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To choose what your Xbox updates automatically, open Settings > System > Updates on Xbox One. On Xbox Series X|S, press the Xbox button, select Profile & system > Settings > System > Updates. Turn on Keep my console up to date, Keep my games & apps up to date, or both.
Those are separate preferences: one covers Xbox system software and the other covers installed games and apps. The available documentation does not establish that enabling either switch guarantees downloads will finish while the console appears to be turned off, so treat automatic updating and off-state downloading as separate questions.
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What the two Xbox update preferences control
Xbox exposes two independent switches in the Updates section. You can enable one without the other, or enable both.
| Preference | What it updates | What enabling it means |
|---|---|---|
| Keep my console up to date | Xbox system software | Allows the console to handle system updates automatically according to its current software and power behavior. |
| Keep my games & apps up to date | Installed games and applications | Allows game and app updates to be handled automatically according to the console’s current software and power behavior. |
Xbox Wire described these as separate controls in its “Xbox Feedback’s 2017 Year-in-Review,” published January 18, 2018: users can set updates for the Xbox or for games and apps separately from Settings > System > Updates. That distinction is important if, for example, you want system software updated automatically but prefer to decide when large game patches are installed.
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These switches are update preferences, not download-speed controls. They do not provide a documented bandwidth limit, a scheduled download time, or a guaranteed update-check interval.
Before you change the setting
Know which Xbox you are using
The Xbox One route documented by Xbox Wire begins in the Settings app. The Series X|S route supplied by a Microsoft Community independent advisor begins in the Guide. Both routes lead to System > Updates, but the first screens can differ by console generation and dashboard version.
Read the labels on your dashboard
Microsoft can change menu wording or placement as the Xbox dashboard evolves. If a label is slightly different from the wording below, use the item that clearly refers to keeping the console or games and apps up to date. Do not assume that a similarly named power or network option is the same control.
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Make the choice before changing anything:
- Choose the console option if your priority is automatic system-software maintenance.
- Choose the games-and-apps option if your priority is keeping installed titles and applications current.
- Choose both if you want both categories handled automatically.
- Leave either option off if you want to initiate that category’s updates yourself.
Set update preferences on Xbox One
Xbox Wire’s documented Xbox One path is Settings > System > Updates.
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- Turn on the console and open Settings. You can reach Settings from the Xbox dashboard; the exact dashboard arrangement may vary with the installed system version.
- Choose System.
- Open Updates.
- Locate Keep my console up to date. Turn it on if you want Xbox system software handled automatically.
- Locate Keep my games & apps up to date. Turn it on if you want installed games and apps handled automatically.
- Leave either switch off if you do not want that category updated automatically.
- Exit Settings after confirming the switches show the intended state.
The two switches are independent. Turning on the games-and-apps option does not automatically turn on the console option, and turning on the console option does not automatically turn on the games-and-apps option.
Set update preferences on Xbox Series X|S
A Microsoft Community response from an independent advisor, answering a Series X question created February 14, 2022, gives this route:
- Press the Xbox button on the controller to open the Guide.
- Select Profile & system.
- Choose Settings.
- Open System.
- Select Updates.
- Set Keep my console up to date according to your preference.
- Set Keep my games & apps up to date according to your preference.
This menu path is secondary guidance rather than an official Xbox editorial article. If your Series X|S displays a different arrangement, follow the labels currently shown on the console and verify that you are in System > Updates, not a similarly named network or power menu.
Choose the combination that fits your use
| Console preference | Games and apps preference | Use this combination when |
|---|---|---|
| On | On | You want both system software and installed games or apps eligible for automatic updating. |
| On | Off | You want automatic console maintenance but want to start game and app updates yourself. |
| Off | On | You want installed games and apps handled automatically but want to initiate console updates yourself. |
| Off | Off | You want to manage both categories manually. |
The table describes your preference selections, not a promise about when a download starts or finishes. Actual behavior can depend on the console’s current software, connectivity, storage and power state.
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Will Xbox download games while it is turned off?
Enabling Keep my console up to date and Keep my games & apps up to date is the documented way to permit automatic handling of the two update categories. However, the available evidence does not establish the current power-mode and storage conditions required for a download to complete while the console appears to be off.
Consequently, do not treat the two switches alone as a guarantee of an overnight download. The settings identify what the console may update automatically; they do not, by themselves, document whether a particular power state keeps network and storage services active.
A reliable way to check your own console
- Enable the appropriate update switch or switches in System > Updates.
- Start an update manually while the console is on, so you can confirm that the console recognizes the title or system update and begins transferring it.
- Note the update’s visible progress and whether the console reports an installation or restart requirement.
- After the test, use the power behavior you normally use and check the title’s update status when you start the console again.
- If the update did not continue, do not infer that a different switch controls it. Recheck the two update preferences and consult the current on-screen power guidance for your dashboard version.
This test can tell you how your particular console behaves, but it is not evidence that every Xbox model, dashboard version or power mode will behave identically.
System updates versus game and app updates
Console system software
System software updates affect the Xbox operating environment. The relevant preference is Keep my console up to date. If that switch is off, a games-and-apps preference does not substitute for it.
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Games and applications
Game and app patches are controlled by Keep my games & apps up to date. This applies to the installed games and applications covered by the console’s update system. It is separate from the console-system switch.
Why the distinction matters
A console can have one preference enabled and the other disabled. For example, a user may want system software maintained automatically but may not want large game patches downloaded without checking first. Conversely, someone preparing to play a title may enable game and app updating while choosing to manage system updates manually.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshoot an update preference that seems ineffective
You cannot find the Updates page
- Open the Xbox Guide with the Xbox button, then check Profile & system > Settings > System > Updates on Series X|S.
- On Xbox One, open Settings > System > Updates.
- If the wording differs, look for the current labels that mention keeping the console or games and apps up to date.
- Make sure you are not in a general network, storage or power page; those pages do not replace the two update preferences.
The console updates but a game does not
Check Keep my games & apps up to date separately. The console switch controls system software and does not enable the games-and-apps switch.
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Check Keep my console up to date separately. The games-and-apps switch does not enable the console switch.
An update does not finish while the console appears off
First confirm that the relevant switch is on. Then check the result after starting the console again. The two switches do not document the power mode, network availability or storage conditions needed for an off-state download, so a failed overnight update cannot be diagnosed from those toggles alone.
The labels do not match this guide
Dashboard wording can change. Match the function rather than relying on an exact visual layout: one option refers to the console, and the other refers to games and apps. If neither option is present, use the current Xbox support guidance shown for your console and software version rather than selecting an unrelated setting.
You expected a schedule or bandwidth control
These preferences do not establish a scheduled update time, a download-speed limit or a guaranteed check cadence. If you need any of those controls, do not assume they are hidden behind either checkbox; verify that the current dashboard explicitly provides them.
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Recommended setup for a new Xbox
During initial setup, decide whether you want both categories maintained automatically. Existing owners do not need new hardware to use these settings; the same menu controls can be changed later.
- Complete the console’s initial network and account setup.
- Open the Updates page using the route for your console generation.
- Choose the console update preference.
- Choose the games-and-apps preference.
- Start one visible update while the console is on if you want to verify connectivity and the update workflow.
- Afterward, check the dashboard’s current power guidance before relying on any off-state behavior.
The final check matters because automatic-update preferences and power behavior are related but distinct. A switch can be correctly enabled even when the console does not continue a transfer in the power state you selected.
What this guide does not establish
- It does not establish a universal rule that every Xbox downloads games while fully powered off.
- It does not establish a specific standby or energy-saving mode required for background downloads.
- It does not establish a fixed update-check schedule.
- It does not establish a bandwidth cap or download-speed setting in the Updates page.
- It does not establish storage requirements for a particular update.
Those details can vary with console generation, dashboard version and power configuration. Use the labels and guidance currently shown on your Xbox for those decisions.
Quick checklist
- Open System > Updates.
- Turn on Keep my console up to date if you want automatic system updates.
- Turn on Keep my games & apps up to date if you want automatic game and app updates.
- Remember that the switches operate independently.
- Do not interpret them as download-speed, schedule or off-state guarantees.
- Test the behavior on your own console while it is on, then verify the result after your normal power-down routine.
Source context
Xbox Wire’s official “Xbox Feedback’s 2017 Year-in-Review,” published January 18, 2018, documents the Xbox One settings route and the two separate controls. The Series X|S menu path comes from an independent-advisor response in Microsoft Community to a question created February 14, 2022. Because dashboard labels and power behavior can change, the current labels on your console take precedence when they differ.
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