How to Force Updates for Xbox One Games: Manual and Automatic Methods

How Can You Manually Force Game Updates on Xbox One?

To manually force game updates on your Xbox One, follow these steps:

1. First, ensure you are connected to LIVE when starting the game. This connection will prompt you to update.
2. Then, press the Xbox button to open the guide.
3. Select Profile & system > Settings > System > Updates & downloads.
4. Next, select Console update available, and then follow the prompts.
5. Additionally, alternate back and forth between your Xbox name and the latest update on the console’s update page in settings.

Troubleshooting: What to Do When Your Xbox Game Won’t Update?

Troubleshooting Steps for Xbox One Game Update Issues:

1. Restart Your Xbox One: Sometimes your Xbox One just needs a helpful little push to finish updating itself. This option can resolve problems like error messages, codes, and getting stuck on the loading screen. Press and hold the Xbox button in the middle of your controller to open a menu, and then select Restart console.
2. Check Your Network Connection: Whenever an Xbox One update fails, it could be due to a network error. If you have access to the troubleshooter, or your console boots normally, test the network connection. Error 8B050033 indicates that the update is not currently available.
3. Check Your Internet: A slow or interrupted update can be caused by a shaky internet connection. If possible, switch to a wired Ethernet connection for more stability. Restart your router: Unplug your router, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in.
4. Free Up Space on Your Hard Drive: An Xbox One update can fail when it doesn’t have enough space to download and complete the update. When you see an error message that states your Xbox One is almost full, freeing up hard drive space by uninstalling games and apps usually fixes the problem.
5. Perform a Hard Reset: If you’re stuck on a system update, a hard reset can sometimes solve a temporary glitch.
   • Turn off your Xbox: Press and hold the Xbox power button for about 10 seconds until it shuts down.
   • Unplug it: Leave your Xbox unplugged for at least 30 seconds.
   • Plug it back in and power it on.
6. Offline Update: If the above doesn’t work, an offline update might be needed. You’ll need a USB drive (formatted as NTFS) and a PC with internet access.
   • Find the Offline System Update (OSU) file on the official Xbox website.
   • Copy the update file to the root of your USB.
   • Power off your Xbox and unplug it.
   • After 30 seconds, hold the ‘bind’ and ‘eject’ buttons first, then press the power button.
   • Hold ‘bind’ and ‘eject’ until you hear two power-up tones a few seconds apart. Your Xbox should recognize the update file from your USB.
7. Factory Reset: If all else fails and your system still won’t update, a factory reset may be in order. Remember, this will wipe all data, so it should be your last resort.
   • Power down your console and unplug it.
   • Wait a few moments, plug it back in, and press and hold the pair and eject buttons, then press the Xbox button on the console.
   • Follow the on-screen instructions to reset your Xbox to factory settings.
8. Contact Microsoft Support: If all of these fixes fail, and you still can’t update your console, then you may have a physical hardware failure.
   • You can use error codes to receive specific assistance from Microsoft technical support.
9. Additional Information: If the update on your Xbox Series X seems stuck, try restarting your console.
   • If that doesn’t work, you can also reset the console through the troubleshooting menu while keeping your games and apps installed.
   • If you receive an error message and code while taking a system update, addressing those specific codes can provide further guidance on resolving the update issue.

How to Enable Automatic Updates for Games on Xbox One?

Knowing how to turn on auto-update on Xbox can save you the stress of manually updating the game anytime there’s a new update release. The Xbox auto-update feature is designed to simplify keeping your Xbox console up to date with the latest system updates, game patches, and app updates. By doing this, your games and apps will always have the newest versions without requiring manual updates. When auto-update is enabled, the console will automatically download and install updates in the background, even when your game is in sleep mode.

To enable automatic updates for Xbox One games, follow these steps:

1. Press the Xbox button on your controller and navigate to the Settings menu.
2. Select System, followed by Updates.
3. Make sure that ‘Keep my console up to date’ and ‘Keep my games up to date’ are checked.
4. Additionally, ensure that the Automatic Updates switch is toggled to On.

Alternatively:

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

Also, ensure that:

• Your Xbox is in ‘Instant-On’ mode, which keeps your console in a low-power state.
• The ‘When console is turned off, turn off storage’ option is unchecked.
• You have enough storage space available on your Xbox and it is connected to the internet.

If your Xbox isn’t auto-updating, the most common reason is that the Instant-on mode option is turned off. Additionally, check your internet connection to make sure updates can download properly.

Lastly, you can customize your update schedule to suit your preferences by going to Settings > System > Updates and selecting Update Schedule to choose from Automatic, Manual, or Never.