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How to Play Xbox One Games Without the Internet

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Don’t get frustrated by error messages and games that don’t work. You can play Xbox One games without the internet if you plan ahead. This will help you play when Xbox Live is down, during busy gaming periods or if you are taking your Xbox with you to play in a cabin, on vacation or even on deployment.

As more users are going online while working from home or self-isolating in 2020, we highly recommend taking steps now so that you can play if Xbox Live is down or you lose Internet connectivity.

The only thing more frustrating than not being able to play a game offline is a stuck game install. When you try to play an Xbox One game offline without preparing, you may see an error code.

This will also let you play Xbox One games without updating them. But keep in mind you will not be able to use multiplayer and some updates do improve the game quality.

Two settings allow you to play Xbox One games without internet access so that doesn’t happen. There are situations when you want to game but can’t connect to Xbox Live. What if you are on vacation and just want to finish a single-player game that you started? What if your internet access isn’t working correctly and you just want to enjoy some time away from your friends and family? Here’s how to play Xbox One games without the internet.

What You Need to Know Before Playing Xbox One Games Without the Internet

Before you get too excited about playing games without internet access, there are some caveats about playing Xbox games offline that you need to know about.

First, only single-player Xbox One games and titles with cooperative play are playable without the internet. Batman: Arkham Knight only has a single-player experience, so that game would work fine without an internet connection. Fallout 4 would work just fine too. Destiny 2, for example, needs to connect to servers. You can’t enjoy it without an internet connection.

Xbox games that have both single-player and multiplayer experiences split the difference. You can access their single-player without issue. Their multiplayer experiences won’t work though. Lately, some games will require a connection for the single-player, but not all of them do.

Read: How to Fix Stuck Xbox One Game Installs

Playing Xbox One Games Without the Internet

Begin by installing every Xbox game you’d like to play without the Internet. It doesn’t matter if the game came on a disc or you purchased it from the Xbox Store. Note that downloading digital games can take hours, so make sure you give yourself enough time to get all the games you want to play away from the internet downloaded and installed.

Next, you need to set the console you’re looking to play games on as your Home console. Press the Xbox logo on your controller to open the Xbox Guide.

Use the joystick on your controller to select the Settings cog in the top-right corner of the Xbox Guide.

Select Settings from the pop-up menu.

Welcome to the Settings app. Select Personalization from the menu on the right side of your display. It’s the second option from the top of the list.

Select My Home Xbox in the center of your screen.

At the bottom of your screen is a button that has either of two messages. If the console is already your Home Xbox, this button will say “This isn’t My Home Xbox.” Don’t do anything else on this screen if that’s the message you see. The button says “Make This My Home Xbox” if you haven’t set the Xbox you’re on to be your Home console. Select that button if you see it.

Now it’s time to disconnect your console from the internet for offline play. Press the button on your controller to go back to the Settings menu.

Now select Network from the menu on the left.

Select Network Settings.

Select Go Offline.

At this point, your console will stop trying to connect to Microsoft’s servers and the internet. All your game saves will stay on your console’s hard drive until the next time you connect to Xbox Live. Again, multiplayer mode and games that require servers won’t work without an internet connection.

Be careful when unlocking Achievements. The Xbox One only has a limited cache for storing Achievements that you’ve unlocked. As such, Microsoft recommends that users connect their console to Xbox Live periodically to avoid losing Achievements they unlocked while their console was offline. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t reveal how many Achievements the console can store.

Read: 31 Xbox One Tips for a Better Experience

Original Reporting by Travis Pope.

The Best Xbox One Headsets in 2020

Plantronics RIG 800LX

$149.99 from Amazon

Plantronics's ultra-comfortable, RIG 800LX headset offers noise-canceling, Dolby Atmos sound and nearly double the battery life of other headsets.

Read: Plantronics RIG 800LX Review


 

These Xbox One headphones have everything you need for a solid gaming experience including great sound, long battery life and wireless connectivity. It comes with a small USB receiver that connects to your Xbox One for sound and chat. The RIG 800LX uses 40-mm drivers and includes a boom mic that mutes when you fold it up.


 

Memory foam isolates your ears, and each speaker uses noise-canceling technology to eliminate any sound that makes it through that isolating foam. There are dials on the headset to control audio balance and you can tailor the EQ to your tastes. The RIG 800LX last 24 hours on a charge, so expect to charge these less than other headsets. 


The RIG 800LX is also for the style and comfort-conscious gamer. A double headband keeps the accessory on your head, but loose enough that your head doesn't start to hurt during a really long gaming session. Its cups have cutouts for glasses. Also, the entire headset is modular, so you can switch out the black headband for another color whenever you want and match your headset to your Xbox Wireless Controller. 

Buy the Plantronics RIG 800LX for $129.99 at Best Buy and $149 at Amazon.

17 Comments

17 Comments

  1. Brent

    01/02/2017 at 2:07 pm

    Your product sucks, make it almost impossible to play with out Internet, returning it tomorrow and getting ps4

    • Steven Richards

      06/14/2018 at 6:39 pm

      You got that right! I’m so pissed at this piece of Bill Gates junk; I’m shipping tonight so I don’t have to think or look at it.
      It’s all about selling people more games, not playing them. This stupid console ate up 3 GB on my person MiFi (allotted 15 GB monthly) just loading the game, and it still wouldn’t let me play until I loaded an update that was going to kill 6 GB more.
      Awful game, evil company.

  2. Shannon

    01/16/2017 at 2:24 pm

    Did all this saved as my home Xbox and still can’t get on have 2 very upset boys Have saved games. & 2 actual disc games & can’t do anything

  3. tom

    02/09/2017 at 4:39 am

    the xbox sucks my g son buy many games caqnt play unless conected to internet why why why he onlly wan play the games ti try to disconect from interney it still not play its rubbish thats all it says need internet its a big laugh try many times same thig happen

  4. Derek

    02/17/2017 at 12:29 am

    Leaving for a weekend trip with no internet, tried this so I could play resident evil 7 and it seems to be working! Thank you!

  5. Laura

    02/22/2017 at 2:02 pm

    So0o0o this advice sucks. Won’t work on my limited edition halo console..my internet crashed, router f’d up and now I’m stuck without crap to do on this blizzardy day. Upgrade my ass! Never should have traded in my 360.

  6. Leonard

    02/23/2017 at 10:26 pm

    Xbox one suck add u have to update everything and with out internet u can’t do shit going back to ps4 Xbox needs to fix this shit

  7. Jimmy Saville

    02/25/2017 at 1:24 pm

    This doesn’t work you lying bastards

  8. iian

    02/27/2017 at 10:59 pm

    xbox one sux…have it for a week never played it once and it used up all my internet data for updates and loading…cant return the bloody thing because its opened…cant sell it, no one wants it. you need to be stupid rich to own this POS!
    Whose dumb idea was it to invent such a dumbass console. XOBOX ONE….SUX!

  9. iian

    02/27/2017 at 11:03 pm

    IF YOU THINKING ABOUT BUYING AN XBOX ONE…..DONT!

  10. Ron

    03/04/2017 at 5:17 am

    Single most frustrating game console ever. Half the time it wants to connect to Xbox live even after you change to offline play. Kids are constantly fighting the system. Major waste of money, so disappointing. It’s the Windows 8 of gaming.

  11. Jowil

    03/11/2017 at 5:32 am

    guys help me… i have xbox one i have cd but i cant play offline.. and am online i cant play without cd.. useless

  12. Alvin

    03/11/2017 at 6:16 am

    I bought it this console and several original game CD for my son, but can’t play at all, needs internet connection. Gosh now I kept for display at cabinet.NO USE!! Terrible experience for this suck product, plan to buy PS4. Xbox trash on garbage bin.

  13. Nathan Williams

    03/28/2017 at 12:46 pm

    I’ve done this an I still can’t play any games off line this sucks shouldn’t need WiFi to play ur game especially when u can’t afford WiFi

  14. JOSh

    01/04/2018 at 2:42 pm

    This is completely false. Being a home console and going to go offline basically turns your console into a paper weight. What a complete joke. Unless you have a disc. MS makes you verify your license to stuff you bought in the store by connecting to the internet. To say that you can play stuff offline is false and this article is extremely misleading and false. Bunch of Xbots on this site I guess.

    • Steven Richards

      06/14/2018 at 6:58 pm

      Disgusting company, even more disgusting owner. Xbox One X ate up 2.5 GB and was trying to eat-up 6 GB more two update one lousy game. I unplugged it, put it back in the box, and shipped back to Bedford, NH. I got it through Amazon but I still have to pay for shipping and handling, plus FY International LLC has the nerve to tell me I need to buy insurance to send it back. What a stupid buy on my part. I should have known Microsoft’s products are corrupted. I bought a $2100 VIO touch screen computer, and it stopped working the 3rd time I used it–yep, a $2100 paperweight.

      This company should be sued for misrepresenting its products and possible fraud.

  15. bsd

    09/27/2019 at 10:27 am

    Kalau tidak tahu caranya main game offline di xbox one jangan salahkan microsoft..

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