"Ah, damn, why has my Xbox Series X frozen" you scream. Don't worry! We've written previously about how to fix an Xbox Series X that won't turn on, but what can you do when your Xbox Series X won't switch off? While freezing and crashing is relatively uncommon, it can happen from time to time. Button bashing doesn't tend to be effective, and players may be left wondering how they can fix it. Luckily, it is a problem that can be dealt with in a few simple steps.
How to restart your Xbox if it's frozen and won't turn off
If your Xbox Series X has frozen and become unresponsive, the single best thing to do is a power cycle or hard reset. To do this:
- Press and hold the power button on the front of your console. Keep it held for around 10 seconds. This will turn the console off. A short press will simply put your console into sleep mode, which isn't the same thing.
- If you want to go the whole hog, once you've turned off your console, disconnect your power cable and leave it disconnected for another 10 seconds or so. This will reset the power supply.
- Then, reconnect your power cable.
- Finally, press the Xbox button on your controller, to restart your console.
This won't cause you to lose any saved data, or erase any games from your console.
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What causes Xbox Series X frozen issue?
Historically, there have been a few causes behind an Xbox Series X behaving badly. Some game would crash or freeze of players tried to utilise the Quick Resume function. In other cases, being part of the Xbox Alpha Insider Ring (which gives users early access to new software builds) seemed to be linked to their issues.
For others, there doesn't appear to be a definitive cause. It could be related to a software glitch, or a game bug, but often there is no way of really knowing. But a hard reset, in most cases, will fix the problem. If not, it might be worth contacting Xbox Support for further assistance. If it turns out to be a hardware issue, you may be able to claim under the warranty.
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