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3 best Xbox One USB external storage devices to use

6 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

Xbox One‘s 500GB or 1TB ofstoragedoesn’t seem like much, especially if you have newer AAA games.

If you stick to Xbox’s original hard drive, you’ll eventually have to delete some content in order to free the space for new games, which is pretty annoying especially if you regularly play all your games.

But don’t be discouraged byXbox One‘s default capacity because there’s a solution. And in this case, the solution is getting an external hard drive that will provide enough space for your stuff.

Luckily,Xbox Onesupports basically any external hard drive with 256GB of space or more.

You just need to pick a good external drive, connect it to yourXbox One, and you’ll be able to install as many games as you want.

But even a simple decision like picking up an external drive for yourXbox Onecan turn out to be complicated.

To help you decide what’s best for you, we made the full guide for choosing and setting up the perfect external hard drive for you.

The best external hard drives for Xbox One

WesternDigital MyBook

WesternDigital MyBook is perhaps the best external drive for yourXbox One. This device is our number one pick mostly because of what it offers for the price.

You get 4TB ofstoragefor just $120, which is $30 per Terabyte.

This hard drive also provides an exceptional performance boost compared to the internal hard drive. You’ll notice increased speeds of both game loading anddownloading.

The drive needs an AC adapter, but that’s basically the case with all external drives from this range.

So if you want significantly morestorageon your Xbox One along with enhanced performance, the WesternDigital MyBook is the best choice.

Toshiba 1TB Canvio

storage

Toshiba’s drive is for those who don’t need a huge drive and would like to avoid an AC adapter. The Toshiba Canvio brings 1TB of additionalstorageto your console for a great price.

You can get Toshiba Canvio for as low as $55. Yes, the WesternDigital My Book has a better price per terabyte, but this is basically the best 1TB hard drive you can get for the price.

You can use a USB cable to connect the Toshiba Canvio with your Xbox One, so installation can’t be simpler.

When it comes to improved performance, this device also provides installation and loading speed enhancements. Not as much as WesternDigital, but still quite satisfying.

⇒Get Toshiba 1TB Canvio

HGST Touro S 1TB

The HGST Touro S is for those who want increased performance but are not so obsessed with having multiple terabytes ofstoragespace.

It is powered by USB and doesn’t contain an AC adapter, which can be a deal-breaker for some users.

Besides its limited capacity of just 1TB, the HGST Touro S provides a solid performance boost toXbox One. You’ll notice faster loading and installation times.

So, if 1 TB is enough for you and you want some more speed, the HGST Touro S should be in the conversation.

⇒Get HGST Touro S 1TB

How to set up an external hard drive on Xbox One

Connecting your new external drive to your Xbox is fairly easy. Just plug in the drive and wait for the initialization wizard to start.

TheXbox Onedoesn’t necessarily have to be turned off while connecting your drive but it won’t hurt if you power the console off.

Once yourXbox Onerecognizes the external drive, it will ask you if you want to set up the external drive. Choose Yes and carry on with the process.

Your drive will then be formatted for use onXbox One.

Keep in mind that once you format the external drive forXbox One, it can only be used on the console so you can’t connect it with, for example, your PC or PS4.

And finally, you’ll be asked to name the drive and choose whether you want new apps and games to be installed on it by default.

As we already pointed out, this is a good idea because the external hard drive provides better performance for installing and loading your content.

Move your existing games and apps to the external hard drive

You’ll probably want to move all your frequently used apps and games to the new hard drive. Moving content from drive to drive in Xbox One is quite easy, here’s exactly what you need to do:

You now know why using an external hard drive is important, What the best external hard drive to use on yourXbox Oneis, and how to set it up. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below.

You just need to open the guide go to the Storage menu. If Xbox didn’t detect your external drive, read ourcomplete guide to solve this issue.

3 best Xbox One USB external storage devices to use#

The best external hard drives for Xbox One#

WesternDigital MyBook#

Toshiba 1TB Canvio#

HGST Touro S 1TB#

How to set up an external hard drive on Xbox One#

Move your existing games and apps to the external hard drive#