This article explains how to add an external drive to an Xbox Series X|S, and outlines compatibility requirements.
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.
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:
- Turn your Xbox Series X or S on.
- 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.
- Select FORMAT STORAGE DEVICE.
- Name your drive, and select the arrow icon or press the menu button to continue.
- Select KEEP CURRENT LOCATION.
- Select FORMAT STORAGE DEVICE.
- 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.
Turn your Xbox Series X or S on.
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.
Select FORMAT STORAGE DEVICE.
Name your drive, and select the arrow icon or press the menu button to continue.
Select KEEP CURRENT LOCATION.
Your new drive is now available for use.
- Press the Xbox button to open the Guide, then select My games & apps.
- Highlight the game you want to move, and press the view button (two stacked boxes) on your controller.
- Highlight the game, select it, and select Move or copy.
- 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.
- Select Move selected.
- Wait for the game to move.
- You can do other things while the game is moving, but it may proceed more slowly.
- 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.
Press the Xbox button to open the Guide, then select My games & apps.
Highlight the game you want to move, and press the view button (two stacked boxes) on your controller.
Highlight the game, select it, and select Move or copy.
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.
Select Move selected.
Wait for the game to move.
You can do other things while the game is moving, but it may proceed more slowly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Drive Comparison Chart
Here’s a rundown of what you can do with what type of drive:
While only the Seagate expansion drive can play Series X or S games at launch, Microsoft may offer alternatives at a later date.
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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