How to Speed Up Xbox One Downloads

This article explains the most effective ways to make video games download faster on an Xbox One console.

Speed Up Downloads by Closing Games and Apps

On the Xbox One, video games and apps download in the background. This is a convenient feature as it allows you to play a game or watch videos on YouTube, Netflix, or DC Universe as your purchase downloads. Unfortunately, performing another activity while something is downloading in the background can dramatically decrease the download speed, especially if it requires online connectivity.

Quitting all games and apps can be a great way to speed up downloads on an Xbox One. It's a good idea to try this method with all of the top apps and games on your Xbox One Home screen. This can quickly be done with the following steps:

1. Highlight the app or game's icon on the Home screen.

2. Press the Menu button on the Xbox controller.

   The Menu button is the small black button on the left side of the Xbox controller with three horizontal lines on top of each other.

3. Click Quit.

   If the Quit option doesn't appear when selecting a game, that means that it's already been closed.

Disable Internet Connections On Other Devices

If other devices in your home, such as your computer, laptop, or smartphone, use the same internet connection as your Xbox One, this can also cause slow download speeds.

To speed up the download of a video game or app on your console, it's worth disconnecting all of your devices from the internet for the duration of the download.

It might not seem like your phone or computer is using up much data but you never know when a device might start installing app or OS updates or syncing files to cloud services such as Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive.

Pause Other Xbox One Downloads

Downloading multiple games or apps at the same time naturally slows the download speed on an Xbox One console. However, you can pause other downloads so that your preferred game or app downloads first all by itself. Here's how.

1. Press the Xbox logo button on your controller to bring up the Guide.

2. Press down on the D-pad or joystick once to highlight My games & apps.

3. Press A.

4. Highlight See all and press A.

5. Scroll down the left menu to Queue.

   You should see all of your active downloads. If this section is empty, that simply means that you currently have no active downloads.

6. Highlight the download you want to pause and press the Menu button on your controller.

7. Highlight Pause and press A.

Download Faster With a Wired Connection

Often a wired internet connection can provide faster upload and download speeds than using Wi-Fi despite how convenient the latter method is.

To connect your Xbox One console to the internet via a wired connection, plug one end of an Ethernet cable into your internet router and the other into the Ethernet port on the rear of the console.

Restart Your Xbox One to Fix Buggy Downloads

If your game download seems unusually slow or has completely stopped, resetting the Xbox One console can correct any connectivity issues the specific download may be having.

1. Press the Xbox logo button on your controller to activate the Guide.

2. Press right on the D-pad or joystick three times to navigate to the System pane.

3. Highlight Restart console and press A. Your Xbox One restarts and the download should continue as normal.

Reboot Your Internet Router to Increase Speeds

Sometimes the problem with your Xbox One download speeds is caused by your internet connection itself, which can slow down or become disconnected due to a technical issue on your provider's side.

The fastest and easiest way to fix general internet problems like this is to reboot your router. Do this by unplugging the router from the wall, waiting around three minutes, and plugging it back in again. This resets your connection to your provider and hopefully gives you a new one that's faster.