Consoles Gaming

How do I wipe an Xbox One to sell it?

wipe an Xbox One
Wiped clean: erase your personal data before selling the Xbox One

If you’ve been lucky enough to get your hands on a new Xbox Series X or S, chances are you’ve now got an unused Xbox One on your hands. Given the new consoles can play all the old games, there seems little point in hanging on to the old console. If you’re planning to eBay or otherwise dispose of your Xbox One, you should make sure you wipe it of all your account details and installed games first. Here’s how to do it.

How to wipe an Xbox One

To wipe your Xbox clean of all your personal details so that it’s ready for the next owner, proceed with the following steps:

  1. Press the central, lit button on your controller
  2. Choose Settings from the menu on the left
  3. Select System, then Console Info
  4. Choose the option to Reset Console
  5. You will be asked whether you want to keep apps or other personal information – choose the option to remove everything
  6. The console will begin the reset process and may restart a few times. When it reaches the point where it’s asking you to press the button on the controller, you’re safe to go

It’s not entirely clear whether this process cleans the data on the console to an entirely secure state (ie. if someone took out the Xbox One’s hard disk, would they be able to retrieve personal data from the device?). The speed at which the reset takes place makes me suspect it’s not a full wipe, but I might be wrong.

However, you’d have to be seriously unlucky to find the person you’re selling the device to is a skilled data thief. For 99.99% of all Xbox One sales, this process will be fine.

NOW READ THIS: Can you use an Xbox One controller with the Xbox Series X or S?

About the author

Barry Collins

Barry has scribbled about tech for almost 20 years for The Sunday Times, PC Pro, WebUser, Which? and many others. He was once Deputy Editor of Mail Online and remains in therapy to this day. Email Barry at barry@bigtechquestion.com.

Add Comment

Click here to post a comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.