Chances are you’re here as you’ve noticed your console storage space is almost completely full. Good job, then, we’ve got the best Xbox One external hard drive you can buy for your money. Pick up one of these and you’ll never have to worry about clearing space for the next game install, download or update ever again.
What’s more, they’re a doddle to install. An external hard drive for your Xbox One only needs to be connected by a USB cable. There’s no need to tinker with the console’s innards and risk causing unnecessary damage. It’s as simple as plug and play – no matter which size hard drive you go for. After other console storage?
You can also find our guide to the best PS4 external hard drive and best Nintendo Switch SD card right here at Jelly Deals.
Anyway, let’s get on with it! Our top pick for the best external hard drive is this 2TB Seagate Expansion Portable. It’ll give you loads of extra capacity for a great price, with the reliability to match.
The best Xbox One external hard drive
With the majority of Xbox One consoles now shipping with a 1TB hard drive, it’s easy to appreciate what a huge difference more than doubling your storage capacity will make. With some games hogging upwards of 100GB worth of space, you can see how quickly it vanishes.
At 2TB, this Seagate Expansion Portable drive shrugs off a game of that size without issue. Seagate is a manufacturer that’s been trusted in the hard drive space for a long time now, so you can be assured it’s a quality drive at an affordable price too. Altogether, that’s why it sits as our pick for the best Xbox One external hard drive.
A 4TB version of the drive is also available. That’ll give you an even bigger storage boost, but at a slightly higher cost.
Seagate Expansion Portable
2TB: Buy for £59.99 from Amazon UK | Buy for $63.99 from Amazon US
4TB: Buy for £82.99 from Amazon UK | Buy for $95.99 from Amazon US
The best Xbox One external hard drive for cheap
Those of you who picked up an Xbox One a lot longer ago must be struggling even more as they only shipped with a 500GB hard drive. In that case – or if your gaming habits are a little lighter – you might want to consider this 1TB Toshiba Canvio Basics for your Xbox One external hard drive.
It’s regularly cheaper than a full-price Xbox One game – and that’s a great number when looking to quickly boost your storage space. Of course, it’ll still function almost identically to the Seagate drives above. You shouldn’t worry about missing out on quality. We just have more experience with Seagate drives so are happy to rely on them more. Still, if you’re on a budget, this is easily the best external hard drive for Xbox One.
Toshiba Canvio Basics
1TB: Buy for £41.67 from Amazon UK | Buy for $46.99 from Amazon US
2TB: Buy for £56.97 from Amazon UK | Buy for $64.99 from Amazon US
The best Xbox One external hard drive for max capacity
Another regular player in the hard drive space is Western Digital. They make our list of the best Xbox One external hard drives thanks to their WD Black P10 Game Drive. This slick and robust bit of kit is the enthusiast’s option. At either 5TB or 3TB, it’ll give you loads of room for all your games and downloads – especially if you’re regularly dipping into the Xbox Game Pass library. Plus, its robust and rugged design ensures safety in case you need to take it on the move.
Speaking of Game Pass, as a neat bonus, these Western Digital Black drives also come with 2 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free, too. This grants you full access to the entire Game Pass library, which includes over 100 Xbox One games. Highlights include first-party releases such as Gears 5, Minecraft Dungeons, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The list of games is growing daily and it’s a great deal if you want to catch up on the biggest games you’ve missed from this generation.
Western Digital Black P10 Game Drive
3TB: Buy for £99.99 from Amazon UK | Buy for $109.99 from Amazon US
5TB: Buy for £123.99 from Amazon UK | Buy for $124.99 from Amazon US
The fastest Xbox One external hard drive
Anyone who’s been following all the excitement for next-gen consoles will probably be sick of hearing about solid state drives. This new component is going to drastically improve load times and performance for both consoles. But you don’t have to wait until the Xbox Series X to try it out something similar for yourself.
The Samsung T5 is a portable SSD that’s compatible with Xbox One as an external hard drive. You don’t get much space for your money compared to a normal HDD, but what you do get is a very speedy drive that’ll cut out a lot of the time you spend on loading screens. If you’ve got a few Xbox One games you like to play more than most, install them to this and you’ll appreciate all the time saved.
A niche choice, but still one of the best external hard drives for Xbox One if you want something lightning fast.
Samsung T5 Portable SSD
500GB: Buy for £83.99 from Amazon UK | Buy for $89.99 from Amazon US
1TB: Buy for £154.40 from Amazon UK | Buy for $179.99 from Amazon US
Xbox One external hard drives FAQs
Hard drives are one of the more intricate bits of computer hardware that you can buy. There are a wide variety of sizes, speeds and other factors that can affect the overall performance. If you’re still unsure where to spend your money, we’ve prepared some key advice to make the whole process of finding the best Xbox One external hard drive easier.
Do I really need an external hard drive for Xbox One?
If you’re only ever going to be playing a handful of games on your Xbox One S or Xbox One X console, then no. If, however, you’re going to be playing more than Madden, FIFA and Call of Duty each year, odds are very good that you’ll need an external hard drive sooner or later. Games are getting bigger with each passing release, with game storage demands ballooning up to 100GB and over in some recent cases. We’re looking at you, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare! If you’re trying to fit everything onto the built-in drive, you’re going to hit a wall sooner than you think.
What size Xbox One external hard drive should I buy?
Ultimately, this comes down to the amount of money you’re willing to spend and the number of games you want to be installed on your Xbox One at once. In our opinion, the most sensible Xbox One external hard drive to buy is a 2TB drive – at a minimum.
Combined with the Xbox One’s 1TB internal storage, this should comfortably handle the needs of most players. Let’s say an average major Xbox One game is at least 50GB in size, so you can install 50+ without any stress. Of course, there may be lots of smaller indies or Game Pass titles you want to be installed. These are usually smaller than 50GB, though. You can see how a 2TB drive will leave you even more breathing room.
However, for added security and future-proofing, you might prefer a 4TB external hard drive for your Xbox One. These are still reasonably affordable and widely available so it’s entirely up to you. If you think you’ll want more space or want to spend less time uninstalling old games then that could be the one for you.
We’d say the 5TB P10 Game Drive is about as big as you really need to go. Anything over that is likely to be overkill and be a waste of your money.
How do I use an Xbox One external hard drive?
In order to connect an external hard drive to your Xbox One console, it’s best to use a completely empty and fresh drive. The console will need to reformat the drive in order for it to work, too. That means, if the drive has any content on it already, it’ll all be deleted. Once you’ve got a completely clean drive, you just need to connect it to the Xbox One via a USB cable.
Once it’s all plugged in, boot up your Xbox One, navigate to the My Games and Apps section and you’ll see that your total storage space has been significantly upgraded. You can even sort your games and apps by ‘external’, ‘internal’, or ‘all’ in order to keep tabs on what you have installed on each drive.
What USB connection works with an Xbox One external hard drive?
First things first, if you’re getting an external drive, make sure it is USB 3.0. The Xbox One won’t be able to recognise any HDD that is USB 2.0 or below and only works with USB 3.0 drives. After that, make sure you get a drive that is at least 256GB since once again, Xbox One systems don’t recognise any driver smaller than that. Every one of our picks on this page satisfies both these requirements.
There you have it, those are our top picks for the very best external hard drive for Xbox One! We’ll be keeping this page as updated as much as possible in order to bring you the very best Xbox One external hard drives for all future models, as and when tech improves and prices drop. You can also follow Jelly Deals to ensure you always know the best Xbox Game Pass Ultimate deal and get all the latest info you need if you’re considering an Xbox Series X pre-order. The next-gen console is just around the corner and you can bring over all your old Xbox One games using these hard drives!
Source: https://www.jelly.deals/2020/05/26/best-xbox-one-external-hard-drive/
