Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

How to connect your phone to an Xbox One

By

Smartphones have found a way to change and enhance our video-gaming lives. They don’t just play game apps anymore, but can now work as a second controller for our consoles.

How to connect your phone to your Xbox

 

Although a regular Xbox controller is easier to play with, using your smartphone as an Xbox controller can have its own benefits. Your smart device will need to be up to date and connected to your app store in order to sync it as an Xbox controller. As long as these two things have happened, we can help guide you in connecting your smartphone to your Xbox console easily.

Further reading

Step 1: Download the Xbox app

xbox-app-screen-2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Before downloading the Xbox app for iOS or Android, you’ll want to update your smartphone or tablet to the latest version of its operating system. Users of iOS need version 10.3 or higher to run the app. Microsoft recommends Android users have version 4.4 or higher. Once updated, head over to either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store and enter “Xbox” in the search field to locate the app.

Related

Tap the Install button to begin downloading the app to your smartphone or tablet, and launch it once it’s installed. Then, sign in to your Xbox account when prompted.

Step 2: Connect to your network

xbox-app-screen-3
Image used with permission by copyright holder

To sync your Xbox One and your phone, both devices must be online. To check your network on the Xbox One, go to Settings > Network > Network Settings.

On your smartphone, go to the network/Wi-Fi menu in your device’s system preferences or settings. If your Xbox One is not connected, select Set Up Wireless Network, choose your desired network, and enter the respective password when prompted. Both devices must be within the range of your network to connect.

Certain features, like using your phone as a remote control for the Xbox One, require both your Xbox One and phone to be connected on the same Wi-Fi network. Others, such as checking your achievements and activity feed, work as long as both devices are on an internet connection.

Step 3: Sync your smartphone with your console

xbox-app-screen-1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While using the Xbox app, tap the three horizontal bars in the upper-left corner to bring up the main menu. From here, you can access most features, but for now, just tap Console. After a second, a Connect to Your Xbox One option should appear near the top of the screen.

Tapping that should bring up a list of available Xbox consoles that you can connect to. Assuming yours is the only one on the list, tap the icon — labeled Xbox-SystemOS, unless you’ve renamed it — and then tap Turn On.

Voilà! Your smartphone and your Xbox are now soulmates. You should now be able to use your smartphone as a controller and keyboard, though this functionality is limited to the Xbox OS. There’s currently no in-game, second-screen integration.

Step 4: Use the app

xbox-app-screen-4
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Once you’ve successfully connected to the app, you can do so much with it. Getting the hang of the different features may take a little time but is worth the effort. Click the three horizontal bars once more in the top left corner of the screen, and the menu will appear. From here, you can look at your profile, accomplishments, recorded clips, screen captures, enter the Xbox Store, and many other things. Press the Avatar Icon, and your list of friends will pop up. The nearby icons are responsible for controlling messages and notification settings. Eventually, you will see a new icon pop up with three small avatars. This indicates that you can start a group chat.

Step 5: Control your Xbox One with the app

xbox phone controller
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While a real controller is always going to be the best way to control your Xbox One, it’s worthwhile to learn how to use your phone. Once you’ve successfully linked the two, the app on your phone will show a small symbol of a remote in the bottom right corner of your screen. Click this symbol, and you’ll immediately be transported to a black screen featuring four face buttons and a button for home, view, and menu. 

Now you’re ready to start controlling your Xbox One. All you have to do is drag your finger across the screen to pick a particular tile while simultaneously pushing down on the A button in the center of the screen to approve it. We don’t think you will ever really use this function, but again, it’s good to know that you can. 

Check out our handy guide that shows you how to connect your Xbox controller to your PC. We wouldn’t leave that out.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
The longest video games of all time
The persona 5 phantom thieves.

Games come in all shapes and sizes, and a longer game isn't necessarily better than one you can beat in an afternoon. That said, as the video game generations have gone on and hardware has improved, some developers have pushed the limits on just how long a game can last. Now, we have tons of live-service games, MMORPGs, and multiplayer games that technically have no end to them at all. However, looking at games that can in fact be beaten, some titles might as well be endless for how much time they ask of the player. If you are looking for a game you can sink dozens and dozens of hours into, we've found the longest video games of all time.

Note: While some live-service and MMOs do have storylines, we aren't counting them here due to them being ongoing. Likewise, sandbox games only count if there is a way to finish the game. We also used How Long to Beat for a general consensus on the hour count for each of these games based on the Main Story ranking.

Read more
The full video game console generation timeline
Nintendo NES Classic Edition

Video games are still a young medium in the grand scheme of things, but have been around for well over 50 years now. After the arcade boom in the 70s, home consoles slowly took over the gaming landscape with Nintendo's NES leading the charge. The NES is one of the best video game consoles of all time, but it was far from the first console and certainly not the last with the likes of the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Switch 2 currently fighting for market dominance. Currently, we're in the ninth generation of consoles but how exactly did we get here, and what consoles were in the eight prior generations? Let's rewind time and look at what defined every console generation from the first up to today.

If you want to look even further ahead, we can also tell you about every upcoming video game console and upcoming video game.

Read more
Xbox Game Pass is getting 2 of January’s biggest games
Citizen Sleeper 2 cover art.

Both Sniper Elite: Resistance and Citizen Sleeper 2 are making their way to Game Pass before the end of the month, along with a slew of other must-play titles. Although games come and go from the service, Game Pass rarely adds as many notable games at once as it has this month. January is host to several day-one releases, as well as several updates and DLC that promise to change up your most-played games.
Sniper Elite: Resistance — January 30

Few games can compare themselves to the Sniper Elite franchise in terms of gameplay. Combining stealth and tactical combat, Sniper Elite: Resistance isn't just a sniping sim. You'll have to think carefully about your targets and find the right way to line up your shot without being targeted.
Citizen Sleeper 2 — January 31
The original Citizen Sleeper was one heck of an RPG, and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector builds on that formula with an amnesiac android with a busted body. Find a ship, find a crew, keep flying. It's like cyborg Firefly, kind of — and that's incredibly exciting.
Lonely Mountain: Snow Riders — January 21
Lonely Mountain: Snow Riders is a follow up to Lonely Mountains: Downhill, a Trials-like experience that has you master the mountain trails on skis, racing against other players in online multiplayer or trying to set the best time possible. Lonely Mountain: Snow Riders is available today on Game Pass.
Flock — January 22

Read more