Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapters

The Xbox 360 can do more than just play video games. When connected to a network, you can stream images, music, and in some cases video to your Xbox 360. If your network includes an Internet connection, you can download games and demos from Xbox Live Marketplace and play against other players via Xbox Live.

Unfortunately, networking your Xbox 360 isn’t always easy. After all, most of us don’t have Ethernet in our living rooms, and running a cable across the floor isn’t the most atheistic solution. Microsoft’s Wireless Network Adapter lets you connect your Xbox 360 to your home network from nearly any room in your home, and it does so without the need to string Ethernet all over the house.

The Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter offers support for the three major wireless network standards and several different security standards, making the adapter compatible with any existing wireless network you might already have in place.

Supported network standards include 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. The latter two of these standards are more popular, but Microsoft recommends using 802.11a if possible because it’s less susceptible to interference. Even so, it’s also harder to find 802.11a-compatible devices if you plan to add other devices to your network.

Securing a wireless network is crucial because RF signals aren’t confined to your home. As a result, it’s possible for neighbors or anyone nearby to join an unsecured network. If you’re just playing Madden NFL 06, this isn’t a big deal; but it is a problem if you have other systems on your wireless network that contain sensitive information. Although locking down your network is crucial, you also have to be sure that all devices on your network support the security standard you choose. The Wireless Network Adapter supports WPA, WPA-2, and both 64-bit and 128-bit WEP. WPA-2 is the most secure standard, but it’s new and older devices don’t support it. WPA isn’t quite as secure as WPA-2, but it’s been around longer, so it has the support of a larger number of wireless devices.

Finally, there’s WEP, which is the weakest of these security standards, but nearly every device supports WEP. Of course, 128-bit WEP is more secure than 64-bit WEP.

You also can use the Wireless Network Adapter to connect two Xbox 360 units. Simply connect an adapter to each Xbox 360 and configure each unit using the same network settings.

The Wireless Network Adapter itself is small and connects neatly to the back of the Xbox 360. It plugs into the USB port located on the rear of the system (above the Ethernet port), and the adapter draws power directly from Xbox 360’s USB port, so there’s no need for an additional power cable. The adapter also includes a status LED that indicates when the adapter is online (a green light) and whether it’s experiencing any hardware issues (a flashing red light). If you decide to plug in an Ethernet cable, the adapter automatically shuts off because the Xbox 360 will choose a wired connection over a wireless connection.