How to Clear the Cache on an Xbox Series X

If your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S is running slow, follow these steps to clear the cache and speed-up the console.

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Started off as a sports writer with a focus on football, ice hockey, boxing, and American football. After leaving RealSport, I diversified my writing substantially, kept with sport, but also learned much more heavily into pop culture, iGaming, travel, business, tech, and especially gaming. Later, I co-founded Outsider Gaming, was the primary writer and editor-in-chief, and helped to train and bring on the writing talents who also had a passion for gaming. Now, I’m writing everything and anything, from sports to gaming, SEO-optimised content to reviews and previews.

Published on: Nov 12, 2020 | Updated on: Dec 27, 2022

As an online-connected multimedia platform, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S can end up running slow with all of the content that it runs.

If freeing up some space by deleting unnecessary apps doesn’t help, you can speed-up the performance of your Xbox Series X or S by clearing its cache.

Here’s how to clear cache of your Xbox Series X|S:

Press the Xbox button on your controller, go to the ‘Profile & system’ panel, and select ‘Settings;’
Scroll down to ‘System’ and select ‘Console info;’
Click on ‘Reset console’ and then pick ‘Reset and Keep My Games & Apps.’

Be sure to have your Xbox account log-in details ready because performing this soft reset will then require you to sign-in again.

Alternatively, you could run a total hard reset, but that would take you back to the Xbox Series X|S factory settings.

We also have some other ways that you can go about clearing your cache, should you not want to go through the sign-in process again.

How to clear cache on the Xbox Series X and S with a cold restart

To clear the cache of your Xbox Series X|S with a cold restart, you need to:

Hold down the Xbox power button on your console until it switches off;
Once the Xbox Series X or S is off, unplug the power cable from the console or socket;
Leave the console unplugged for a couple of minutes;
Plug in the power cable of the Xbox Series X|S and turn on the console.

Performing this cold restart on your Xbox Series X or S will at least clear some of the console’s cache.

How to clear the persistent storage of an Xbox Series X or S

Some Blu-ray discs download related content when used on the Xbox Series X|S. To clear this persistent storage, follow these steps:

Press the Xbox button on your controller, move right to ‘Profile & system,’ and pick ‘Settings;’
Scroll down to ‘Devices & connections’ and then select ‘Blu-ray;’
Choose the ‘Persistent storage’ option and then ‘Clear Persistent Storage’ when prompted.

Having your persistent storage fill up can present the same effects as having a heavy cache, so clearing your persistent storage can deliver the speed increases that a clear cache offers.

If your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S is running a little slow, use the steps above to reap the benefits of a clear cache or an empty persistent storage file.