How to set home Xbox on Xbox One


As the old adage goes, sharing is caring – even in the weird and wonderful world of console gaming. 

We’ve already talked about how to share your library of Xbox One games with one other nominated person, so that they can play them on their own machine. 

But what if you live with a whole household of gamers all sharing one machine? Well, there’s an easy way to give all of your roomies access to your games library – by setting your console as your ‘home’ Xbox.

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Setting a home Xbox means that all downloaded games and other content (movies etc) that have been purchased by one account (typically the console owner’s or main user’s) can be accessed by anyone who switches on the machine, without having to sign into that account.

There’s also the added benefit that, if the main account is signed up to Xbox Live Gold, anyone who uses the console will have access to the subscription service’s benefits.

So, here is everything you need to know to be able to set up ‘home Xbox’ on your Xbox One.

How to set up your ‘home’ Xbox

The process of setting up your ‘home Xbox’, which gives your friends or family access to your games on your machine, is extremely simple and only takes a minute. Simply follow the instructions below.

  • On your Xbox home screen, click on your profile pic in the upper-left corner or press the ‘Xbox’ button on your controller.
  • Select the ‘System’ option (the cog shape) in the row of icons along the top of the menu.
  • In the ‘System’ menu, choose ‘Settings’.
  • Scroll down to and select the ‘Personalisation’ option.
  • Select the ‘My home Xbox’ option.
  • Click on ‘Make this my home Xbox’.

READ MORE: How to gameshare with a friend on Xbox One

What does this mean for you?

Setting your Xbox One as your ‘home’ Xbox means that anyone who uses your console will have access to your digital-only games and other media, as well as your Xbox Live Gold benefits. 

The main plus-point of this is that your friends and family don’t have to be signed in to your account to do so, which means you won’t have to give out your password or access to your profile. 

It also means that they won’t be able to make new purchases from your account, so it could be a good option if you share your machine with younger children, say. 

It’s worth noting that you can change which console is your ‘home Xbox’ up to five times during a one-year period.

READ MORE: PS4 vs Xbox One – which is better?

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