Gaming Consoles & PCs How to Clear the Cache on Xbox Series X or S Consoles Speed up your console by Jennifer Allen Writer Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications. our editorial process Twitter LinkedIn Jennifer Allen Updated on December 03, 2020 reviewed by Ryan Perian Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. our review board Article reviewed on Feb 06, 2021 Ryan Perian Tweet Share Email Consoles & PCs Xbox Buyer's Guide What to Know: Easiest: Unplug your console for more than 2 minutes. Doing this fixes most issues.Xbox button > Profile & System > Settings > Devices & Connections > Blu-Ray > Persistent Storage > Clear Persistent Storage.To clear cache and do a soft reset, go to Settings > System > Console info > Reset Console > Reset and Keep my Games & Apps. This article explains three ways to clear the cache on the Xbox Series X and S. It also explains how to reset your console without losing your games and apps. How to Clear the Cache on Xbox Series X or S via Unplugging the Console With the Xbox Series X or S more like a PC than games console, sometimes the system can end up a little slow due to excessive use. This typically happens when your system has been running for a long time with no TLC. Clearing the cache frees up space and RAM so your console is a little fresher than before. Here's how to clear the cache on both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in the quickest manner. Switch your Xbox Series X or S off via the controller or power off button on the console. Unplug the power cable from its electricity source. Wait at least two minutes. Plug the cable back into your power source. Turn the console back on. The cache should be cleared. How to Clear the Cache on Xbox Series X or S via a Software Method If you'd prefer to clear the cache through an option within the Xbox Series X clear cache settings, it's fairly simple to do. Here's what to do. Xbox Series S owners don't have a disc drive so this process won't help them clear the cache. Press the glowing Xbox symbol in the middle of your controller. Scroll to the right to Profile & System. Select Settings with the A button. Click Devices & Connections. Click Blu-Ray. Click Persistent Storage. Select Clear Persistent Storage. How to Clear the Cache of Your Xbox Series X or S by Resetting the Console If you're still finding your Xbox Series X or S is running slower than it used to, you can try resetting the console. It's possible to do this without losing your downloaded games and apps. Here's how to do it. You'll need to have your Xbox account log-in details available to use once you've reset the console. Press the glowing Xbox symbol on the middle of your controller. Scroll to the right to Profile & System. Select Settings with the A button. Scroll down to System. Select Console info. Click Reset Console. Select Reset and Keep my Games & Apps. The console will now reset while keeping your games and apps. Reasons to Clear the Xbox Series X or S Cache When your Xbox Series X or S is brand new, you won't need to reset or clear its cache but there are reasons why it's smart to do so further down the line. Here's why. If your console is running slower than before. If you've noticed your Xbox Series X or S is slower than it used to be, it might be that the cache is clogged up. Try one of these options to narrow down the problem.You've used many Blu-rays. You might not think using many Blu-rays will make a difference but they can download related content which can swamp your console over time. It's worth clearing it out every once in a while. It's a good troubleshooting method. Is your console acting up? Clearing the cache is one way of narrowing down the issue. If you've got the time, resetting the console by removing everything and returning to factory settings is a good idea but it's more time-consuming than simply clearing the cache. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit