If you have an Xbox 360 connected to the Internet (Xbox Live) on your LAN (Local Area Network) then you have at one point or another probably seen an error message stating something similar to “Your NAT type is Moderate”. This message was more than likely discovered while troubleshooting your Xbox 360’s connection over your home network to Xbox Live. Some of the problems associated with the “Your NAT type is Moderate” include but are not limited to problems connecting to Xbox Live online games, issues joining Xbox 360 Party Chats via Xbox Live, other Xbox Live users having problems connecting to your Xbox 360 when you are hosting an online multiplayer game, and almost any other scenario where you are attempting to communicate with other Xbox Live users from the Xbox 360 connected to your Local Area Network.
Xbox 360 NAT Type Moderate Warning:
Connection Warning: Your NAT type is Moderate. People on networks with this NAT type may not be able to join certain games or hear other people while playing online. For the best online experience, you need an open NAT configuration.
Configure A Static IP Address On Your Xbox 360:
To resolve the issues stated in the previous paragraph you will need to configure Port Forwarding on the router that separates your LAN from the Internet. First you will need to assign a static IP address to your Xbox 360 which can be done by following the instructions from the QD article titled, “How To Configure A Static IP On A Xbox 360 Located On Your Local Network“. Click the previous article link to complete the task of configuring a static IP address on your Xbox 360 before proceeding with the directions below. In the directions located below I describe how to set up Port Forwarding using specific ports required by Xbox Live for your Xbox 360 to perform without issues when playing games online or simply chatting to people over Xbox Live. Once you have a static IP configured properly on your Xbox continue with the directions below.
Xbox 360: Your NAT Type Is Moderate Information
The error that states your NAT type is Moderate is basically saying that your router is forwarding some information to your Xbox 360 correctly but not all of it. So to resolve this issue you will need to configure Port Forwarding from your router to the Xbox 360 so your Xbox 360 will no longer complain about your NAT being Moderate and you will be able to connect to any Xbox Live user for chatting or gaming without any issues. The router used in the example below is a Linksys WRT54G running DD-WRT firmware but the concept is very similar with the default Linksys firmware or pretty much any other router. Almost every router on the market today provides port forwarding capabilities. Follow the directions below to forward the proper ports from your router to your Xbox 360.
Forward Ports To Xbox 360 To Resolve Xbox Live Issues:
- Verify Xbox 360 Static IP Address: Make sure your Xbox 360 is turned on and then from the main “My Xbox” menu scroll all the way to the right until you reach System Settings. Click on System Settings and then select Network Settings from the System Settings menu. Once the Network Settings screen is displayed click on Configure Network and then Manual to display the Xbox 360 IP address information as displayed below.
As you can see in the above example the IP Address of my Xbox 360 on my local network is 192.168.1.22.
- Launch Router Web Interface: Login to your routers web interface which can typically be done by visiting the internal IP address of the router itself which is most cases is also the Gateway address used by the Xbox 360. In this example the internal IP address of the WRT54G router is 192.168.1.1 and the initial router status screen looks similar to the below.
Your router may look a little different but typically the first screen that will be displayed when logging into a home based router will be some form of status screen as displayed above.
- Port Forwarding Configuration: Now open your routers Port Forwarding configuration screen which in the case of DD-WRT software is the first sub screen available underneath the NAT/QoS tab as displayed in the below image.
As you can see in the example above I already have two port forwards set up which include port 5001 for my Slin Box and port 9874 which is forwarding to the Remote Desktop port of another computer on my network.
- Add Xbox 360 Port Forwards: You will need to add two port forwards which include port 3074 and port 53 and make sure in both cases that you are forwarding both the UDP and TCP ports. If you are using DD-WRT firmware you will first need to click the Add button twice to display two empty port forwards as displayed below.
After adding the two empty port forwards you need to fill in the information relating to the two ports we want to forward to the Xbox 360. I suggest naming them something related to the Xbox so you will know what the ports are forwarded to if you are ever adding port forwards for different devices in the future. Again we will be forwarding TCP and UDP for ports 3074 and 53 as displayed in the below example image.
If you are using DD-WRT make sure that the check box in the Enable column is checked or the ports will not be active. After adding the port forward information click the Save button followed by the Apply button to implement the changes.
- Verify Xbox Live: After you have made the above changes you should not log back into your Xbox 360 and test the Xbox Live connection. It is also located underneath System Settings and then the Network Settings sub section. One of the options is “Test Xbox Live Connection” which you should click on and then wait while the connection to Xbox Live is tested as displayed below.
It can take a couple minutes for the test to complete but once it does you should see a status message stating “Xbox Live Is Up And Runnung”.
Hopefully the above helps resolve NAT type Moderate issues for others. It is a pain when you want to play a multi player game online and either your or someone else in your group has connections or sound issues.
Xbox 360 60GB LIVE Starter Pack (Video Game)
Manufacturer: Microsoft ESRB Rating: Platform: Xbox 360 Genre:
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Great article. And double thanks for having a mobile site!
Hello Hugh G.,
No problem man. I am really glad to hear that you found the mobile interface easy to use. Thanks for leaving feedback and let us know that you found this article regarding the NAT Type Moderate on the Xbox 360 useful.
Thanks.
alex
I did all of the steps everything and I still have a Strict NAT I called my ISP they said the modem appeared fine I asked them about bridging and he said they couldn’t do that to my internet because of some reason. So what do I do now?
Thanks so much!
I finally have an open NAT.. I didn’t think it would ever happen. This is awesome!! Amazing articles.
Hello Doug,
No problem at all. Glad you found the tutorial helpful. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thanks for the article it helped me on my way, but now i am trying to make this work on both my brother’s and my xbox wich are both connected to the same network. But it only says open on my brothers connection and my connection is still moderate altough i did the same thing for both IP address and such. Do you have any idea what’s happening here?
Greetz,
Jonhan
Hello Jonhan,
That becomes a little more complex. You cannot forward the same ports to different IP addresses. I believe there is some combination of ports that can be sent to one Xbox and the others sent to the second Xbox though I have personally not set this up specifically. Please let us know when you get this resolved so others my find an answer here.
Thanks.
alex
Hey Alex, I followed your guide but I still get the nat is moderate.
I have a laptop that is bridging my wireless and lan together. Than I use my LAN cable to connect to my Xbox for live. When I followed this guide I had to port 192.168.0.102 to 192.168.0.108. Everything worked fine until I restart the laptop, Router put in a new IP to the laptop because of the DHCP server and everything is screwed up.
In my DHCP Client List I got W1 (Laptop name) and bunch of Blank names after it with the 192.168.0.x IP. I’ve tried port forwarding all of them but I don’t have enough spaces..
The DHCP always changes my ip because people are connecting on and off around me.
What can I do to fix this?
Here is a screen shot of my problem
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/9531/74881243.jpg
Hello Mathew,
If you got the bridging working then you should be able to get this working without issue. Instead of assigning IP’s via DHCP you should assign them statically and then create the port forwards. Your scenario is obviously a bit outside the norm so it may take some messing around with but if you assign static IP’s things should work fine.
Good luck.
Thanks.
alex
I have spent the last week trying to figure out how to open up my ports for xbox live. I thank you for tutorial making this simply perfect in so many ways.
Hello Tim,
No problem at all. Thank you for taking the time to leave such nice feedback.
Thanks.
alex
well, wouldn’t dmz work also? i can only do DMZ, because all of our port forwarding slots are being used up for other pc’s, mainly for my brother’s WoW stuff.
Hello Noah,
The DMZ will work as well as long as the ports you need to forward are not already forwarded to your brothers computer. Are you saying that your router only has a limited amount of port forwarding capabilities? What ports are currently forwarded to your brothers computer?
Thanks.
alex
Ok so i followed all the steps to letter and test my connection. i connect but it sill says that my Nat is moderate.
Hello Jake G.,
That either means that your ISP is for some reason blocking these specific ports or the more likely thing which is the ports are not forwarded properly. I would double check your configuration again and make sure the changes are applied properly. You might try rebooting your router and then checking again to see if the settings are still there and applied.
Thanks.
alex
I’ll give it a try thanks.
Hello Jake,
No problem. Let us know the results.
Thanks.
alex
Ok, I have been having this problem for the longest time. I have a linksys WRT160N router. The router has a cord going right into the 360. I have opened all the ports stated here on my router and i still do not have an open connection. I use a static ip just like it says to, and still nothing.
Hello Terry,
Sorry to hear you are having issues with your Xbox 360 NAT type. It sounds as though there still must be an issue on your network as the ports listed will definitely correct the problem. Have you tried removing the router from the configuration and plugging your Xbox 360 right into the device from your ISP? I would suggest doing that to see if it resolves the problem and if it does you know the issue is on your WRT160N router. Let us know the results and we will try to offer more suggestions if it turns out the router is the issue. If it ends up not being the router then it would likely be something done by your ISP such as blocking the ports you are trying to open.
Thanks.
alex
Well, if it helps, I have my PS3 plugged in the same way my xbox360 is, same router, just a different cord, and my network status on there for Nat Type is Type 2, which is the same thing as open, so idk what the deal is honestly… im pretty sure it can not be the router if i get an open connection on the ps3.
Hello Terry,
I would try my suggestion above to verify as that is the only way you are going to be able to verify. If you do try the above suggestions let us know the results but if not we don’t have any other suggestions.
Thanks.
alex
Uncheck all options under Port Triggering and try Port Range Forwarding…
Port Range Forwarding –
Application : xbox
Start Port : 53
End Port : 3074
Protocol : Both
IP Address : 192.168.1.20.
Check the Enable box and Save the Settings…
Under the Security tab, leave the Block Anonymous Requests unchecked and change the MTU to 1452 under the setup tab…
Click on the Status tab and take note of DNS1 and DNS2 Addresses…
Goto the XBox Network Settings and IP Address Settings and select manual IP Settings and assign the following on your Xbox : P Address :- 192.168.1.20, Subnet Mask :- 255.255.255.0, Default Gateway :- 192.168.1.1…
Also assign the DNS Addresses on the Xbox
Use DNS1 and DNS2 Addresses you took note off of the router status tab as Primary DNS & Secondary DNS for the xbox…
Turn off your modem, router, and Xbox…Wait for a minute…
Plug the modem power first, wait for another minute and plug the router power cable, wait another minute and turn on the Xbox and test it…it will connect…
Message Edited by Gollum on 07-15-2009 07:47 PM
this worked for me.
Hello Terry,
Glad you got your problem resolved. Thanks for sharing what fixed the issue for you.
Thanks.
alex
Worked!
Thanks.
Using SLIM and a WRT
Hello Bill,
No problem. Glad it worked for you. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thank you so much! Cheers
Hello jess,
No problem at all! Thanks for posting feedback!
Thanks.
alex
I went through this guide, and for some reason I still get a Moderate NAT, any other suggestions?
Hello Eric,
What type of firewall are you running? Make sure the outbound ports are functioning in Static mode.
Thanks.
alex
I believe my Firewall is turned off, and I do not know how to check if the outbound ports are functioning in Static mode.
Hello Eric,
You are going to need to provide more info than that for us to be able to provide any suggestions. What devices are between your Xbox 360 and the Internet? This includes the router and/or firewall type and version of software running on these devices.
Thanks.
alex
Sure, no problem. I currently have a WRT54G linksys router, and I belive the firmware is v1.00.9 I run the basic firewall that comes with WIndows XP, which is disabled.
Hello Eric,
Are you sure that the ports are forwarded to the correct IP address and once the settings have been made they were saved and applied on the Linksys wireless router? You might also try playing around with the firewall settings on the Linksys router as well as the firewall on Windows XP won’t make any difference regarding the Xbox 360’s connection unless the Xbox 360 is somehow connecting to the Internet through the Windows XP computer….
Thanks.
alex
I was a bit sceptical to be honest, because after doing the other tutorial my NAT went from moderate (with automatic network settings on 360) to strict (with manual and the steps followed perfectly).
However, after doing this tutorial everything appears to be in order! I’ll cross my fingers that this is long term. :)
Hello Adam,
Great to hear. As long as you have a static IP configured on your Xbox 360 then everything should continue working without issue. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
This is absolutely one of the best technical fixes I have seen (and I’ve seen and used quite a few). Clear and concise. Great images.
Hello Randall,
Thanks for leaving such nice feedback. We appreciate it.
Thanks.
alex
hey thanks a lot it works like magic…as it should thanks alot
Hello playalis21,
No problem. Glad you got it working with help from our article! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Thank you soooooooooo much! Not such a pain when it’s spelled out for you. Again thanks!
Hello Ivan,
No problem at all. Thanks for taking the time to post feedback.
Thanks.
alex
Dude, just wanted to thank you. It worked.
Hello Tony,
No problem at all man. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
I’m in IT and I still think that you have to do this many
steps is f’ing retarded.
Hello Rorison Meadows,
I definitely hear your frustration as I am sure many people feel the same way. On the flip side though think about how far gaming, gaming systems (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii) have come in the past decade or even in the past 5 years. While some items are definitely a pain to configure there have been amazing strides in gaming!
Thanks.
alex
By the way, I tried these steps tonight and it didn’t work with my E2000.
I’m not sure exactly what got it to work, but I think it’s the second step of the following:
1. Port forwarding not only to 3074 and 53, but 80 and 88 as well, as they are referred on the XBox support page for NAT troubleshooting.
2. Disabled PnPP (administration tab). This seems counter-intuitive based on the advice spat out by the Xbox itself, but I found it on Yahoo Answers and it did the trick.
Hello Rorison Meadows,
There are definitely some extra steps required beyond the steps in the article depending on the type of hardware you are running. For instance sometimes outbound NAT has to be modified to static versus dynamic in some instances. Thanks for noting the extra steps taken on a Cisco Linksys E2000 Advanced Wireless N Router to resolve the NAT Type Moderate problem on Xbox 360 gaming consoles!
Glad to hear you got it all working!
Thanks.
alex
Thank you SO Much….
HBomb,
No problem. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Thanks.
alex
tried to create a static IP.
My NAT went from Moderate to none existant.
Can not connect my xbox to my wireless network unless settings are automatic,
and then I get the NAT Crap
My network is completely wireless, My 2 computers, printer, android phone, Mifi 4510L Hotspot work seemlessly
Why is xbox so fickle? any idea’s
Hello Rob,
If you were getting no traffic to the Xbox it means that you didn’t have the settings configured properly on the router. Are you sure you had the router configured properly? What model router do you have any what settings did you change on the router?
Thanks.
alex
goood lord thank you! ive been searching for hours finally something that works!
Hello TheHolyMcDiver,
No problem at all. Thanks for posting feedback.
Thanks.
alex
jw for port forwarding do we need to put the ipadress of our xbox or our computer…..or our router??
Hello justin,
You would put the IP address of the xbox since you are port forwarding an external port on your router to a port on your Xbox 360.
Thanks.
alex
tried to create a static IP.
My NAT went from Moderate to none existant.
Can not connect my xbox to my wireless network unless settings are automatic,
and then I get the NAT Crap
My network is completely wireless, My 2 computers, printer, android phone, Mifi 4510L Hotspot work seemlessly
Why is xbox so fickle? any idea’s
Hello Rob,
If you were getting no traffic to the Xbox it means that you didn’t have the settings configured properly on the router. Are you sure you had the router configured properly? What model router do you have any what settings did you change on the router?
Thanks.
alex