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Best External Hard Drives for Xbox One

Updated January 2023
Bottom line
Pros
Cons
Best of the Best
Western Digital WD My Book Desktop External Hard Drive
Western Digital
WD My Book Desktop External Hard Drive
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Sturdy & Versatile
Bottom Line

Multiple capacity options and a reasonable price point earn this hard drive our top spot as well as our tech expert's approval.

Pros

Available in sizes from 4TB up to 18T. Simple plug-and-play design. Pairs well with the Xbox One console. Durable. Works well for PC storage.

Cons

No USB-C connectivity

Best Bang for the Buck
Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive
Seagate
One Touch Portable 2TB External Hard Drive
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Trusted Brand
Bottom Line

This compact Seagate hard drive offers 2TB of portable storage for gaming on the go.

Pros

Offers writing speed of 120 Mbps. A simple plug-and-play setup makes it easy to get started. Measures just 4.6 x 3.15 x 0.58 inches for easy portability.

Cons

Some buyers complain that it has a slow writing speed. For gaming, 2TB can go quickly.

Seagate Game Drive Hub for Xbox
Seagate
Game Drive Hub for Xbox
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Holds Tons of Games
Bottom Line

The Game Drive Hub’s ability to easily store over 200 games and its convenient USB ports earn it our expert's approval.

Pros

Utilizes a whopping 8TB of space. Features a front-facing pair of USB ports for charging controllers or accessories. Slick design. Lightning-fast performance.

Cons

Only available in white.

Western Digital WD BLACK P10 Game Drive
Western Digital
WD BLACK P10 Game Drive
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Durable & Rugged
Bottom Line

This is a good external drive for taking your Xbox One game data on the road due to its storage size and impressive durability.

Pros

Available in 2, 4, and 5TB sizes. Speedy performance. Sturdy and stylish metal case. PC-compatible. Lightweight and portable. Easily stores hundreds of games.

Cons

Its LED indicator light is annoyingly bright if you enjoy playing in the dark.

Toshiba Canvio Basics Portable Hard Drive
Toshiba
Canvio Basics Portable Hard Drive
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Simple Yet Solid
Bottom Line

A reliable, slim, and affordable external hard drive for Xbox One that earns our expert's approval.

Pros

Available in 1, 2, and 4TB sizes. Affordable and lightweight. USB cable included. Plug-and-play design. Unobtrusive matte black color.

Cons

A status indicator light would have been appreciated.

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BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and all opinions about the products are our own. About BestReviews  
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing, and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. We buy all products with our own funds, and we never accept free products from manufacturers.About BestReviews 
HOW WE TESTED

We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that's designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections.

40
Models
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60
Consumers
Consulted
8
Hours
Researched
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Buying guide for Best external hard drives for Xbox One

The Xbox One is one of the most powerful gaming systems on Earth. Depending on the model, it plays cutting-edge triple-A titles, streams every different kind of media you can think of, and it’s got a 4K Blu-ray player inside. Though some models come with more storage than others, every Xbox One comes with a limited amount of file storage, and you must install every game you want to play. Game files can be huge, so the storage space goes fast.

At some point, you’re going to run out of room on the Xbox One’s built-in drive, so you’ll have two choices: either delete content to make more room or buy an external hard drive. Most players opt to buy an external hard drive because they’re relatively affordable and can add terabytes of storage.

Buying an external hard drive for your Xbox One (or Xbox One S or Xbox One X) is the best long-term option because you’ll be able to install games to your heart’s content without having to worry about sacrificing fast load times. But not every external hard drive works with the Xbox One, and not every drive that works with the Xbox One is a good value, so it pays to do some research ahead of time. That’s probably why you’re here, so let’s dig in to everything you need to know to pick out the right external hard drive for your Xbox One.

Content Image
No matter what version of the Xbox One you have, the requirements for external hard drives are the same. If you upgrade your console, taking all your content with you is simply a matter of connecting the external hard drive into the newer Xbox One.
Expert Tip
If you buy multiple external drives, don’t stack them. It may be tempting to make a Jenga tower of drives, but they’ll get much hotter if you stack them--so don’t.
BestReviews Electronics Expert

Key considerations

Requirements

The Xbox One has some unique requirements for hard drives it will work with. Here are the four most important things to know before you start shopping so you can be certain to buy a compatible model.

  1. It must have at least 256GB of storage. This is a Microsoft requirement: the Xbox One won’t recognize hard drives smaller than 256GB. If you were thinking about connecting an older, smaller hard drive to your Xbox One, you’re out of luck. Thankfully, there are plenty of affordable external hard drives that do meet the requirement.

  2. It must be USB 3.0 compatible. Although the evolution from USB 3.0 to USB 3.1 is well underway, the Xbox One can only connect to external hard drives that support the older USB 3.0 standard. Some high-end external hard drives support USB 3.1 only, so be sure to double-check one last time before you buy.

  3. It can’t be a flash drive. Even if you have a flash drive that meets the 256GB minimum requirement, you still won’t be able to use it for storage on your Xbox One because the data transfer speeds aren’t fast enough to support gameplay.

  4. You can’t use the hard drive for anything besides Xbox One storage. When you connect your external hard drive to your Xbox One, the Xbox will completely erase the contents of the drive and reformat it. Once this is done, you won’t be able to access the content on the drive from any other device besides your Xbox One – the files won’t be readable. The bottom line is, don’t bother trying to use your Xbox One external hard drive as anything besides an Xbox One external hard drive.

Expert Tip
If you don’t use your hard drive frequently, power it on every once in a while to make sure the data is OK. Hard drives are meant to be used, so if yours sits in a drawer, make a point to verify the data periodically.
BestReviews Electronics Expert

Storage space

The biggest question to answer as you’re shopping for an Xbox One external hard drive is, how much capacity do you need? And, naturally, larger drives are more expensive than smaller drives, so you’ll need to pick the external hard drive that’s a good match for your gaming storage needs and your wallet.

Generally, the smartest thing to do is buy as much storage as you can afford. The price difference between a 4TB drive and an 8TB drive is typically less than $100, meaning that the more you spend, the cheaper storage gets on a per-gigabyte or per-terabyte basis. Don’t be concerned about having “too much” storage. Game files are getting larger, and so are movie files, so it’ll go faster than you think.

Expert Tip
Always keep your external hard drive in a cool, well-ventilated area. Overheating can lead to data loss or drive failure, so don’t leave yours next to any heat sources.
BestReviews Electronics Expert

Xbox One external hard drive prices

Knowing how much to spend on an external hard drive can be tricky because, in some cases, a small price difference can mean a big increase in the amount of storage you get.

Between $50 and $100

If you’re looking to spend between $50 and $100, you can get a good external drive with anywhere between 500GB and 1TB. Mainstream games, such as first-person shooters like the Call of Duty games, can take anywhere between 10GB and 120GB after updates, so if you’re a serious gamer, you’re going to need more space. If you game casually or don’t play that many different games, a 1TB drive will be perfect.

Between $100 and $200

If you can spend a little more, you can get significantly more storage. Pricier external hard drives are more capacious, and in some cases come with additional benefits like their own power supply. If you’re a moderate gamer, a 4TB external drive will be more than enough, but if you’re serious about your Xbox One gaming, you’ll be better off buying an 8TB or 10TB external hard drive.

Expert Tip
If you’re moving a lot of data to an external drive, do it in batches rather than all at once. Large data transfers can fail every once in a while, and a single failure will mean starting over, but you can mitigate the risk by sending files over in small groups so a single error won’t set you too far back.
BestReviews Electronics Expert

Tips

  • Confirm that any external drive you buy works with the Xbox One. If you’ve got your eye on a specific model, read user reviews to see how it performs with the Xbox One specifically. If users report any problems getting it to work with the Xbox One, don’t buy it.

  • Never unplug an external hard drive from your Xbox One when the Xbox is on. All external drives have the same weakness: if you unplug it while it’s in use, it can corrupt all the content on the drive, rendering the drive useless without a complete reformat. Play it safe: only disconnect your external hard drive from your Xbox One when the console is completely turned off.

  • Remember that game updates often require quite a bit of storage. Whether you download them directly from Microsoft or buy them on physical discs, games take up a lot of room – anywhere from a few hundred megabytes to 60GB per game – and that’s before you download any updates. Game updates can double the amount of file size a given game requires, so it’s always a good ideas to buy more storage than you think you’re going to need.

  • Never buy a used or refurbished external hard drive. There are no recognized standards for refurbishing a hard drive, so if you buy one refurbished, you have no idea what’s been done to it – if anything has been done at all. Furthermore, there are no easy ways to determine if a hard drive is used and how long it’s been used, so any used hard drive you buy could only last a few weeks.

Expert Tip
Don't try to remove hard drives from their external enclosures. Many people buy external drives because of their aggressive pricing, and then attempt to remove the hard drive from inside so they can use it elsewhere, like a computer or a NAS device. While it can be a fun project, it completely voids any manufacturer protection, and once you’ve taken one apart, you likely won't be able to get it back together again.
BestReviews Electronics Expert
Content Image
The Xbox One only supports external hard drives that are 16TB or smaller. This isn’t a problem for most people, but if you’re thinking about buying the maximum amount of storage, be forewarned that the Xbox One itself has a hard limit.

FAQ

Q. Why do some external hard drives require two open USB ports on the Xbox One?

A. USB cables aren’t just for transferring data – they’re also for powering devices. If you buy an external hard drive that requires two USB ports to connect, be sure to plug them both in. One will allow data to transfer successfully, while the other will provide power to the drive.

Q. What else can I store on my Xbox One external hard drive besides games?

A. In addition to Xbox One games and apps, you can also use the external hard drive to store your personal media files like photos, music, or videos.

Q. Why are some external hard drives called “SSDs” while others are called “HDDs”?

A. There are two types of available storage: the solid-state drive (SSD), which has no moving parts, and the hard disk drive (HDD), which uses spinning platters to store data. SSDs are typically more stable because there are fewer moving parts. They’re also typically more expensive only available in smaller sizes than their HDD counterparts. SSDs are also much, much faster, so in many cases the trade-offs are worth it.