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How to Set Up Xbox Game Sharing with Home Xbox

Use the owning account’s settings to designate a Home Xbox and let other profiles access eligible digital purchases on that console.
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To share eligible digital purchases on another Xbox, sign in on the console with the Microsoft account that owns them, then select Settings > Personalization > My home Xbox > Make this my home Xbox. Other people can then use their own profiles on that designated console to access eligible shared content. Home Xbox is a console designation for the owning account—not a separate sharing plan—and changing it moves the account’s device licenses.

What Home Xbox sharing does

Home Xbox assigns one console as the home console for the account that owns the digital content. Microsoft’s licensing guidance explains that a player can run a game on the home console while offline, and can also play online after signing in on another console. This describes the licensing model generally; it does not guarantee access to every game or entitlement. Microsoft Learn’s licensing guide explains the distinction.

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People using the designated console can access eligible digital purchases and downloadable content associated with the owning account, using their own profiles. Subscription features are more conditional: the available sources do not establish a complete, current list of which Game Pass plans or benefits share with other profiles. Check the current Xbox terms for the specific plan and region rather than assuming every benefit is shared.

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Set a console as your Home Xbox

  1. On the console you want to designate, sign in with the Microsoft account that owns the digital games or relevant subscription.
  2. Press the Xbox button, then open Profile & system > Settings. On some Xbox One software versions, the route may appear as System > Settings.
  3. Open General > Personalization > My home Xbox. Menu labels can vary slightly by software version.
  4. Select Make this my home Xbox. If the screen offers to remove the designation instead, this account has already designated that console as its Home Xbox.
  5. Have another user sign in with their own profile and check access to the eligible purchase or add-on.

Choose the right console before switching

There is one Home Xbox designation per account at a time. Choose the console based on who needs access to shared purchases and which console needs the home-console licensing role, particularly for offline play. Microsoft’s licensing explanation describes offline play on the home console and online play after signing in elsewhere; it does not guarantee that every title works offline.

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Changing the designation moves the account’s digital-content device licenses to the newly selected console. The prior Home Xbox loses those device licenses, although the account owner may still be able to access content there while signed in. This switch behavior is described in a Microsoft Community answer.

Switch limits and missing access

The Microsoft Community answer reports a limit of five Home Xbox changes in a rolling one-year period. Because that figure comes from a Community answer rather than a current official Xbox Support page, confirm the limit shown on your console or with Xbox Support before switching if preserving changes matters. The same answer describes the period as beginning with the first switch, rather than resetting automatically on January 1.

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If someone cannot use a game or add-on, check these points before making another Home Xbox change:

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  • Confirm which Microsoft account owns the game or add-on.
  • Confirm that this account designated the console the player is using as its Home Xbox.
  • Check that the player is signed into the intended profile on that console.
  • Verify that the title or subscription feature is still licensed and eligible for sharing; access can depend on the title’s terms and the subscription entitlement.

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