10 tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Xbox One

Can you believe the Xbox One has been around for a whole year already? It's changed massively in that short space of time too; from Microsoft releasing monthly patches and updates to just last week ditching the requirement that Kinect is bundled in with every console.

It's hard to keep up with each very little issue that the system can do when you are concentrating on the necessary stuff like, oh, enjoying games, so we've gone ahead and done a little research.

From convenient short-cuts to little-known freebies, here are 10 must-know tips and tricks to squeezing every last bit of value out of the One.

1. Get free games

They say that nothing in life is free, but that was before Project Spark on the Xbox One came along. The game is currently in open Beta, meaning that you can download it for free right now on the Xbox Store. You don't even need an Xbox Live Gold account to get started. And, since the game is designed around creating new games and the Project Spark community have been busy working on original user-generated content for the last couple of months, there's already tonnes of stuff to try out or collaborate on. If you get bored of that, you could download the Xbox One exclusive Killer Instinct (so long as you have a Gold subscription), which will allow you access to the game's Dojo, Survival, Versus and Practice modes with one character for free. They rotate which free character you get quite regularly too, so chances are you'll be able to have a go with them all eventually.

2. Disable disc auto-play

By default, if you insert a disc or Blu-ray into your Xbox One it'll play automatically – assuming you've already downloaded the free Blu-ray app, of course. If you've played a Blu-ray disc before and you reinsert it into the console, it'll boot up from the point at which you last stopped watching. However, if you prefer to delay disc start-up until you choose to do so manually, you can disable auto-play by going to Settings > Disc & Blu-ray - and unchecking the boxes that read 'Play Disc Automatically' or 'Resume Playback'.

3. Make your smart phone a remote control

Do yourself a favour and download the free SmartGlass app for Xbox One (make sure you don't download the Xbox 360 version by accident, as they look quite similar). With it, your phone becomes a remote control for the Xbox One, one that's perfect for navigating the console's Internet Explorer app as you can pinch, zoom and click on links far more easily than you can with a controller. The SmartGlass app also offers up extra content for some apps and games, and you can use it to check on your Achievement progress when you're away from your console.

4. Get fit for free


Download the Xbox Fitness app and, if you have an Xbox Live Gold account, you'll have access to a number of different introductory workouts free of charge for the next six months, including programmes by Jillian Michaels, Tracey Anderson and Shaun T of Insanity infamy. The comprehensive service uses the Kinect to track your heart rate and muscles, estimate calories burned, and provide feedback on your form, balance, and power. If you want to continue on after those initial trial workouts you're going to have to pay for it, but it's still cheaper than that gym membership, and you don't even have to leave the house to use it.

5. Save your best bits

Never let an Ultra Combo go unrecorded again. If you've done something cool in a game, or encountered something funny that you want to share with the internet collective, saying "Xbox, record that" will retroactively record and save a clip of the last thirty seconds of gameplay. If you want to record something longer, or if you want a bit more control on the specific in and out points on your clips, say "Xbox, Snap game DVR" to bring up the option to record up to five minutes of footage at your leisure.

6. Upload videos to YouTube

Recording your game DVR clips is simple, but publishing them online is even more so, if you know where to look. Load up the Xbox One YouTube app, scroll along to "Upload" on the left hand side menu, and then choose which of your videos you'd like to publish. You can edit their titles then and there, and once uploaded the app will provide you with a link from which you can view, tag or edit the finished product. You can also publish videos through Xbox's own Upload Studio, or you can upload them to your personal (and free) OneDrive account to access them later from any smart device.

7. Use Xbox One to control your TV

The Xbox One was designed with a mind to it becoming a hub for every other electronic device in your living room, especially your TV. You can use the Xbox One's Kinect voice commands to control your TV if you take a few minutes to perform a quick set-up. First, go to Settings (accessible at any time through the Menu button), then click on TV & OneGuide Settings. From there, select Devices, then select your TV's brand. Click Next, then click Automatic. Click on Send Command – this test should now mute your TV if you've calibrated correctly. You can also select the option to have your console and TV turn off and on together by going back to TV and OneGuide Settings and selecting Power Settings. From here, select Xbox One > turns on my devices and "Xbox Turns off" turns off my TV.

8. Set your home Xbox

If you've already signed into another Xbox before getting your own Xbox One – like say for example you tried it out at a friend's house first - make sure you go to Settings on your shiny new console and select 'Home Xbox' to specify it as your primary machine. This will then mean that other profiles also linked to this console can access your full library of digital games without you having to be signed in first, and vice versa. And, if you have little ones and don't want them getting their hands on Call of Duty or Dead Rising through your account, you can set family friendly restrictions by going to Settings and choosing the 'Add To Family' option on the right.

9. Create your own Gamerpic

Avatars might not be as prominently featured on the Xbox One as they were on the 360's dashboard, but they're still around, and you can use yours to strike a pose and use as your Gamerpic if you don't fancy any of the pre-made ones on the console. Select your profile from the left-hand side of the Home screen, and choose Profile > Set Gamerpic > Make One With Your Avatar. Select a pose, move the avatar around the screen, and zoom in or out using the left and right thumbsticks. You can then change the background to make sure your profile pic is entirely unique.

10. Play PS4 on your Xbox?

Because of the Xbox One's HDMI Input port, you can plug pretty much any HDMI capable device into your Xbox One and have it run through it. Though the input is really designed with cable and satellite set-top boxes in mind, you can even plug another console into it and play Xbox 360 or even – gasp - PS4 games through your Xbox One. It's not an ideal set-up by any stretch of the imagination, and you are likely to experience some latency, but the play through is able to handle various resolutions and frame rates, including 480p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p at 50 or 60Hz.