A Microsoft Xbox Series S home video game console, taken on October 27, 2020.
It does have the power but not the storage space. This is where this article comes in.
This guide will help you expand your Series S’s 512GB storage space (with only 364GB available for games), if you have recently purchased one.
Xbox Series S (Official) External Expansion
The Series S has a standard NVMe SSD, but it is not difficult to remove and replace.
If you are looking to increase your console’s storage capacity without taking it apart, the best option is to buy an official Seagate expansion card, according to Windows Central.
Microsoft partnered with storage drive manufacturer to create expansion cards of 2TB and 512GB for the Series X consoles. According to the Xbox website the expansion card fits easily into the Storage Expansion ports located behind the consoles.
YouTuber Brainus shows the process as follows:
The Seagate expansion card was easy to install, as you can see from the video. This plug-and-play solution is ideal for people who want to quickly install their games.
The official Xbox Series expansion card is priced at $139.99 (512GB) and $399.99 (2TB) (both MSRPs). However, pricing may vary in certain stores so please be aware.
What about regular external drives?
External drives are common these days and can be used to increase the storage capacity of your console.
There are certain requirements that hardware must meet. Microsoft requires that the drive has USB 3.0 and a storage space of at least 128GB. This is to allow games and apps to be stored. The cable must also be in good condition. Any less (e.g. USB 2.0) and a capacity of less than 128GB will not be accepted.
Seagate GoFlex Slim external drive, session taken by PC Plus Magazine on April 20, 2011.
An external hard drive with USB 3.0-equipped storage capacity of 2TB would be available for $60 on Amazon. This is a great deal considering the official Xbox expansion cards are almost seven times the price.
You’ll only have one problem with the drive: its speed. The HDD classification means that loading times for your Series S console may be slower. This is true even if you choose an external SSD. For a compatible SSD you will need to pay anywhere from $140 for a 1TB drive up to $655 for a 4-TB model.
Replacing the Internal SSD
The Series S was designed by Microsoft to house an M.2 NVMe SSD with the 2230 form factor. It is slightly smaller than the PlayStation 5’s and takes a bit longer to reach. It might not actually work.
TronicsFix’s teardown of the Series S revealed that replacing the M.2 2230 NVMe SSD will cause the console not to boot.
This problem may still be solved by a future firmware upgrade. For now, however, you can clone the contents of your drive onto another larger drive. This is another topic.
