Get the most out of your Xbox

Things have changed a lot since the early days of the Xbox One, when less than a month following the announcement, Microsoft had to reverse many of the platform’s core elements. With the new Xbox series winning the game, literally, we round up convenient tips to help you get used to your new gaming device.

Transfer old games

Play compatible games from an Xbox One, Xbox 360, or original Xbox by moving them with the help of a USB hard drive. For Xbox One to Xbox Series X/S transfers, you can use your WiFi.

Install the mobile app

The redesigned Xbox app for Android and iOS lets you stream games to your phone from your console, start game downloads remotely, and share synced game clips and screenshots online. It also gives you access to your friends and chat.

Control the controller

Phobic about the greasy hands of whoever you share the console with? Simply link your controller to your profile and sign in. You can also set up your controller preferences to dictate what each button should do. You have the option of saving multiple profiles with different control schemes.

Take a break

Have the console gives you a reminder to take a break. From the main ‘settings’ panel, choose ‘preferences’ and then’ ‘break reminder’ to make your choice. Once the selected time has passed, a reminder will pop up. 

Energy saving mode

While we love the fact that the console can power up and start in five seconds, the energy-saving mode which starts it in 45 seconds is easier on your electricity bill. Head to settings>general>power mode and startup. You can also choose to control your console remotely and turn it on with voice commands.

Get a digital assistant

Let Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant help you. Simply enable them via ‘devices & connections’ and ‘digital assistants’ in settings, and then complete the setup in Amazon Alexa for Android or iOS, or Google Home for Android or iOS.

Expand the storage

The Xbox Series X comes with 1TB of storage space but we know how soon it can fill up. Luckily, it is expandable. Connect an external USB 3.0 hard drive to one of the three included USB ports and you are good to go.

Customise the interface

There’s no need to live with the default home screen. You can change the background. You can opt for solid colours, game art, and art related to your Xbox achievements. Press the Xbox button on the controller, choose ‘profile & system’, ‘settings’, ‘general’, ‘personalisation’, and ‘my colour & background’. Also, an option you don’t want to miss is Customise the Guide, which allows you to choose the order of everything that pops up.