For those of you forwarding ports on your router to point all traffic coming in on certain ports to the internal IP address of your gaming console, you may want to also permanently assign an internal IP address to your gaming console. Otherwise, when you reboot your console you may get a different internal IP address and that could cause your port forwards to stop working. You can accomplish this by either assigning an IP address in your router or by setting up a static IP address in your Xbox 360 console.
Look for a way to permanently assign an IP address in your router. This process will differ from router to router.
If you have a router that does not allow you to manually assign IP addresses, you will need to set up a static IP address within your Xbox 360 console.
Here are some important terms to understand before trying to set up a static internal IP address.
Internal IP Address vs External IP Address
Internal IP addresses are allocated by your router and are assigned to devices on your home or office network. Your router uses these internal IP addresses to get the correct data to each device. Internal IP addresses are used only by your router and they are not available to others over the internet.
External IP addresses are those that are shared with the world over the internet. Your router has an external IP address, allocated by your ISP (Internet Service Provider), which it uses to transfer data between your home/office network and the internet.
Static vs Dynamic Internal IP Address
Most internal IP addresses are dynamic IP addresses. These addresses are assigned by the router and can change from time to time which is why they are called dynamic. For example, a laptop using a dynamic internal IP address may have a different internal IP address after power is cycled to the laptop.
Some internal IP addresses are permenantly assigned, known as static internal IP addresses. The internal IP address of your router is static. Some devices work better with a static IP address.
How to Manually assign an IP address in your Router
If you find this feature in your router, simply assign a permanent IP address to your Xbox 360 (in your router) and no changes are required in your Xbox 360 console. Your router will take care of always assigning your Xbox 360 the same IP address which will function exactly the same as a static IP. Follow these steps to assign an IP address in your router:
1. You can choose to permanently assign your Xbox 360 to the IP address that it is currently using. To find this number:
- Go to the System Settings menu in your Xbox 360 Dashboard
- Select Network Settings
- Select Configure Network
- On the Basic Settings tab you should see the IP address of the Xbox 360. (See screenshot below.)
2. Login to your router (through your computer) and permanently assign your Xbox 360 to that IP address. For help logging in to your router visit our login guides.
Here is an example of a router that allows you to manually assign IP addresses.
In this router, there is a box to type the IP address into and then a drop down menu for the MAC address. (The MAC address of your Xbox 360 console is a unique number and every console is assigned a different one from the factory.) Some routers do not have a drop down menu to choose the MAC address from and instead have a place to type it in. If this is the case in your router, you will have to find out what the MAC address is for your Xbox 360.
To find the MAC address of your Xbox 360 console, follow these steps:
- In the Xbox 360 Dashboard choose System Settings.
- Select Network Settings
- Select Configure Network
- Next, select the Additional Settings tab
- Select Advanced Settings
- Select Alternate Mac Address
- At the bottom of this screen you should see Wired MAC Address or Wireless MAC Address Make note of this 12-digit address. In your router, you will need to assign this MAC address to the IP address you have chosen.
3. After you have assigned your Xbox 360 to a specific IP address, test the connection to Xbox LIVE from your Xbox 360 Dashboard to make sure it is working. To test the connection:
- From the Xbox 360 Dashboard, go to My Xbox
- Open System
- Choose Settings
- Select Network Settings
- Choose Test Xbox LIVE Connection
- Wait while the test runs. It will check your connections to make sure your console is communicating with your network, the internet, and Xbox LIVE.
4. Once you have permanently assigned an IP address to your Xbox 360 (in your router), and you have tested your connection (through the Xbox 360 Dashboard), you can proceed to forwarding a port. For help setting up port forwards visit our router guides.
How to set up a Static IP address in Xbox 360 Console
If you have a router that does not allow you to manually assign internal IP addresses, follow these instructions to set up a static IP address in your Xbox 360 console:
1. Find out what IP address, subnet mask, and gateway your Xbox 360 console is currently using. To find this info:
- Go to the System Settings menu in your Xbox 360 Dashboard
- Select Network Settings
- Select Configure Network
- On the Basic Settings tab you should see the IP address, Subnet Mask, and Gateway. Write these down, you will need to enter them in later.
2. Next, login to your router (through your computer) and note the DHCP range your router uses. The DHCP range is the group of numbers that your router uses to assign internal IP addresses to devices on your network. For help logging in to your router visit our login guides.
Here is a screenshot of a linksys router. The DHCP range is circled in red.
3. You will need to pick a number between 2 and 254 that is outside of your router's DHCP range to assign to your Xbox 360.
In the example above, this Linksys router uses the range 100-149 to assign IP addresses to devices on the internal network. I chose to assign my Xbox to 201. The IP address that I am going to assign to my Xbox is 192.168.1.201. (Be sure to use the first three numbers that are in your router's IP address, also known as gateway.) Here are a few more examples for you:
- If your router's DHCP range is 200-254 you could choose a number between 2 and 50 to try.
- If your router uses 50-200, you could try a number between 2 and 49.
4. To find out if this number is available ping the address using the command prompt.
To open the command prompt:
- Click on the windows Start menu
- Type cmd into the dialog box (in the windows start menu)
- Then click on cmd.exe (which should be listed over the dialog box). A black window with white text should open.
To check whether or not the IP address is available for you to assign:
- Type ping
- Hit the space bar
- Then type in the IP address you want to check. Hit Enter.
If you ping an address and do not receive a reply, then the IP address is available for you to assign. (See example above.) If you do receive a reply then that IP address is in use and you will have to try a different one. Below is an example showing an address that is already in use.
5. Next, go to the Xbox 360 Dashboard to set the internal IP address to the number you have chosen.
In the Xbox 360 Dashboard:
- Go to My Xbox and open System
- Select Settings
- Select Network Settings
- Select Configure Network
- On the Basic Settings tab, select the IP Settings area
- Select Manual
- Next, select IP Address
- Type in the IP address you have chosen and select Done
- You should be looking at the Edit IP Settings screen. Select Subnet Mask
- Type in the subnet mask (usually 255.255.255.0). This should be one of the numbers that you wrote down at the beginning of this guide. Select Done
- Finally, select Gateway
- Type in your gateway which is your router's internal IP address and select Done
- Select Done at the bottom of the Edit IP Settings screen
- Press the B button on your remote to get back to the Network Settings screen
6. Test the connection to Xbox Live.
In the Xbox 360 Dashboard:
- On the Network Settings screen choose Test Xbox Live Connection
- The test will run and check your Network, Internet and Xbox LIVE connection status. Wait while the test runs.
- When your Network Status on the right of the screen shows that your Network, Internet, and Xbox LIVE are all connected you are finished.
7. You may need to make sure that DNS Settings are set to Automatic.
8. After you have assigned an IP address, Subnet Mask, and Gateway to your Xbox 360 and checked to see that the connection is successful (through your Xbox 360 console), you can set up your port forwards to your Xbox 360. For help with port forwarding you can check out our router guides.
More Info
- To learn more about IP addresses you can check out this guide.
- If you need to figure out how to find your router's IP address this guide can help.
- You can find the user manual for your router within our router guides.
- To learn about what a port is visit this guide.