If you have just spent your hard-earned money on an expensive console like the Xbox Series X the last thing you expect to have is problems. However, when you look over to the console and see the power light repeatedly flashing it can be quite alarming. Maybe it even gave you flash backs to the Red Ring Of Death on the Xbox 360.
When the light is blinking users have reported that their console runs slow and feels laggy. In this article, we are going to explain exactly what the flashing light on your console means and whether or not you need to worry about it. Let’s jump in.
Why Is My Xbox Series X Light Flashing?
There are a number of reasons your Xbox Series X power light may be flashing:
- The console is downloading an update
- Your console is overheating and needs to cool down
- Your console is having a problem with the hard drive, accessories or power supply
- Your console is experiencing some kind of Hardware failure
- Your software is corrupt
- Loose cables
Let’s take a look at each of these problems in more detail.
How To Fix Blinking Light On Xbox Series X
Below are some of the main reasons your Xbox Series X light may be flashing.
Console Is Downloading An Update
This is generally the best case scenario if you notice a flashing light on your console. When you turn your console off the light may flash for a few minutes while a new update is being installed on your console.
This is nothing to worry about and is completely normal. If you are not experiencing any other problems and your console is working as normal, then this is likely what the blinking light on your console means.
If you want to stop this from happening you can disable background updates in the settings menu of your console.
Xbox Is Overheating
If you have been playing on your Series X for a long period of time, the console may experience overheating problems. This is especially true if you have placed your console in a poorly ventilated area.
If the console is hot and is experiencing a blinking light then you should immediately turn it off and let it cool down. Once the console has fully cooled down you can start to use it again.
However, if overheating is a common problem you likely have the console in a poor position. We recommend checking out our guide on how to stop your Xbox Series X from overheating.
Console Is Having A Problem With The Hard Drive or Power Supply
If you think this might be the issue we would recommend force rebooting your console. This can fix the flashing light problem. Follow the steps below to force reset your console:
- Double click the Xbox button on your console (You should hear two beeps)
- The light will become solid and the console will shut down after a few seconds
- Turn the console back on using the Xbox button on your controller
Your console is now reset and hopefully does not have the blinking light anymore.
Loose Connections
If some of the connections to the console our loose such as the power cable, HDMI cable etc you may see a flashing light on the console.
To rule this out as the problem, turn off all power to the console and disconnect everything. Replug all of the connections into your console, power and TV. When you reboot the console you may find that the flashing light is gone. This means that the source of the problem was likely a loose connection and is nothing to worry about.
System Reset
If all else on the list has failed the last thing you can try is factory resetting your console. This will reset your console as if it was new. Follow the steps below to fully reset your Xbox Series X console:
- Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
- Select Profile & system > Settings > System > Console info.
- Select Reset console.
- On the Reset your console? screen, you’ll see three options:
- Reset and remove everything. This option resets the console to factory settings. All user data, including accounts, saved games, settings, home Xbox associations, and all games and apps will be deleted. Use this option when selling or gifting the console, or as a last resort in some troubleshooting cases.
- Reset and keep my games & apps. Use this option as your primary choice when troubleshooting. It resets the OS and deletes all potentially corrupted data without deleting your games or apps. In some cases, if a corrupt game file is causing the issue you’re troubleshooting, you may have to choose Reset and remove everything, but you should always start with Reset and keep my games & apps.
- Cancel. To back out of this screen, simply select the Cancel button. No action has been taken at this point. This is a safe exit from this screen.
After you select one of the options, your Xbox console begins the process of erasing the selected content and resetting itself to the default settings.
When you turn your console on again the flashing light should be gone.
Contact Microsoft Support
If you have tried everything above and are still unable to get the flashing light to go away you may have a major hardware failure. This has happened to quite a few Xbox Series X owners as you can see on the Microsoft forum.
You can contact Microsoft support and have the console sent in for a repair. Normally these repairs take a couple of weeks and will be covered by warranty if your console is still under the warranty period.
Wrapping Up
We hope that one of the easy solutions helped to fix the blinking light on your Xbox console and you didn’t have to send it in for repair. Now that your console is back up and running, you can get back to playing the games you love.
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