Resetting your Xbox and using the startup troubleshooter

Resetting your Xbox is often the last step when it keeps freezing, does not start properly or you want to sell it. There are two kinds of reset: one keeps your games and apps and one erases everything. If the console no longer starts properly, you need the startup troubleshooter, a hidden menu you open with buttons on the console. This article explains how both work, and how to do an offline update with a USB stick.

Blue Apple repairs Xbox consoles in Amsterdam. If a reset does not help, read the section at the end.

Before you reset

• On an Xbox, saves sync with the cloud by default. Check the console was online after you last played.
• Know your Microsoft account password; you need it after a full reset.
• If the console is leaving the house, choose the reset that erases everything.

Resetting from the menu

1. Press the Xbox button on the controller to open the guide.
2. Go to Profile & system, Settings, System, Console info.
3. Choose Reset console.
4. Choose Reset and keep my games & apps to restore the software without downloading everything again. Always try this first.
5. If that does not help, or you are selling the console, choose Reset and remove everything.

The startup troubleshooter

If the Xbox does not start properly, you cannot reach the menu. Use the startup troubleshooter instead:

1. Switch the console off and unplug it. Wait about half a minute and plug it back in.
2. Hold the pair button and the eject button. The Series S and the All-Digital Edition have no eject button; hold only the pair button there.
3. While holding them, briefly press the Xbox button on the console.
4. Keep holding the buttons until you hear two start-up sounds, a few seconds apart. Then let go.
5. The menu appears. You can choose to reset this Xbox, run an offline system update or continue.

An offline system update with a USB stick

If an update over the internet fails, you can do it with a USB stick.

1. Use a USB stick of at least 6 GB, formatted as NTFS.
2. On a computer, download the offline update file from the Xbox support website and unzip it.
3. Put the $SystemUpdate file in the root folder of the stick.
4. Plug the stick into the console, open the startup troubleshooter and choose the offline system update.

How to format a stick on a Mac is in formatting a USB stick on a Mac.

After the reset

• Sign in with your Microsoft account.
• Reinstall your games, or wait for the kept games to reappear.
• Check in the power options whether you want to use sleep mode.

A reset does not help?

If the Xbox keeps freezing after a full reset, the offline update fails or the startup troubleshooter does not appear, there is probably something wrong with the hardware: the storage, the motherboard or the power supply. Read Xbox freezing and Xbox will not turn on.

What we do at Blue Apple in Amsterdam

We test the storage, the motherboard and the power supply, and try to restore the software if we can. You hear first what is going on and what the repair involves. We do nothing without your approval. See Xbox Series S diagnosis, Xbox Series X diagnosis or Xbox repair in Amsterdam.

Frequently asked questions

Do I lose my games after a reset?

Not with the option that keeps games and apps. With the full reset you download them again; purchases stay on your account.

Why don't I see the troubleshooter menu?

Hold the buttons longer, until the second start-up sound. If you get no picture, the HDMI connection may be the problem.

Should I reset before selling my Xbox?

Yes, choose Reset and remove everything and sign out of your account.