Microsoft Xbox Wireless N Bridge

Xbox 360 Wireless N Bridge

The Xbox Wireless Bridge from Microsoft lets you connect your Xbox 360 console to your home wireless network so that you can use the networking features of the console. It does this wirelessly so that there is no need for any messy wires. The bridge is compatible with all the current wireless network technologies and as such will easily connect to the wireless router in your house whatever setup you may have.

Installing the wireless network adapter is easy. It plugs into the back of your Xbox 360 and you are then able to enter the details of your chosen wireless network into the dashboard software on the console itself. It may be useful to have the easy install guide which came with your wireless router to hand in case you need to refer to any access keys that you might have in place on your network.

After the setup is complete your Xbox 360 is connected via the wireless bridge to your digital home network. It will now be possible for you to connect to Xbox Live, and share some media files with certain PCs. All this without the need to have any wires trailing through your house to wherever you have your Xbox 360 console set up.

Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter

There are other ways of connecting an Xbox 360 console to a wireless network by using third party products but they are not designed to work directly with the Xbox console and as such are much more difficult to set up. They may also require further plug sockets to work properly which makes positioning the system exactly where you want it with less trailing wires more difficult. The Microsoft Xbox Wireless Bridge however has been designed to work with the Xbox 360 directly and so installing it is simply a case of plugging it in. It is designed to give the maximum possible connectivity so that you can enjoy playing the games you want rather than worrying about any lag.

As the Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter is compatible with both 2.4 and 5 GHz networks and all three of the A/B/G wireless networking standards it will let you connect to nearly any home wireless network. It should be compatible with nearly every wireless network router available on the market today. This makes plugging in your wireless network bridge and adding your Xbox 360 to your digital wireless home a simple procedure.

Wireless Network Adapter

Power for the Xbox Wireless Network Adapter is taken directly from the console itself so there is no need to find another socket nearby to plug it into thus reducing wire clutter and making it more convenient. To add wireless connectivity to your console all you have to do is plug in the wireless bridge and input your settings and you're away!

The advantages of having wireless networking set up on your Xbox 360 console are many. Connecting to Xbox Live without having wires trailing around all over the place is the main benefit which people are looking for. It also gives the ability to play head to head games with other wireless users on your network for an enhanced gaming possibility.

On top of the Xbox Live functionality you are also able to use your wireless connected Xbox 360 to connect to media which is stored on PCs on your wireless network. You can stream both music and photographs from any Microsoft Windows XP based computer. In addition to this if the machine has Media Centre or Vista on it you are able to play TV episodes, films & any other video files which you have stored on those machines through your Xbox 360 console. This makes for a whole new media experience without any new wires!

Xbox 360 Wireless Network Bridge Technical Details

Reviews of the Wireless Bridge Adapter

The rest of this page has some reviews of the Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Bridge taken from Amazon.co.uk to give you an idea of the experiences that other people have had with the product. You can see more reviews by going directly to the amazon page by clicking on the links below.

Click here to read more reviews at Amazon.co.uk

5 stars Nevermind the price concerns, this is a quality product.

On a whim I bought the wireless xbox 360 bridge. I didn't really need it as I could use my pc and internet connection sharing to connect to the network in my house - although the guilt over the power usage nagged away at me!

My network consists of a Linksys BEFSR41 router (which is connected to my NTL cable modem) and a Linksys WAP54G wireless access point. You must also take into consideration that the house I live in was built in the mid 1800s. The significance of this is thick stone walls that obviously impede communication.

The WAP54G, for logistical reasons, is based upstairs. The room that I am currently in (due to my ususal one being re-decoarated) is downstairs. And yet I have played upon XBox Live without any real lag issues. And I should also mention that my Linksys USB network card struggles cannot gain a connection unless I place it outside the room.

I have seen that you can buy other wireless bridges - in fact I did have a Linksys WGA54G for my original XBox - but the beauty of the Wireless Bridge for the XBox 360 is a streamlined product that does not require an external power socket (unlike the WGA54G). The design is minimal and clean - apart from the ariel you wouldn't know it is there.

As for setting the device up, the XBox dashboard makes the whole process quite simple. Once I had added the MAC address of the bridge to the WAP54G permissions list and also set up the WEP key, that is.

So, in summary, this is a great device. Clean, unobtrusive design, and an uncomplicated set-up should sway your mind over and above the percieved (by some) high cost. As a friend of mine is fond of saying:

" You buy cheap, you buy twice"

This won't be a factor with the XBox 360 Wireless bridge.

Click here to read more reviews at Amazon.co.uk

5 stars Neat

If you have a wireless router in the house then you need one of these to get your Xbox 360 onto Live. It is very easy to install - the casing has small pins that fit into corresponding holes on the back of the console, with a short USB cable sprouting out the side which is just long enough to reach the rear USB port. It also has a pivoting antenna so you can point it skyward regardless of whether your Xbox is upright or lying down.

The price is about right, seeing as a PCI wireless adaptor for a PC isn't a lot cheaper.

It connected to my BT Voyager wireless router without any fuss, but I've been told that some routers do not work with it. Check this out before you buy one.