For better or for worse, modern consoles like the Xbox are becoming more dependent on online services and multiplayer gaming. This means any network error such as “UPnP Not Successful” is liable to put a real damper on your fun.

In this article, you’ll learn what UPnP is, why this error happens, and some of the most effective troubleshooting steps and fixes to resolve the issue and get you back in the game.

Understanding the Error

The first thing that crossed your mind when seeing this error was probably “What the heck is UPnP?” UPnP is short for Universal Plug and Play. It lets devices on the same network discover each other, and then configure themselves so they can communicate.

If you see this error on your Xbox, it means that your Xbox was unable to use UPnP to properly manage all the network settings, addresses, and ports to allow it to communicate properly on the network.

This usually doesn’t affect core functionality such as downloading games or using streaming apps, but it often means that multiplayer games don’t work properly.

What Causes the "UPnP Not Successful" Error on Xbox?

One of the most annoying things about this error is that it’s nonspecific. UPnP is universal by design, but that means the problem could be anywhere. Common causes of a UPnP error include:

• Various router-specific issues, which we’ll get to below.
• ISP (Internet Service Provider) issues that are usually beyond your control.
• Too much traffic on your network. If your Xbox is sharing the network with lots of other devices, network congestion might impede UPnP.
• Your Xbox network settings are wrong or have become incorrect due to a network change.
• The firewall in your router could be blocking the ports needed by UPnP to work.
• Using a VPN with your Xbox can have various negative effects, which we’ll detail below.
• In rare cases, some network hardware somewhere in your network is just plain broken.

These are the most common reasons for UPnP errors, but it’s not an exhaustive list. Next, let’s move on to fixes that address these issues when you encounter the problem on your Xbox.

1. Check Your Network Connection

When you get this type of error the first thing you need to figure out is whether it’s only affecting your Xbox, or if other devices on your network or the internet in general have an issue. So, the first thing you should do is check if your other gadgets are working correctly. If you have another console, can it play games online? Does your PC or phone work normally?

It’s also important to make sure your connection is stable, even if it does seem to be connected. You can run an online speed test from your phone or another device on the same network to see if it picks up any issues.

Another good move is to connect the console to your router using Ethernet rather than Wi-Fi. Ethernet is always more reliable and performant compared to Wi-Fi.

2. Restart Everything

UPnP problems are often transient, simply because one component of your network isn’t playing ball. So if you’re happy that your internet connection is working on other devices, restart your Xbox and router both. Hopefully, the UPnP process works correctly after a restart.

3. Check that UPnP Is Enabled on Your Router

These days UPnP is enabled by default on routers, but this may not be the case for your router, or another user may have decided to disable UPnP at some point in the past. Either way, it’s worth checking your router’s settings to see if UPnP is enabled or not!
The exact steps as to how you’ll do this depend on the router you have. Many modern routers have a companion app that you probably used to set it up out of the box. In that case, it’s easy enough to open the app and look around its menus until you see a setting related to UPnP.

If you don’t have one of those fancy new routers, the usual way to access its settings is to go to a specific network address using a web browser connected to the router by Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Ethernet is recommended!

This address is usually something like 10.0.0.1 or 192.168.0.1, but this varies by router. If you have the router manual, you can find the address in there. Most routers also have this information on a sticker underneath the device. You can also just put the model number into a search engine and find the address that way. You’ll have to enter a password, and if you haven’t changed it from the default, you’ll find it in the same place as the default address.

Once you’re into the settings via a browser, it’s the same deal. Just look for something labelled “Enable UPnP’ or something close to that and switch it on if it isn’t already.

4. Assign a Static IP to Your Xbox

One way to get around UPnP issues is to manually assign an IP address to your Xbox that never changes. An IP address is the unique number that identifies every device on your network. Usually, your router automatically assigns this number. UPnP is partly based on this automatic assignment.

There are different approaches to doing this, but the most logical is to adjust your router’s DHCP address range (i.e. IP addresses available for automatic assignment) to exclude at least one address. Then go to the advanced network settings of your Xbox and manually assign that IP address to the console.

Static IP assignment is a little out of scope in this article, but you can read our full easy guide to assigning a static IP address to any network device for all the details.

5. Port Forwarding

Assigning an IP manually is only one aspect of doing the same job properly-functioning UPnP usually does. Different types of network communication use different “ports” on the network. Email, video, and games all use different ports.

Port forwarding is a way to safely connect a device in your local network, such as your Xbox, to (for example) a game or download servers on the internet. These ports are required to use Xbox Live online services:

• 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)

In addition to these ports, some individual games may need additional ports to be opened, so if you’re only getting errors with one specific game, you should do an internet search to see if there are more to open.

Port forwarding can be a little tricky at first and it requires a static IP, so you should head over to our Port Forwarding Guide for more details in addition to the aforementioned guide on static IP settings.

Port triggering is an alternative to port forwarding that doesn’t require a static IP and only opens ports when specific devices on the network ask for them. If your router supports port triggering you’ll find it in the router settings beyond the router login page.

6. Put Your Xbox in the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

It might sound quite dramatic, but the DMZ is simply a section of your network with no security measures. This is not meant to be a permanent solution in most cases, since putting something in the DMZ essentially opens it up completely to outside connections.

However, you can add your Xbox to your router or modem router combo unit’s DMZ to see if the problem is resolved. If the error goes away and things work normally again in the DMZ, that’s a sure sign it’s a port-related or firewall issue.

Using the DMZ also bypasses any NAT (Network Address Translation) issues, but it’s not a permanent solution. For NAT issue resolution, check out What Is Double NAT and How to Fix It on a Network. This will also help resolve strict NAT type issues, and help you get the optimal open NAT or at least moderate NAT configuration for gaming.

Each router has unique menus and settings, so refer to your device’s manual to find out how the DMZ works for that model.

7. Check Your Firewall and VPN

The more layers of security you have between your Xbox and the internet, the more things can go wrong. Your router’s built-in firewall may be blocking your Xbox and your VPN may also not play ball with Xbox. Add your Xbox to the firewall exclusion list of your router following the instructions in its manual. As for the VPN issue, turn the VPN off temporarily to see if this will fix UPnP errors, or try a different VPN server.

8. Update Your Router Firmware

UPnP’s effectiveness is largely determined by how well your router implements the system, and router manufacturers often kill bugs and improve performance in firmware updates. So if there’s a new update available for your router you should give it a try.

9. Change Your DNS

DNS (Domain Name System) issues can indirectly affect UPnP, and often your ISP’s default DNS servers aren’t necessarily the best. It’s always a good idea to start with Google’s DNS servers at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 respectively.

You have two options here. You can either change the DNS settings in your router, or under Advanced Settings on your Xbox One, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S.

The former option will change the DNS settings for all devices on the network unless you have set up custom DNS for each device. For example, you can change the DNS settings in Microsoft Windows for that computer in particular. If you choose to change the DNS settings on your Xbox, it will only affect that Xbox.

10. Talk To Your ISP

If you’ve tried everything on this list and your Xbox still gives the “UPnP not a successful” error, you may want to get in touch with your ISP to see if there’s anything on their side that could be causing the issue. Especially if this is a new error and nothing on your side has changed. You might also want to get in touch with Xbox support, who will also know about known issues when it comes to UPnP settings and how they might not work correctly with your Xbox console.