XBOX Wi-Fi/Wireless Help

Question

Do I Need A Wireless Network Adapter In Order To My XBOX To Connect To My WI-Fi Server?

Answer 1

Let's say you are on a different floor.  The router is on the east side of the house, and the xbox is on the west side of the house.  You do not want to run a 50 foot ethernet cable across the floor and hallways of your house to get to your router.  Wireless is not the only method to go.  And no I am not talking about rewiring your house.

This technology is called powerline.  It uses your existing electrical wires for transmitting data.  These are the same electiral wall outlets you use to tap into when you want to power something on.  The reason why this is not that popular is wireless made such a huge splash back in the early 90s when wireless phones became popular.  Wifi was developed about 5 years before powerline.  The conventional thinking was to use wireless for computer networking.  I use wireless for my laptop, and I have no problems with it.  I did have to change my wireless channel due to interference from my neighbor's wireless networks.  My wireless hardly ever goes down.  However, some people do not have such great luck.

Powerline is like satellite dish providers vs. cable providers.  Cable is more expensive, but it does not go out in bad weather.  Speaking of cable, conventional thinking back in the 70s would have told us the only way to get more channels would be to go with a satellite.  I wasn't alive back then, but I am sure that is what people were thinking.  The bottom line is, some people have issues with satellite, and others do not.  But if you want the sure way to get the best connection, go with powerline.

Powerline does not interfere with your main electricity.  There are many FM radio stations in metropolitans areas.  The only way they can share the same airwaves as other FM stations is by using multiple frequencies.  When you tune into a radio stations such as 95.5 here in the Twin Cities, it does not interfere with 101.3 because one is using 95.5 megahertz, and the other is using 101.3 megahertz.  In powerline networking, your main electricity is using 60 hertz, and computer data uses over 100,000,000 hertz.  It's not even close to interfereing.

Security is also a non issue when you live in a home you are not sharing with another family.  Data never leaves your home when transmitted over your electrical wires.  If you live in an apartment, complex, or town house, you will need to make sure you use the built in security features.

Wireless loses a lot of signal strength once it passes through a wall.  Once it passes through that third wall, it almost has no signal left.  That is another reason to go with powerline.

Lag is also another issue with wireless.  Wireless has big latency issues.  Powerline latency is about 3 or 4 nanoseconds while wireless is up to 60 nanoseconds of latency.  Using powerline leads to less stalling.

Interference is an issue with wireless more than it is with powerline.  There are so many wireless devices now days.  There are wireless phones, wireless home networks, and microwave ovens.  Most of these devices transmit across the 2.4 GHz FCC unlicensed sprectrum.  This is why so many people have problems with wireless.  Powerline can get interference from vacuum cleaners and hair dryers, but you can buy noise filters that solve this problem.  You are not going to get your neighbor to get rid of his wireless phone that is interfereing with your network.

Wireless still has a place.  It is great for mobile devices like cell phones, PDAs, and laptops.  It still makes sense to include wifi in laptops because people often like to go to Starbucks to access the Internet.  It is a little inconvient have to drag around a powerline adapter, and they probably will not have an electrical wall outlet for everybody.

Anyway, here are some links to check out:

http://www.cnet.com/4520-7390_1-6274537-...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqLblMpcl...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHmeLQ8zD...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoBYr3Ezk...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDSVo2ou...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH-omrPFb...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLis...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...

Answer 2

yes but you should just get an Ethernet cable its cheaper and faster

Answer 3

Yes, to connect wirelessly, you do.

However, if your wifi "server" (a router I assume?) is close enough you could just run some network cable (normal eithernet computer cable) and connect that way.  Network cable would be cheaper but isn't always convienient or practical.

Answer 4

Yes you do. But it can also be wired if you can connect to the Internet with a cable.

Remember that if you want to play network games (not Live) with other XBOXes, you'll need to emulate your local network with XBConnect. You'll need to install XBConnect on a PC and run it, and so will your friends.

This is due to the fact that natively, XBOXes can only 'see' other XBOXes on the same network, NOT over the Internet.

Good luck!