD-WRT) can support multiple Xboxes with an Open NAT. Read more here

Does your router support Two Xboxes or more with Open NAT's? We'd love to know!

If your router does support two or more Xboxes with an Open NAT please let us know in this forum post, you will be helping the Xbox community by sharing this vital information

Very Important

Are you considering buying a new router to support two or more Xboxes with an Open NAT? I'm afraid its not as simple as just looking on the certified list and making your purchase or looking for a device with a Vista/Win7 sticker there is more to it than that, please read on so you do not waste your time and more importantly - money.

Follow these simple steps and you will be fine:-

Choose the model of router you would like to purchase from the list here
Go to the chosen router manufacturers website, look up the chosen router in the support section and check that the firmware versions listed here for your chosen router are still available to download (the manufacturer may also have an ftp site where you can download the firmware e.g. ftp.dlink.com or ftp.dlink.co.uk) we also store some firmware on our site here which may be useful if the manufacturer no longer hosts the version you require.
Again in the same section of the manufacturers website check to see which versions of the router there are (see example screenshots below), when you are looking for firmware you will be able to tell if there are multiple hardware versions for that router, over time some manufacturers change the hardware for a model of router and release a new variant (version) of the router, for example the Netgear WGR614 has 10 versions of hardware, only some of these are compatible with the Xbox Live certified firmware. This 3rd step is crucial you may have ticked the boxes for Step 1 and Step 2, but if the manufacturer has released a new version of your chosen router that is the one you are most likely to end up with if you buy brand new and it is not certified yet you will NOT be able to use a certified version of firmware from an earlier version of router. So using the WRG614 as a good example, version 8 of the WGR614 is certified for Xbox Live using firmware version 1.1.24, version 9 of the WGR614 is not certified at all but version 10 of the WGR614 is using 1.0.2.4, firmware is specific to the version of hardware so you cannot simply download a certified version of firmware and put it on any version of router.
Important 07/09/2010 - From conversations with users of the Linksys WRT320N using firmware 1.0.03 the Linksys WRT310N using firmware 2.0.01bld4, and the Linksys WRT610N using 2.00.00 B05 I have found that even though these routers are listed on the certified list with certified firmware they still do not give two Xboxes an Open NAT as they should, so at this time (07/09/2010) I would not recommend the purchase of these routers if your requirement is multiple Xboxes with an Open NAT. These routers may however work with an Open NAT on multiple Xboxes with DD-WRT, please see our FAQ covering third party firmware here if you find your router works with DD-WRT with Open NAT on multiple Xboxes please let us know via the forum or email or message me on Xbox Live it would be great to add the details to our list.
Once you have satisfied all of the above make your purchase

Click on the images above to enlarge

Correct Certified Firmware + Correct Version of Router Hardware = Open NAT on Multiples Xboxes

Belkin Specific Issues

Since the Xbox dashboard update rolled out December 2011 users of the Belkn 8235 N router (F5D8235-4) have reported that multiple Xboxes connected to the same router no longer work, they kick each other out of live at sign in. Even when using the "Certified for Xbox Live" firmware version 2.0.1.08 and the latest version of firmware 2.0.1.09

If you are suffering this issue I would report this to Belkin, although something has obviously changed since the update this only seems to be a problem affecting this router from what I have gathered so far. Hopefully Belkin can fix this in a new firmware release.

Need more advice on this subject?

Still not confident that you are buying the right router? Feel free to contact me via the forum or via the comments section below and I will check your proposed set-up