Xbox One: Connect an external hard drive

If your Xbox One is running out of space, you can expand by connecting an external hard drive. We'll show you how it's done.

Expand your Xbox One's storage with an external hard drive

Your external hard drive must have at least 256 GB of storage capacity and must have the USB 3.0 standard.
You can save games and apps externally on external hard drives. A maximum of two external hard drives can be used at the same time.
If you connect a hard drive with less memory or with a USB 2.0 port, it will be recognized like a USB stick. With this you can only play videos and music files on the Xbox.

Connect the external hard drive to your Xbox One using a USB cable and launch the console.
The hard disk is recognized automatically and formatting is offered. This is necessary for use with the Xbox. However, please note that all data on the hard disk will be deleted.
Depending on the size of the hard drive, the process is completed in a few minutes. Don't be surprised if you see a little less storage space than before. The formatting takes a few GB for system files.
If you then select a game or an app using the menu button on the controller, you can transfer the game completely to the hard drive or make a copy.

In the next practical tip, we will show you how to update the Xbox One controller.