How to Update Your Xbox

Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles get regular system updates that add features and fix problems. This guide covers checking for an update yourself, setting your console to update on its own, and using a USB drive if your console can’t update online. For what’s in the newest update, see our October 2026 update story.

How to check for an Xbox update manually

1. Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
2. Select Profile & system > Settings > System > Updates.
3. Under Updates, check the status:
   • No console update available means your console is up to date.
   • Console update available means an update is waiting. Select it to start the update.

The changes in each release are listed on What’s new in Xbox system updates.

How to turn on automatic updates

Your console can download and install system, game and app updates on its own.

To check that automatic updates are on:

1. Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
2. Select Profile & system > Settings > System > Updates.
3. Select Keep my console up to date to update the console automatically.
4. Select Keep my games & apps up to date to update games and apps automatically.

Power options and updates

Both power options, Sleep and Shutdown (energy saving), support automatic updates of the console, games and apps. To check or change yours:

1. Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
2. Select Profile & system > Settings > General > Power options.
3. Choose Sleep or Shutdown (energy saving).

The differences between the two are explained on the Xbox power options support page.

How to update your Xbox offline with a USB drive

If your console can’t update over the internet, you can use the Offline System Update (OSU). This downloads the update to a USB flash drive on a PC, then installs it straight on to the console.

What you need

• A Windows PC with an internet connection and a USB port.
• A USB flash drive with at least 6 GB of space, formatted as NTFS.

Steps

1. Plug the NTFS-formatted USB drive into your PC.
2. Download the offline system update file (OSU1) from the Xbox offline system update page.
3. Unzip the file and copy the $SystemUpdate folder to the root of the USB drive, not inside another folder.
4. Safely remove the USB drive from the PC.
5. Turn the console off and unplug the mains lead. Wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in.
6. Open the Xbox Startup Troubleshooter. Hold Pair and Eject, then press the Xbox button on the console. On consoles without a disc drive (Xbox Series S and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition), hold Pair and press the Xbox button.
7. Keep holding the buttons for 10 to 15 seconds until you hear two power-up tones a few seconds apart, then let go.
8. Plug the USB drive into the console. When Offline system update becomes available, select it.
9. Wait for the update to finish. The console restarts and returns to the Home screen.

Original Xbox One owners

An original Xbox One may need an extra update first, depending on which version of the operating system it’s running. Follow the “Original Xbox One console only” section of the offline system update page, which explains which file (OSU1, OSU2 or OSU3) to use.

What to do if an Xbox update fails

1. If you see a Something went wrong screen, select Restart this Xbox, then try the update again.
2. Look up the error code you get on the Xbox system update error codes page. Some errors, such as 8B050033, mean the Xbox servers are under maintenance, so try again in a while.
3. If the update still fails, use the offline system update above.
4. If that doesn’t work either, contact Xbox Support to arrange a repair.