Slow Xbox One Game Downloads: 10 Ways to Speed Them up

The biggest benefit of Xbox Live, of course, is to make every game available for users to download and play without a CD. Although having a big collection of Xbox One discs is a pretty cool thing, we must agree that keeping them on the hard drive is more practical.

However, not everything is always flawless when downloading games from the Xbox One Marketplace. One of the most common issues many users face is the problem of slow downloads or the Xbox app failing to update games. There’s nothing more annoying than waiting for your new favorite game to download longer than you should.

But don’t worry, though. If you’re facing the problem of slow download speeds while downloading a new game, we got you covered. We gathered some of the most common solutions for the slow download problem on Xbox One, and you can check them out below.

How do you fix a slow download speed on Xbox one?

1. Check internet connection

In most cases, the problem is not on your Xbox One, but your internet connection. So to start, make sure your internet connection is working properly. You can log in to your computer and see if everything is in its place. If you notice any problem and don’t know how to solve it, check out our article about internet connection problems and you might find the solution.

2. Restart the console

On the other hand, there’s a chance that something indeed is wrong with your console. To make sure everything is right, try restarting it, and see if the restart manages to get your game to download faster.

To restart your Xbox One, do the following:

1. Scroll left on the Home screen to open the Guide.
2. Select Settings.
3. Go to Restart console.
4. Select Yes to confirm.

This will automatically restart your Xbox One. When Xbox One is restarted, all your downloads will be paused. Once you run the console again, you’ll have to initiate downloading of your queued games once again. If you’re not sure how to do that, follow these instructions:

1. On the Home screen, scroll to the right, and press the A button to open My games & apps.
2. Select Queue and select the game you’re trying to download.
3. The game should show as Installing (If the status shows as Queued or Paused, select the game, press the Menu button, and then select Resume installation).

If your game is now downloading faster, all your Xbox One needed was one simple restart. But if the problem still persists, try some of the solutions listed below.

3. Make sure you’re not downloading multiple games at once

If you’re downloading something else on your PC or some other device, that download will take priority. Therefore, the game download on your Xbox One will be slower. So, make sure you’re not downloading anything else except the Xbox One game.

If you have another download running, pause it, and your game should start downloading faster.

4. Make sure nothing else uses the protocol

The same goes for other Xbox One games. If you’re downloading two games at the time, both downloads will be slower. You probably want to download all games as soon as possible, but running multiple downloads at once will only make things slower.

5. Close any running games

Xbox One is programmed to slow down any running downloads while playing a game to provide the best possible gameplay experience. So, you can’t expect to play another game on Xbox and have the download perform at the best possible speed.

If you assume that a particular game is left running, you can force close it. If you’re not sure how to do that, follow these instructions:

1. On the Home screen, navigate to your most recently run game from the list of games and apps.
2. With the game selected, press the Menu button and select Quit.

6. Check your router

If all the previous solutions failed to make your download faster, we’re going to get back to your internet connection. If something’s wrong with your router, logically, you won’t be able to download the game at full speed. So, check your router for any possible flaws. In case you’ve noticed a problem, check out our article about router problems for possible workarounds.

7. Check the Xbox Live service status

One of the most common reasons for downloading issues is the Xbox Live server itself. If the server is down, you obviously won’t be able to download your game. Even though it doesn’t happen on a daily basis, it’s possible for the server to go down from time to time.

You can check the status of the Xbox Live service at any time here.

8. Sign in with the right Microsoft profile

You have to be signed with a Microsoft profile that the purchase of the game is associated with. So, make sure you are.

9. Check the space on your hard drive 

1. From Home, select My games & apps.
2. On the left side, a meter shows space used and total free space.
3. If you don’t have enough storage space to download the game you can simply delete a game you’re not playing frequently.
4. From the same My games & apps menu browse your games and apps and select the ones you want to uninstall.
5. Press the Menu button on your controller.
6. Select  Manage game/Manage app.
7. Select the installation (for example, select Internal Manage all).
8. Select Uninstall all.

Another reason for not being able to download an Xbox Game on your console is if you don’t have enough storage space for it. If you’re not sure how to check the available space on your Xbox One, just follow the above instructions.

NOTE: If you have low storage space, you’ll likely receive a notification about it, so make sure to check all your notifications.

10. Install Xbox updates 

Updates for every Microsoft product can be messy at times. So, it’s possible that some of the previous updates you installed on your console actually messed it up. For that reason, it’s highly recommended to install the latest update available, as there’s a chance Microsoft already addressed the issue. Here’s how to check for updates on your Xbox One console:

1. Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
2. Go to System > Settings.
3. Now, head over to System > Console info.
4. If there’s a new update available, the system will automatically prompt to install it.
5. Now, just wait for the update to install, and restart your console.