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Extend the Storage Capacity of the Xbox One

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If you're running out of storage space on your Xbox One, you can easily extend its storage capacity with an external hard drive. Here are the instructions on how to install and use an external drive on your console.

Connect an External Hard Drive to an Xbox One

If you'd like to use the external hard drive to install apps and games, it should have a minimum size of 256 GB and be USB 3.0 compatible. External hard drives that don't meet the above requirements can only be used to store media files such as music, videos, and pictures.

The external hard drive will be formatted during the setup procedure, so make sure to backup all your important files and data beforehand.

How To Install an External Hard Drive on the Xbox

The installation of an external hard drive is a breeze. You'll only require a simple USB 3.0 cable to connect your Xbox One to the external hard drive.

Connect the external hard drive to your console (USB port). A message that reads, "We see you have external storage. Let's set it up" will be displayed.

Click on Next to launch the setup wizard. Give a name to the new drive and click on Next to move to the Install things on External by default? screen.

Here, you'll be presented with two choices: Install new thing here, which will enable you to use the external hard drive as the primary location to store new apps and games; and Keep current location, which will enable you to use the external hard drive as a simple backup drive.

Once you've made your selection, you'll be taken to a screen titled Format External. Select Format storage device and wait for the procedure to unfold.

You will be informed of the success of the operation through a small message that reads: "External storage is ready".

Move Content from Xbox One to External Hard Drive

You can free up the console's internal storage by moving game installation files, apps, and media files to the external hard drive. Moving files is easy and straight-forward.


From the Home menu, go to My Games & apps > Games. Select the game you'd like to move, press the Start button of the controller to bring up the contextual menu options, and then select Manage game. In the dropdown menu displayed above the game's icon, select Move all > External drive.
Jean-François Pillou

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