Xbox series s can you use external hard drive

You can use an external HDD to do all of the following, although not simultaneously: -

  • Store and play media

  • Capture gameplay footage

  • Store and play backwards compatible games, including Xbox One games that are not optimised for the S

  • Store Series S-optimised games

So it's very similar to how it works on an Xbox One now, however, the major difference is that in order to play Series S-optimised games, they need to be stored on the internal SSD or one of the expansion cards. Likewise with the Series X and games that are optimised for that.

We get it, you have a new Xbox Series X/S for Christmas, and you just cannot wait to play everything and anything on it! We’re with you on that.

Though, you can’t just go and download your entire Xbox Library of games all at once, if you want to you’ll first need some extra storage for your machine!

Check out our guide below on how to use an external USB hard drive, and read our recommendations for the games you should download when you have more space!

Xbox series s can you use external hard drive

How to use an External Hardrive

So we have some good news and some not so great news.

You can use an external USB hard drive! Just not with every game…

Expand that storage! Source: Xbox

If you’re looking to use one, just grab any USB external hard drive, plug it into your Xbox Series X or Series S and then format it using the console.

After this, you should be set and ready to use it, find out what games can be stored on it below!

Read More: Xbox Series X and Series S: How To Change Your Gamertag

What games work on an External Hardrive

Quite a few actually, any Xbox Original, Xbox 360 or Xbox One games can be stored on an external hard drive.

However, because they are not stored on the console’s SSD (solid-state drive), they won’t receive any enhanced load times or quality on the external drive.

If you want to take full advantage of your console’s capabilities, you’ll need to store games on an SSD.

For note, Xbox Series X/S games can only be stored on an SSD, and not on the external usb hard drive at all.

Read More: Xbox Series X And Series S: How To Enable Cross-Platform

How to use an SSD Expansion Card

If you want to expand your SSD storage, firstly you’ll need a compatible SSD expansion.

SSD Drives for the win! Source: Xbox

Make sure you buy an official Xbox one as SSD drives aren’t all the same. The official one is pricey, but it’s your only option.

Then just plug your new card into the Storage Expansion slot in the back of your console and you should be ready to go!

We hope our guide helps, please check out our others if you need any more Xbox Series X/S help!

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Get around storage limitations with a USB drive

Updated on August 26, 2022

What to Know

  • Plug in the drive and select FORMAT STORAGE DEVICE > name it > arrow icon > KEEP CURRENT LOCATION > FORMAT STORAGE DEVICE.
  • You can use any USB 3.1 external drive with Xbox Series X|S, but only the Seagate expansion drive lets you play Xbox Series X|S games.
  • You can play Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games from a regular USB 3.1 drive.

This article explains how to add an external drive to an Xbox Series X|S, and outlines compatibility requirements.

How to Add an External Drive to an Xbox Series X or S

If you have a drive you use with your Xbox One, you can just plug it in and use it. If you have a new drive, or a drive that has been used for other things in the past, you'll need to format it first so that it can work with your Xbox.

Here's how to add an external drive to an Xbox Series X or S:

  1. Turn your Xbox Series X or S on.

  2. Plug an external HDD or SSD into one of the USB ports. If the console recognizes your drive, the message seen in the following step will appear on the screen.

  3. Select FORMAT STORAGE DEVICE.

  4. Name your drive, and select the arrow icon or press the menu button to continue.

  5. Select KEEP CURRENT LOCATION.

  6. Select FORMAT STORAGE DEVICE.

  7. Your new drive is now available for use.

How to Move Games to an External Drive on Xbox Series X or S

When you connected and set up your drive, you probably chose to keep your current install location, because Series X or S games won’t play when installed on a USB drive. If that’s the case, you’ll need to move games to the drive from time to time to free up space for new games. Here’s how to accomplish that.

  1. Press the Xbox button to open the Guide, then select My games & apps.

  2. Highlight the game you want to move, and press the view button (two stacked boxes) on your controller.

  3. Highlight the game, select it, and select Move or copy.

  4. Select the game you want to move, and verify you are transferring from internal storage to your external drive. You can use the Select all option if there are multiple items on this screen.

    If you select an Xbox Series X or S game, you'll see a warning on this screen that your external drive is too slow to play the game unless you have the Seagate expansion drive. You can still move the game to free up storage, you just won't be able to play it until you move it back.

  5. Select Move selected.

  6. Wait for the game to move.

    You can do other things while the game is moving, but it may proceed more slowly.

  7. When it finishes, your game will be on your external drive. You can move it back at any time, or play it directly from the drive if it's an Xbox, Xbox 360, or Xbox One game.

What Drives Work With Xbox Series X or S?

The Xbox Series X and S both come with lightning-fast NVME SSDs that reduce load times dramatically, but neither one has all that much storage. The Series X ships with a 1TB drive, and the Series S with a 512GB drive, and a decent amount of that space is taken up or reserved by the operating system.

You can only play Xbox Series X or S games if they are installed on the internal NVME SSD drive, or installed on the optional expansion drive. The expansion drive fits into a slot on the back of the Xbox Series X and S, and it provides transfer speed just as fast as the internal drive.

We tried a super fast USB 3.1 NAND drive with transfer speeds of 520 MB/s and write speeds of 420 MB/s, and that wasn’t even fast enough. The Series X or S will only play games from the internal SSD or expansion card SSD that provide 2.4 GB/s of raw I/O throughput.

Xbox One External Drive Compatibility

If you own an Xbox One and currently have an external drive with Xbox One games on it, you can plug it directly into your Xbox Series X or S and it will work. As long as it’s a USB 3.1 drive that worked with your Xbox One, you’ll be able to play your old Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games directly from the drive. You can also move Xbox Series X or S games to a drive like this to free up space, but you won't be able to play them from that drive until you move them back.

Drive Comparison Chart

Here’s a rundown of what you can do with what type of drive:

  USB 3.1 HDD or SSD Seagate Expansion Card
Store any Xbox game Yes Yes
Play Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games Yes Yes
Store Series X|S games and games optimized for Series X|S Yes Yes
Play Series X|S games and games optimized for Series X|S No Yes

While only the Seagate expansion drive can play Series X or S games at launch, Microsoft may offer alternatives at a later date.

FAQ

  • What do I do if my Xbox won't recognize the external drive?

    Check for system updates, and install them if necessary. If your Xbox still won't recognize the drive, open the guide and select Profile & system > Settings > General > Power mode & startup. Then check to see if Power mode is set to Instant-on, and if so turn off When Xbox is off, turn off storage and restart the Xbox.

  • How do I watch movies from an external drive on my Xbox?

    Make sure the external drive is connected and that your Xbox recognizes it. Open the Media Player app and look for your external drive. Select the drive, browse through your media files, then play the one you want.

  • What format should I use on an external drive for my Xbox?

    If you aren't formatting the drive directly from your Xbox console, you'll want to make sure it's formatted as exFAT. NTFS formats will not work.

Thanks for letting us know!

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