Xbox games update all the time, then you probable want these updates to run equally quickly every bit possible to minimize interruptions. One of the all-time means to do this is by closing your current game, but sometimes that'south not an selection. Perhaps you're in the middle of something important and can't quit at the moment.

Thankfully, there'southward now an easy way to speed upwards Xbox game and app downloads while keeping your current game active. Here'due south how, plus some extra methods for speeding upwards downloads.

How to Speed Up Xbox Downloads by Suspending Your Current Game

Whether yous accept an Xbox One, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Serial S, you can accept reward of a handy function that let you lot suspend your current game to prioritize agile downloads. This is thanks to an Xbox update that Microsoft released in March 2021. On Xbox Series X|South, you can even accept advantage of Quick Resume to choice up at the moment where you left off.

To suspend your current game, you of course must have a game open on your Xbox. With another download running, hit the Xbox button on your controller to open up the guide. From there, become to My games & apps, then cull Come across all > Manage > Queue.

Alternatively, if a game that'south downloading appears in the guide list, you lot tin select it and choose Meet full queue to jump to the same page.

Xbox Manage Queue

On the Manage Queue page, y'all'll see what games are downloading. As a side note, if you have multiple downloads running, you lot can pause some of them to prioritize what's most of import to you.

More than importantly, under the Yous've got a game running. Suspend it to assist improve download speeds text, choose Append my game. This will freeze your game in place, assuasive the download(s) to take priority.

Xbox Manage Queue Suspend Downloads

After the downloads finish, select your game to leap correct dorsum into information technology where you left off. Go along in mind that if you were playing an online game, suspending volition most likely kick you off the servers, so you'll need to reconnect after resuming.

In case you weren't aware, your Xbox prioritizes network activity for the game yous're currently playing. Thus, having a game open will always throttle the download activeness in the background. The traditional solution to this is to close all running games, merely that tin cause you to lose progress if yous haven't saved. This is a smoother solution to that.

Remember that to install and utilize updates for a game that's running, you lot must shut the game. And then this only comes in handy when you lot want to install a new game, or run updates for a dissimilar championship.

Other Tips for Speeding Upwardly Xbox Download Times

If you want your Xbox downloads to go even faster, there are another tips you can put into place. Permit's consider a few.

1. Restart Your Console

If y'all haven't done a total shutdown of your Xbox lately, it's a skillful idea to power it off fully and allow it reboot. Similar any computer, occasional reboots let a game console to fix up any temporary glitches and perform at its best.

To reboot your Xbox, hold the Xbox button on your controller for a moment. Choose Restart console, then requite it a few minutes to fully reboot. Remember that a full restart (non just putting it in standby manner) volition close all open games, so if you take a game suspended, exist certain to salvage it before rebooting.

Xbox Restart Console

In one case information technology's running again, encounter if the download speed improves. This won't magically increment the maixmum speed of your internet connection, but information technology could optimize how your Xbox downloads. Try this anytime the download speed seems a lot slower than yous expect.

two. Check Bandwidth Usage Elsewhere on Your Network

When your Xbox is downloading something, it has to share the bachelor bandwidth on your network with every other device in your domicile. Thus, if you have other computers, phones, or game consoles using your network too, your Xbox download speeds will suffer.

Next time you need an Xbox download to complete as apace as possible, check other devices in your habitation. If someone is downloading large files on a computer, streaming 4K video from another Boob tube, uploading files to cloud storage, or performing other network-heavy behaviors, shut those out and run into if your Xbox download speeds increment.

To go further, you lot can set upward the Quality of Service feature on your router. This allows y'all to specify certain devices or types of traffic that receive priority on your network.

3. Use a Wired Connection

If you connect your Xbox to your network using Wi-Fi, consider switching to a wired Ethernet connexion. Fifty-fifty if you only practice this temporarily to download an update or large game faster, it volition make a big deviation.

Xbox Series S Connect Cables

While Ethernet connections aren't equally convenient as using Wi-Fi, they are more stable and offer faster download speeds. Yous'll get closer to the download speed that y'all pay your Isp for with an Ethernet cable than you lot volition with Wi-Fi.

If y'all tin't move your Xbox closer to your router, then buying a long Ethernet cablevision that y'all use for large downloads is a low-tech solution.

4. Consider Your Internet Speed

While all the above tips volition aid you download Xbox games and updates faster without endmost your current game, your internet speed is even so a limiting factor. If you merely take a 20Mbps download speed from your ISP, cypher you do will up that speed to 100Mbps.

Use Speedtest.net to check your internet speed

If your entire network is experiencing boring speeds, you should reboot your router and modem, for the same reasons discussed above. Barring a temporary hiccup, though, tedious speeds are best fixed by upgrading your internet plan.

Visit your profile on your Isp's website, or give customer service a call, to come across what other options are available. Upgrading your speed will let yous download Xbox content faster and provide more bandwidth for multiple devices to piece of work at one time.

Speed Upwardly Xbox Downloads the Like shooting fish in a barrel Way

With this useful new Xbox feature and a few other tips, you lot tin speed up Xbox downloads, even without closing your current game. Hopefully, your system downloads nearly updates when the console is in standby way, so they don't bother you at all.

But next fourth dimension yous need to apply an update as fast equally possible, y'all know what to practise. It's not a bad idea to explore other options in your router for a better online gaming experience, either.

Image Credit: Miguel Lagoa/Shutterstock

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Well-nigh The Writer

Ben Stegner (1808 Manufactures Published)

Ben is the Editor in Chief at MakeUseOf. He left his IT job to write full-fourth dimension in 2016 and has never looked dorsum. He's been roofing tech tutorials, video game recommendations, and more as a professional writer for over viii years.

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