How to Use USB Adapter for WiFi on an XBox 360

The XBox 360 is capable of connecting to a wireless network through a number of Wi-Fi adapters. Microsoft makes a wireless adapter that plugs directly into the XBox's Ethernet port, but you can also use some recent third-party USB Wi-Fi adapters.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wi-Fi USB adapter
• Active wireless router
• Active Internet connection

1. Plug the Wi-Fi adapter into one of the USB ports on the front of your XBox 360. Make sure your wireless router and Internet connection are already active.

2. Turn on your XBox 360 without any games in the disk drive. Wait for the standard menu to load.

3. From the menus in My XBox, select "Settings." Then select "Network Settings," followed by "Edit Settings."

4. Find the SSID (network name) option and set it to whatever your wireless router has previously been named. (This is most-commonly done on a PC when you first install and set up your wireless connection.) Most routers have "SSID broadcast" which will make the name appear automatically. If it does not appear, enter it manually under "Specify Unlisted Network."

5. Select "Infrastructure" under Network Mode.

6. Save your settings and return to the main screen. You can then click the "Test XBox Live Connection" option after pressing the "XBox" button.

Tips & Warnings

• Not all USB Wi-Fi adapters are compatible with XBox 360. Unfortunately, Microsoft has not made a list of compatible models available, so you will simply have to test the ones you already have. Alternately, you can purchase the one specifically made for XBox 360 by Microsoft.