Can’t Connect To Xbox Live But Internet Is Working: Solved!
If you can’t connect to the Xbox Live Gold, but your internet is working, that can be frustrating when you want to join a game online. Though I enjoy playing Xbox games, I sometimes face odd technical issues with my Xbox that prevent me from accessing the Xbox Live Gold to play multiplayer games. If something similar happens to you, you can follow some easy steps that could fix your problem.
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Why can’t I connect to Xbox Live even when my internet is working?
When I can’t connect to Xbox Live, but my internet is working, I can usually fix the problem by restarting my Xbox console. Other possible problems include not being signed in to the Xbox network, Xbox service issues, and misconfigured internet settings.
It used to confuse me that Xbox network connection problems still happen though the company and internet service providers have been in business for many years. Once I got a clearer understanding of how networks and intermingled technologies work, it made sense to me that problems would occasionally occur.
I may not be the most avid gamer in the world, but when I’m set on playing online with friends when I’m off work, there aren’t many things in the world I’d rather connect to than my Xbox. Let’s now explore some of the reasons you can’t connect to Xbox Live Gold and discuss possible solutions.
Give Restarts A Try
I’ve been using electronic devices for many years and have run into problems with almost all of them at some point or another.
Without a doubt, one of the most common fixes for just about all those devices is simply to restart each device.
The way to restart an electronic device can be different depending on the device design and internal systems used, but you can generally perform a restart by turning the device off and on.
When it comes to connecting to Xbox Live Gold, there are multiple devices involved in the Xbox network connection process.
Starting from what is closest to you, the first device you should restart is your Xbox console.
Though restarting most electronic devices is usually straightforward, with just one or two ways to activate the restart, an Xbox console has several ways you can restart it.
Believe it or not, some restart processes might give you a better result than others.
So instead of just trying one way to restart your Xbox, you should try all possible restart methods to make sure you leave no stone unturned.
You can restart your Xbox console through the Power Center by following these steps:
- Go to the Power Center by holding down the Xbox button in the middle of your Xbox game controller.
- Go to Restart Console.
- Choose Restart and wait for your Xbox to boot back up.
You can restart your Xbox console through the guide by following these steps:
- Load the Xbox guide by pressing the Xbox button in the middle of your Xbox game controller.
- Go to Profile & system.
- Go to Settings.
- Go to General.
- Go to Power mode & startup.
- Choose Restart now and wait for your Xbox to boot back up.
You can restart your Xbox console through the physical console by following these steps:
- Hold down the Xbox button in the middle of your Xbox game controller for around 10 seconds until the Xbox turns off. You will know the Xbox is off when the lights and sounds from it shut off.
- To turn your console back on, you can either press the Xbox button on the Xbox itself or press the Xbox button in the middle of your Xbox game controller.
You can restart your Xbox console through its power cord by following these steps:
- Unplug the power cord of your Xbox console and wait for at least 10 seconds.
- Plug the power cord back into the power outlet.
- Power your console on by pressing the Xbox button on your game controller.
After you have restarted your Xbox console, try to reconnect with Xbox Live Gold to see if it works.
If you still cannot connect, there are other things you can try to establish the connection.
Before trying a solution that doesn’t directly involve your Xbox console, you might want to try the above steps again and wait longer than 10 seconds with the power off before turning the console back on.
Since it usually takes at least for the Xbox console’s power supply to completely reset, you can maybe try to wait 20 seconds or longer to be absolutely sure you waited long enough before powering the Xbox back on.
If you still cannot connect to Xbox Live Gold, all is not lost.
There are other simple steps you can take that might be able to get you online.
The next step I suggest is to restart your internet router.
Your internet router might have various ways to restart it, but I think the reliable way to restart it would be to disconnect it from its power source, wait for a few seconds or more, then power it back on again.
In my experience, just waiting a few seconds is usually fine to properly power a router down, but if you want to play it safe, you can extend the waiting time.
If restarting the internet router didn’t work, or you connect your Xbox console directly to a modem, you should try to restart the modem.
Restarting the modem is similar to restarting the router.
You’d basically just power the modem down by pressing its power button or unplugging it, then power it back on by plugging it back in and pressing the power button again.
If your modem has a power switch instead of a button, then you would switch it off and on accordingly.
Inspect Physical Components That Connect Your Network
If your Xbox console is connected to your router or modem with an Ethernet cable or other type of wired connection, you should visually inspect the connectors and ports to make sure there is no damage to the connectors.
You should also look into the ports to make sure there are no obstructions restricting your cables from being properly connected.
Check Your Network Settings
There are several settings configurations that need to be sorted out to gain a connection to your network and Xbox Live Gold.
If you verified your local area network to be working through a phone, computer, or device other than your Xbox, it’s possible your Xbox may not have the right network configurations.
If your Xbox is connected wirelessly to an internet router, make sure your Xbox is connected to the correct network.
If you manually entered the network name, you should try to let your Xbox console automatically detect the wireless network to make sure it’s the correct network.
If you are sure the network is being properly detected, you should make sure you enter the correct network password.
We sometimes forget it only takes one character in a password to be wrong to make it not work.
You can verify the network password by going to your settings options in a Windows computer connected to your network.
Here are the steps to view your network password through a computer with the Windows 11 operating system:
- Go to the search bar at the bottom of the computer screen and type “control panel” in the field.
- Choose the suggested item that says Control Panel.
- Go to Network and Internet.
- Go to the Network and Sharing Center.
- Go to Connections in the Network and Sharing Center and choose your network name.
- Choose Wireless Properties in the section called Wi-Fi Status.
- Go to Wireless Network Properties and choose Security.
- Check the box that says Show characters.
The password for your wireless network should now be shown in the field that says Network security key.
Instead of writing or typing the network password, I’d recommend copying and pasting it to make sure you take note of it correctly.
Check Overall Network Performance
The speed and availability of your internet and Xbox service could be affected due to issues on the side of the service providers.
To see if there are any network issues from your internet service provider or Xbox, you should contact the respective companies to get a status update on their services.