But it's even harder if nobody can hear your cries of pain (and come to your aid accordingly). Or if you can't even join the fireteam / game in the first place. So it's important that your connection to Xbox live (and other Xboxes) is solid.
Welcome to the murky and confusing world of Network Address Translation.
The 'NAT' in your router then maps (or translates) this to the internal IP address and ports of all your home networked devices (eg. your Xbox) so that the data gets to and from the right device.
For your Xbox to function online it needs 7 specific ports to be open.
Your Xbox NAT status can be:
1. Open; all the required ports are open.
2. Moderate; most of the ports are open.
3. Strict; none, or only a few, of the ports are open.
Depending on which ports are not open you may have trouble hosting matches, joining a fireteam, playing the actual game, or chatting through your microphone. It can be hard to predict as different combinations of closed ports between any two Xboxes can cause different issues.
The Xbox running the party and/or fireteam should definitely be 'Open' - but generally xboxes that are 'Open' or 'Moderate' should be able to play with each other. But anyone with 'Strict' will only be able to work with those who are 'Open'.
Starting again:
- a) Turn your Xbox completely off (long press).
- b) Restart your modem (clears the NAT table).
- c) If your router supports 'Universal Plug and Play' (UPnP).
- d) Turn your Xbox back on.
UPnP is the quickest and easiest way for your Xbox to request and get all the ports that it needs.
I try and do this every Tuesday just to be sure!
You'll need to consult your router's user guide and forward the following ports:
- Port 88 (UDP)
- Port 3074 (UDP and TCP)
- Port 53 (UDP and TCP)
- Port 80 (TCP)
- Port 500 (UDP)
- Port 3544 (UDP)
- Port 4500 (UDP)
You can check the official Xbox website for a list of brand/models that are Xbox Live friendly!