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HOWTO: Bypass Xbox Live Region Locks with XP and PureVPN!
The following is a comprehensive tutorial on how to setup PureVPN on your Windows XP machine and use it as a gateway for your Xbox360 to bypass ridiculous region locks implemented by Microsoft.
A bit of background. I'm English and as such I bought my 360 in England and also subscribed to a Gold Live account in England. This results in a permanent region restriction being assigned to my Gamertag. I moved to Austria just over a year ago and naturally my 360 came with me. All was fine with playing online on Live and I can even buy Austrian 360 games and they work with no problems on my UK 360 and then "Games on Demand" was released into the Live Marketplace last year which allows people to pay for and download full Xbox 360 games directly from their sofas.
I initially thought that this was a great idea. My Live account is a UK one and this would enable me to buy the English language versions of the games available (The vast majority of games I can buy in Austria have a similar censoring scheme applied to the German market...and most of them are in German ONLY...why a dual dvd can only contain one language is anyones guess...but that's a rant for elsewhere.)
To cut a long story short. I stocked up on Microsoft Points and tried to buy Mass Effect through the xbox marketplace. I couldn't buy it "This item is not available in your region." It's also possible to buy games directly from xbox.com so I tried there with the same result. A few Google searches later had me using a free UK proxy on xbox.com and I was finally able to purchase the game and it was 'added to my xbox download queue'...hahaha! f**k you Bill Gates! I switched the xbox on and smugly watched all 6GB of Mass Effect download to my hard drive. I came back to it a few hours later only to find it hadn't downloaded and it was sitting there corrupt and unplayable on my Hard Drive...So, I tried again. Same thing.
The next time I made sure I was there as I watched the last couple of percent download and I saw the problem. As it hit 99% a popup informed me that "This Game could not be downloaded...please try again" So I was stuck. Google searches led to others who had the same problem and they were also trying to download content made for specific regions. I was able to access the xbox site from England (via proxy) but I forgot the fact that my xbox was accessing live directly from Austria and this was the issue. I figured I had to use my laptop as a router and connect the xbox to it so it would access Live via a VPN. I managed to do it with a free (but sloooooooow) VPN service and all was well. I was playing Mass Effect shortly after that.
This was last year. Everything was fine up until a couple of days ago when I wanted to download Oblivion to the xbox. I knew there'd be problems, but this time I was determined to sort it out once and for all. And, this is how I did it...
1. Initial Setup
My xbox is normally connected to the internet via an Ethernet connection to my wireless router and I connect to the web via the wireless connection on my laptop (Macbook running Bootcamp...It's possible to do all this on Mac OS X but it's far far simpler to just do it with Windows XP and this is the method outlined here)
If you can't (be arsed to) set up the PureVPN connection directly on your router, you'll need to use your laptop as a gateway for your xbox. In other words, disconnect your xbox from your router and plug that badboy into your laptop/Pc's ethernet port. But don't do it yet as you'll alter the space time continuum and Michael J Fox will turn up next to you in a DeLorean. So...
2. Setup your VPN in Windows XP.
Get your a$$ to control panel/Network Connections and click File Menu 'Make a New Connection' The "Wizard" will pop up and you want the option for "Connect to the network at my workplace" which is the VPN option and it's funny because all the following steps will feel like you're doing a frigging job. Hit next and select "Virtual Private Networking" then next again and type "PureVPN" into the company name box.
After hitting next again, not only will you be pissed off at having to hit next so often, you'll also want to enter the VPN server you need. As I wanted the UK option, I entered that address into the box (uk2.purevpn.net). Make sure it's entered correctly...then check it again!. Finally hit next (sigh), then finish and the connection is set up. You'll set it there in Network Connections under Virtual Private Network. Right click the connection icon and go to Properties.
In the properties box, hit the Security tab and select the Advanced toggle then the "settings" button. In the 'data encryption' drop down select "optional encryption" and in the protocols section select 'allow these protocols' and make sure only "CHAP" is checked. click 'OK' to apply the settings and Fanny's your Auntie.
Now, resist the temptation to connect to PureVPN so you can go off looking at Animal porn on the web anonymously and just bare (bear?) with me for a minute. We need to make sure that your xbox is connecting correctly via your Laptop/PC without the VPN and for this you need Windows' Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) which is a Pain In The A__ (PITA).
3. Setup ICS for the Xbox without the VPN (Holy abbreviations Batman!)
Just so we're on the same page: My internet connection is via my Wireless card...and my Local Area Connection is the local Xbox network. Right Click your wireless connection, properties, advanced tab and under 'Internet Connection Sharing' check 'Allow other network users to connect...' once that's done. Click OK to apply the settings and you're ready to go!. Make sure your laptop's connected to the internet. Plug in your xbox into the Ethernet port on your laptop and turn that mofo on. Sign into Live on your xbox and all should be well...If it is, great move on...if not, say hello to Michael J Fox for me, make sure all the steps are correct and if you're still having trouble post a reply to this thread and I'll do my best to help you. (serious about the last bit)
4. It's Step 3 but with VPN
Unplug your xbox from your Laptop and disconnect your wireless internet for a moment. DONT WORRY the internet will still be there when you come back (well, as long as you're not disconnected for too long). So, go back to your PureVPN connection in Network Connections and right click that effer for the last time. Properties, Advanced tab and you want to enable ICS on *this* connection. Hit OK and it will tell you something along the lines of 'you're an idiot, you've already set ICS on your wireless but I'll now change it to share on THIS connection instead' or something like that. But the result is, no ICS on your wireless connection but yes ICS on your PureVPN connection. Now!...
i. connect to the internet wirelessly
ii. double click the PureVPN connection and enter your PureVPN user name password...click connect.
iii. go to yahoo.com or google.com and you should see the regional version of that site (eg. Yahoo UK)
iv. plug your xbox into your laptop via ethernet again and sign into live. you SHOULD be connected via the UK
v. download all the UK region specific DLC that you want.
vi. There is no vi.
vii. ???
viii. PROFIT!!!1
NOTE: what I did notice is that while the xbox is connected via the VPN, the download speed is a lot slower. and this is a problem when you're downloading a 6GB game. So, connect to live via the VPN and start the download. Let it get to 1% and sign out of Live (the download is now paused) connect the xbox directly to the internet again bypassing the VPN and the download should speed up dramatically. Come back when it's at around 98%, sign out of live then reconnect the xbox WITH THE VPN to resume the final couple of percent and you're sorted.
Hope this helps you out...Any questions or comments just reply to this thread.
TL;DR? Take your Ritalin and try again.
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