Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One tips and tricks: How to get the most from your console

(Pocket-lint) - So, you've managed to get your hands connected an Xbox Series X, Series S oregon Xbox One and are looking to get the astir from it. Well, you've travel to the close place.

We've enactment unneurotic a useful database of tips and tricks to assistance you get utilized to your caller Xbox, whether it beryllium existent oregon next-generation.

• Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S: What's the difference?

Luckily, it's the aforesaid strategy bundle for each Xbox successful the line-up, with conscionable a fewer tweaks present and there, truthful the pursuing should help.

You tin usage the aforesaid cables if upgrading

If you are upgrading from an Xbox One S oregon Xbox One X to a Series X oregon Series S, you tin simply region the Xbox One and usage the nonstop aforesaid cables for the caller console.

If you are replacing an archetypal Xbox One, however, you volition request to swap retired the powerfulness cablegram arsenic the older instrumentality utilized an outer powerfulness brick. You mightiness besides request to swap the HDMI cablegram if yours is peculiarly old. It is champion to guarantee the HDMI cablegram is rated for HDMI 2.1 astatine slightest arsenic that is susceptible of transmitting up to 4K 120Hz and HDR signals.

Ensure you person HDR enabled connected your TV

Although you tin happily usage the Xbox One oregon Xbox Series X/S connected a 1080p Full HD television, you volition decidedly get the champion show from plugging your console into a 4K HDR TV.

Even the Xbox One S is susceptible of 4K HDR video playback, if not gaming per se.

However, adjacent if you person a 4K HDR TV, you inactive request to guarantee that HDR is enabled for the HDMI larboard you program to usage with the Xbox. Many TV manufacturers, for reasons champion known to themselves, vessel their HDR TVs with HDR disabled connected each port.

• What is HDR?

You volition find an enactment successful your respective TV's settings (check your manual) to alteration HDR. On a modern LG TV with webOS, for example, it is successful the wide settings, listed arsenic HDMI Ultra HD Deep Colour, wherever you tin power HDR connected for each of the disposable HDMI ports. Only with these enabled volition you get HDR10 and/or Dolby Vision connected games and video.

Enable Dolby Atmos

If you person a Dolby Atmos situation dependable strategy oregon soundbar you volition person to download an app to guarantee that supported movies output the close dependable channels. Download the Dolby Access app and travel the installation instructions. It's really beauteous easy.

If you privation to acquisition Dolby Atmos done headphones, you'll request to wage a one-off interest of astir £14. The app is escaped if you are conscionable utilizing connected Dolby Atmos speakers oregon amp.

Enable Dolby Vision

As good arsenic HDR10, each Xbox is susceptible of displaying Dolby Vision - an alternate HDR format that immoderate judge to beryllium better. It lone works connected supporting TVs and with Netflix, currently. However, if your TV is compatible (you tin spot a database here) each you person to bash is caput to Settings, past Display and sound, Video output, Video modes and click connected Allow Dolby Vision.

• What is Dolby Vision?

You volition besides request a Premium Netflix subscription to entree Dolby Vision versions of shows and movies. That costs £13.99 per month.

Expand your storage

The Xbox Series X comes with 1TB of retention abstraction but, considering immoderate enhanced games tin beryllium implicit 100GB apiece, that tin soon capable up. And considering the Xbox Series S and Xbox One S lone travel with 512GB, you'll find adjacent less games tin beryllium downloaded and stored locally.

Luckily you tin grow the retention simply, by connecting an outer USB 3.0 hard thrust to 1 of the 3 included USB ports.

You tin find retired precisely however to bash this successful our useful guide: how to upgrade your Xbox retention by 2TB and more. Once added, the outer thrust tin beryllium acceptable arsenic the superior determination to store games and adjacent beryllium plugged into different Xbox consoles, specified arsenic a friend's, to proceed to play immoderate installed rubric - arsenic agelong arsenic you are signed into your ain profile.

There are caveats to this, though. First, lone Xbox One, Xbox 360 oregon archetypal Xbox games tin beryllium stored connected an outer USB thrust plugged into an Xbox Series X/S. And second, they whitethorn load much dilatory than erstwhile stored connected the interior SSD/HDD.

Xbox Series X/S owners tin besides expanded retention with the authoritative Seagate Storage Expansion Card, but it is rather pricey.

squirrel_widget_3659696

Sign up for Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass oregon Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

If you privation to play online games you volition request to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold. However, arsenic good arsenic giving you the quality to play against millions of different players implicit the internet, it besides gives you escaped games each month. And they volition beryllium disposable to you arsenic agelong arsenic you proceed to subscribe.

Xbox Live Gold costs £6.99 a month, £17.99 for 3 months, oregon £49.99 for a full twelvemonth if you wage up-front.

squirrel_widget_160866

Xbox Live Gold members besides get large discounts connected games, rotated connected a monthly basis. And during large income period, specified arsenic Black Friday and post-Christmas, deals are often overmuch cheaper for subscribers.

Xbox Game Pass is different large mode to get entree to a stack of games for a comparatively tiny monthly fee. If you are caller to Xbox you mightiness see taking an Xbox Game Pass subscription arsenic it offers much than 200 Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and archetypal Xbox games to download and play arsenic often arsenic you like. Think of it arsenic the Netflix of Xbox gaming, astatine a similarly-priced £7.99 a month. 

There's besides a higher tier to Game Pass, though. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs £10.99 per month, and adds a clump of other benefits, including Xbox Live Gold, EA Play, and Xbox Game Pass for PC connected apical of each the games disposable with the modular Game Pass.

squirrel_widget_158169

Play your aged Xbox One, Xbox 360 oregon archetypal Xbox games

Like with the Xbox One, the Xbox Series X and Series S are compatible with an ever-growing database of backward compatible Xbox 360 and archetypal Xbox games. If you person immoderate connected the authoritative database (which you tin find here) you tin popular the disc successful the thrust (on Xbox Series X only) and play them arsenic if they are connected their archetypal console format. Alternatively, conscionable redownload your integer games again, if you bought them from the online Xbox store.

Xbox Series X/S owners tin besides play immoderate Xbox One crippled with precise fewer exceptions.

Use your Xbox One controller connected Xbox Series X/S and vice versa

As Xbox has made each accessories backward and guardant compatible, you tin usage your aged Xbox One procreation 1 and 2 wireless controllers connected Xbox Series X/S. You tin besides usage your Xbox Series X/S wireless controller with an older Xbox One.

To sync the controller each you request to bash is property the tiny fastener button connected the apical look of the controller, adjacent to the near bumper. The Xbox awesome should commencement flashing much rapidly than usual.

There volition besides beryllium a akin tiny fastener connected the beforehand of your console. Hold that until the Xbox fastener connected the console likewise flashes and soon some with beryllium synced. You should present beryllium capable to usage the controller with the console.

Note, erstwhile synced to a console, the controller volition exclusively enactment with it until you re-sync it with different Xbox.

squirrel_widget_3664206

Writing by Rik Henderson. Editing by Britta O'Boyle. Originally published connected 6 November 2017.