Nowadays there are a lot of new multiplayer games that use Games For Windows Live. Some of the games that include GFWL are GTA IV, Fallout 3, DoW2, etc. GFWL is a great way to connect with your friends online and play a good multiplayer game. But if you’re using a router then you may experience some problems which will not allow you to login. I was previously using an ordinary modem and it worked great. But after I got a new router I experienced login issues, I wasn’t able to log into my GFWL account. This was really annoying as I had purchased GTA IV mainly for online play.
I tried different things to fix the problem like uninstalling the game, resetting router, uninstalling kaspersky, etc but none of them worked. I even posted on GFWL forums and they said it was a router issue. I got fed up and reinstalled Vista and installed the game without installing any other softwares and to my surprise GFWL worked perfectly and I was able to play a multiplayer game. Then later again something went wrong and I wasn’t able to play. So here’s what I tired which fixed my problem.

The fixes given below works for the following errors:
Error 0×800705b4, Error 0×80072741, Error 0×80151002, Error 0×80151911
You can also try the below fixes if you have any other login issues, who knows it may work out.
1. Ok so to start with, the first thing you need to make sure is that you have forwarded the necessary ports. You need to forward the following ports-
TCP 80, UDP 88, UDP 3074, TCP 3074, UDP 53, TCP 53
You can do this by logging into your router. It can be done by typing 192.168.1.1 in the address bar in any web browser. You need to enter the username as ‘admin’ and password as ‘password’. Go to NAT> Virtual Servers and add the above ports. You can give any sever name for each port like ‘Live1’, ‘Live2’.

2. Once you have forwarded the necessary ports, it’s time to check if any Firewall or internet security software is blocking the ports. I would recommend you to use the Windows Firewall instead of your internet security software at least during launching the game. You can do this by going to security center. For this you need to type in ‘security center’ in Vista search bar and hit enter. Now click on Firewall and select Windows Firewall.

3. Adding Firewall exception:
On the left hand pane click on ‘Windows Firewall’ and then click on ‘change settings’. Click on the exceptions tab and add program- Games for Windows Live and click on OK.
4. Reset/Repair TCPIP Stack
Click on Start button.
Type Cmd in the Start box and hit enter.
Press Ctrl-Shift-Enter keyboard shortcut to run Command Prompt as Administrator. Allow elevation request.
Type netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt in the Command Prompt shell, and then press the Enter key.
Restart the computer.
5. Changing MTU:
You may need to change MTU. You can do this typing the following in command prompt in Vista:
netsh interface ipv4 set subinterface “Local Area Connection” mtu=* store=persistent
*Recommended Values
576 – Dial-up Connections
1492 – PPPoE Broadband Connections
1500 – Ethernet, DSL and Cable Broadband Connections
I changed mine to 1500 as I have broadband connection.
6. The above things worked for me. If it still doesn’t work then try starting the system without any softwares like antivirus, internet security, etc and launch the game. For doing this you need to type msconfig in Vista start menu and hit enter. You can disable start up programs and also non windows startup services.
If it still doesn’t work then post your problem in the comments. I hope this helped you. Have a nice day.
Nice blog post, a good read, i’ll be bookmarking this.
Thank you
Would be pleased to see you visit again
well, this isn’t my problem
i have another:
error: q####### <–# =numbers…. xD
there’s ANY list of number-error or something?
well if it just happened today… then the servers are down for maintainence….
Can you pleaes make a note of the number and paste it here….
Maybe I can help you out.
Thanks for the writeup. Unfortunately it didn’t solve my problem with the gfwl out of game program. I can connect with my laptop but not my desktop at the same location. It cites a connection error and says it can’t start the program, yet in game I can connect to gfwl. This has made adding DLC a rather intensive task.
I just hate GFWL. I will never buy games with GFWL. It’s just pure nonsense. I had tough time figuring out the problems in connection.
Just try adding GFWl as an exception in your firewall/ defender
Hello i got some problems, when i’m logging in, in Gears of War, it says something like:
“Unable to connect to Games for Windows Live, please check your connection….”
Or something like that.
Please help!
I guess your NAT ports are not open. You need to open them first.
A big thanks for trying to help other mate


I followed everything as u said but nothing turned out for me
Can u please help me out : Am having the same error as U DO
btwn my email id & chat id :
greenhoody18@gmail.com
Hi Balaji,
Can you plz tell me which router you are using and your service provider. I’ll try to help you out.
Sorry For the late reply mate


Okay : My service provider is (AIRTEL ) INDIA & am using beetle 220bx1 i’ve opened all the ports & applied the firewall hot fixes it seems that the problem is solved to some EXTENT
but not able to log in
u see : after wat u told me do i was able to log in on the GFWL client but not in GTA4( the in-game GFWL) so i’ll really appreciate it if u help & sort me out
SOS : Dude, my previous error was ” The live service may be not available or there may be ************* ”
& my new error is : Can’t Connect to LIVE
Error Code : 0X80151911
Mate, any help please
Hi Balaji,
I guess the 220bx1 isn’t a router, it’s a modem. I’m also using AirTel and I have got a 450BX1 router.
And, did you experience this error recently, or since the very beginning when you got the game?
Hi
To be honest , i previously was using BSNL net connection to play GTA 4 online via GFWL & i didn face any problems. & soon after when i changed my isp to Airtel & migrated the os from XP to WIN 7 64 BIT am facing a problem .
Any help Mate ?
Mate, Am eagerly waiting for ur Reply
Is your computer connected via ethernet cable or wifi?
Win7 is surely not the problem…
I myself use Win7 and play GTA IV
Well, I added u on GTALk.. will chat with you sometime…
Mate, thanks for adding, my computer is connected via Ethernet cable.
Thank you so much! I was struggling for an hour with this problem! I was about to freak out. You really helped me out here.