Get Set Up to Use Windows Messenger

You'll get better quality with greater bandwidth.

Cable or DSL connections are ideal, but you can actually get decent results with a dial-up connection. At a bare minimum, you'll need a 28,800 bps modem that's connected at 28,800 bps.

Make sure your setup supports Windows Messenger Requirements.

If you have a dial-up connection or a broadband connection and your computer connects directly to the cable without passing through a router, you're probably using Internet Connection Firewall to protect your network and you may be using Internet Connection Sharing to share your Internet Connection. If that's the case, you should be able to use all of the features of Windows Messenger. If that's not the case, read on to number 3.

Make sure your router supports UPnP

If you want to use Windows Messenger Features other than instant text messaging and your computer is protected from the Internet by a router other than the built-in Internet Connection Sharing, the router must support the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology standard. UPnP is an industry standard that makes it possible for computers to detect devices on a network and work with one another.

If your router was purchased before late 2001, it probably does not support UPnP, and therefore won't allow you to make voice and video calls over the Internet. If you have such a router, contact the manufacturer of your router or the DSL/cable modem service provider that leases your equipment and ask the following questions:

You and the people you communicate with must meet all the above requirements to use Windows Messenger features other than instant messaging.