How To Restore Xbox One To Factory Settings
The first step in resetting an Xbox One is to open the main menu. This can be accomplished in one of two ways:
Press down on the d-pad until you reach the gear icon.
Press the A button to select the gear icon.
With all settings highlighted, press the A button again to open the settings menu.
Press down on the d-pad until you reach System.
Press the A button to open the System submenu.
With console info highlighted, press the A button again.
Press down on the d-pad to select reset console.
Press the A button to select this option and move to the final step.
Press left on the d-pad to select the reset option that you want.
If you want to leave game and app data in place, then highlight Reset and keep my games & apps. Then press the A button. This is the less thorough of the two options, as it only resets the Xbox One firmware and settings without touching your games and apps. Try this first, as it allows you to avoid downloading everything all over again.
There is no confirmation screen or prompt. When you press the A button with a reset option highlighted, the system will be reset immediately.
How Do I Program And/or Reset The Advanced Gaming Buttons
Programming the advanced-gaming buttons
Note: Programmed buttons will remain in memory even after disconnected.
Resetting the advance-gaming buttons
How To Troubleshoot An Xbox One Controller On Pc
Answer
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Is The Xbox Elite Controller Worth It
Overall, I believe the Elite Controller is worth the money if you know what youre getting into. The Elite controller offers a better experience because of how it feels to use the design. The heavier weight, improved grips, and button mapping are wonderful. I take full advantage of every feature of the controller.
Why It’s Important To Listen For Power

The two noises signal that the Xbox has successfully identified the USB drive-in. It is critical to listen for those two tones, as they tell your system to begin updating automatically. The lack of those sounds or the power-down ding means that a potential error has occurred or there was an unsuccessful attempt at an update. If this happens, its a good idea to go ahead and restart the process altogether. If youve tried it a few times without any luck, we suggest you contact Microsoft for technical support.
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Begin The Reset Process On Your Xbox Console
With your Xbox powered off, plug the flash drive into a USB port on the console. Press and hold the BIND button and the EJECT button . While holding these two buttons down, press the Xbox button on the console. Continue to hold down the BIND and EJECT buttons for an additional 10 to 15 seconds.
Note: The BIND button is also known as the pairing button. It is the same button one would press to pair a new controller to the console. If youre not sure where that button is located, refer to the diagram below. Also, when it comes to Xbox Series X/S consoles, this button is found on their front side.
At this point you should hear two power-up tones a few seconds apart. Release the BIND and EJECT buttons after the second tone. Also, feel free to remove the USB stick when the console restarts and powers on again.
Once your Xbox One X/S or Xbox Series X/S restarts, you should see your consoles Digital Setup Experience guide on your TV screen. This will indicate that your Xbox has returned to its factory settings.
Note: If you dont hear anything after 15 seconds, that means the process has failed. Also, if you hear any power-down tones, that also means youve entered the process incorrectly. Therefore, youll want to try the sequence again.
Why Does My Xbox Keep Disconnecting
Passive interference occurs when a wireless signal passes through objects. This causes the wireless signal to be weakened and refracted. Interference can also occur when the console is too close to the wireless router. The ideal distance from the wireless router for the Xbox One console is between 5 and 50 feet.
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Offline System Update With Xbox One S And Xbox One X
Step 1: Find a compatible USB flash drive. You will need a totally empty flash drive with at least 4GB of available space. It also has to be formatted for NTFS, which is the default Windows file system.
Step 2: Find your USB drive in the File Explorer, right-click it, and select Format.
Step 3: On the next screen, you can leave everything as is except for File System. Change that to NTFS if it isnt already set that way.
Step 4: Download the update file to your computer and extract it into the USB flash drive. You’ll then find the zipped update file from Microsoft. Extract the file and copy $SystemUpdate onto the root directory of the USB flash drive. It should be the only file there.
Step 5: Once the transfer is complete, eject and unplug the USB device and return to your console.
Step 6: Power down your Xbox One and remove both the power and network cables from the back. Wait 30 seconds once it is completely off.
Step 7: Plug in the power cable and insert the flash drive into the USB port.
Step 8: Press and hold the Bind and Eject buttons on the console, then press the Xbox button. Continue holding Bind and Eject for 10 to 15 seconds until the Xbox Startup Troubleshooter loads.
Step 9: Once it does, select Offline System Update. Wait while the system updates, and youre good to go. If the update fails, you may need to restart your console and try again. If youre still having issues, contact Microsoft for technical support.
How To Factory Reset Your Xbox One Console
You can factory reset your Xbox One two ways. The easiest one is right from the console. But if your Xbox isn’t displaying a picture or you can’t get to the Settings menu, you can also complete a factory reset using a USB flash drive. This method requires a PC with Windows® and a blank flash drive formatted as New Technology File System, or NTFS, with at least 4 GB of storage.
Before trying to complete any resets, connect to the Xbox network. That way you’ll be able to back up your information to the cloud. As a reminder, a factory reset on your Xbox One will delete all your accounts, saved games, local game data, and settings changes, among other things.
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How Do I Get My Xbox Controller To Stop Turning Off
First, use a wired connection. Second, make sure the controller is sending a signal that can easily be done, as Major Lokey suggests by putting a rubber band around a thumbstick and handle. im going to add, make sure you turn off the automatic shut down setting if you want to leave it overnight.
What Is Factory Reset
Xbox One factory reset wipes the data stored in the hard drive and returns the software settings to its factory state. This reset will erase all saved game data, installed apps and games, and other settings that you configured before. In other words, the software will revert to a state when your console was first shipped.
Reasons why you might want to factory reset your Xbox One
Doing a factory reset is usually a recommended troubleshooting step if you encounter problems that regular steps like soft or hard reset cant fix. For example, if your console keeps on freezing or crashing games all the time, its possible that there may be a software issue behind it, or the game in question may have corrupted files. To fix the problem, you can perform a factory reset to bring back the known working factory state of the software.
You also need to factory reset your Xbox One if you plan in giving it away or if you want to sell it. Doing so will remove all your personal information such as your gamertag, saved games, downloaded apps and games, from the hard drive.
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How To Factory Reset Xbox One
Press the home button, or press left on the d-pad until the main home menu opens.
Select the gear icon to open the settings menu.
Go to System> Console info.
Go to Reset console> Reset and remove everything for a full factory reset.
The system will be reset immediately upon selecting the reset method. There is no confirmation message, so proceed carefully.
The Xbox One will undergo a hard reset, and the process is automated after this point. Leave the system alone, and the Xbox One will reset itself and do a hard reboot.
How To Reset Your Xbox One Console To Factory Settings

Restoring to factory defaults is the probably the least thing you can do on your Xbox One. This is because doing so will completely wipe out all your data, as if it just came of the box. But with the recent roll out of the Xbox One X, some owners may already be planning to upgrade their console and sell their old Xbox One. If youre one of those who are planning to sell your console, this is where resetting comes in handy to remove all your personal data easily.
Here is a step-by-step procedure on how to reset your Xbox One console to factory default settings.
Resetting the Xbox One with a USB Flash Drive
Dont worry if for some reason you cannot access the Settings menu or there is no picture on your screen. You can still reset your Xbox One with nothing but a USB flash drive. In order to reset your Xbox One console to factory settings using a USB flash drive, youll need a computer that can connect to the Internet and a flash drive with a minimum of 4GB of space.
I. Preparing the USB Flash Drive
II. Preparing the Xbox One Console
II. Perform the Reset Process
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Disclaimers Before Factory Resetting Your Xbox One
Factory resetting your Xbox One is currently the only known way to make the console usable again. However, it might come at a cost: Outside of any data uploaded to the cloud, your saved games, accounts and settings could be reset and deleted. When I reset my Xbox One, I was given the option to keep my games and apps downloaded, but I cant guarantee youll have the same luck.
This isnt a simple task to perform, either. Under normal circumstances, a factory reset is an easy-to-access option that exists within the Xbox Ones settings menu. Unfortunately, this nasty bug renders the consoles interface wholly inaccessible, meaning you’ll have to jump through a number of hoops to initiate a factory reset.
Youll also need additional items to even begin this process. Since the console is unusable, you have to download the required files onto a USB flash drive, or some other external drive. We recommend using one with at least 4GB of free space. Youll also need a computer with an internet connection, or at the very least, something that will allow you to download this file and move it over to the external drive.
If you have the required items, and dont mind risking the loss of saved data, heres how you can factory reset your Xbox One even when trapped at the black screen of death.
How To Factory Reset Your Xbox One
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more…
Before you sell your Xbox One or pass it on to someone else, you should perform a factory reset. This wipes all your personal data. Whoever gets the Xbox One will have to go through the first-time setup process once again, signing in with their own Microsoft account.
If you didnt factory reset your Xbox One and you no longer have access to it, theres no way to remotely wipe your Xbox Ones data. You can remotely lock your Xbox profile, however, ensuring no one can use it and access its associated personal data without your password. Well detail how to lock your profile at the end of this article.
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Why Does My Headset Keep Disconnecting
There may be too many apps running in the background of the device the Bluetooth is attempting to pair with. Certain applications cause interference with the connection, and some devices are limited in the number of applications that can run concurrently. If in doubt, check with the headset manufacturer.
Try Connecting Another Controller To Your Xbox
Like most troubleshooting, you can help nail down where the problem lies by trying different devices. Try connecting a different controller, that you know works, to your Xbox system. Confirm that its batteries are charged, too.
If that controller works fine, then the original controller is the issue. But if both have problems, then the problem likely lies with your console instead. You may need to get in touch with Xbox Support in this case.
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How Often Should You Reset Your Xbox Series X Controller
To be honest, you shouldnt really feel the need to reset it unless your controller is starting to act weird. Maybe it keeps disconnecting and reconnecting intermittently on its own. Or you feel like there is some sort of lag when you press any button on your controller.
In those cases, it is worth it to try resetting your Xbox Series X controller and seeing if that solves the problem.
There are times when your controller will just not start up or light up. In that case, you should try replacing the batteries and see if that solves the problem.
You dont want to get too reset happy. Resetting your controller every time something inconvenient happens with your controller is not a good idea because, each time you reset your controller, you are reverting back to the old firmware. That in itself is not a big deal. But usually, in new firmware releases, there are security fixes and new optimizations that come with it.
And if youre like me, you should double-check if you installed the batteries the right way.
Hard Reset Your Xbox Controller If You Are Connecting To A Windows Pc
If you are trying to hard reset your Xbox controller on PC, things are quite different and youll have to rely on Windows Bluetooth settings.
- First, open Settings on your computer, then go to Devices.
- Here you will see a list of all the devices connected to your computer. Find your Xbox Controller on the list, then click Remove Device. This will remove the controller from your list of Bluetooth Devices.
- Next, remove the batteries from your controller and connect your controller to your computer using a USB cable. This will hard reset the wireless connection between your PC and the controller.
- Now you can reconnect your controller to your computer using the standard Bluetooth process. Everything should be working perfectly again.
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Prepare The Usb Flash Drive On Your Pc
The first thing youll need to do is plug your USB drive into your computer. Most USB drives come formatted as FAT32 out-of-the-box to ensure compatibility with both macOS and Windows.
For this, youll need to format it to NTFS. If you are using a Mac, you can use Disk Utility. If youre using a Windows PC, right-click the drive in File Explorer and select Quick Format .
Once your flash drive is formatted, download the Restore to Factory Default file. This is a compressed .zip file that contains all of the necessary files to reset your Xbox One console. Once youve downloaded this file, unzip it. Locate the file labeled $SystemUpdate. Copy it to the root of your USB drive.
Xbox One How To Reset Your Controller Fix

How do I reset my Xbox one controller to factory settings?
To reset your Xbox One controller to factory settings:Hold the Xbox button on the controller for three seconds until it turns off.Press the Xbox button again to turn on the controller.When the controller is turned on, press and hold the Menu button for three seconds until it turns off.Press the Menu button again to turn on the controller.The controller will now be in factory settings mode.
How do you reset an Xbox One controller on PC?
To reset an Xbox One controller on PC, you first need to disconnect it from the computer. Next, hold down the Xbox button and the connect button on the controller at the same time. After about five seconds, release both buttons and reconnect the controller to the computer.
How do you reset a controller?
There are a few ways to reset a controller. One way is to hold the power button down for a few seconds until the controller turns off. Another way is to unplug the controller from the console and plug it back in.
Can you calibrate Xbox One controller?
Yes, you can calibrate your Xbox One controller. To do this, press the Xbox button to open the guide, then select System > Settings > Devices & accessories. Select your controller, then select Calibrate.
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