Xbox Series X|S Boot Time Reduced, But You May Never See It
The Xbox Series X and its budget-friendly counterpart, Xbox Series S, are known for their ability to boot up quickly due to their powerful solid state drives andstate-of-the-art processing power. However, the boot-up speeds can differ vastly depending on whether or not you’re using the Energy-saving mode or the Instant-on mode, the latter of which makes the Xbox Series X and S boot up in mere seconds. For those unaware, the former Energy-saving mode can be a remedy forXbox Series X or S consoles that are overheating.
These two modes can differ in some pretty significant ways. For instance, running your Series X or Series S in the Instant-on mode can make bootup times negligible and keep your Xbox connected to theXbox mobile app, which has its own set of remote features, at the cost of increased background energy use. Energy-saving mode differs in that it basically turns your console off when you’re finished using it, though it retains the ability to download and install games and apps, and it can even take advantage of the well-receivedQuick Resumefeature.
However, it takes a much longer time to boot back up while in Energy-saving mode. At maximum, you can expect a waiting time of around 45 seconds per boot, according to theofficial Xbox website, though realistically it only takes 20 to 25 seconds in most instances. While it’s worth noting that the same update doesn’t further decrease bootup times for Instant-on users, with the latest update, standard load times can be axed by a significant margin.
How to decrease the Xbox Series X and S bootup animation time
Thanks to anupcoming updatethat is now being tested via the Xbox Insider program, the Xbox’s bootup time while in Energy-saving mode could be reduced to about 15 seconds. This preview goes by the name Alpha (2208.220720-2200), first released to the Xbox Insider program on July 22. The patch notes don’t make a specific claim about the shortening of the Xbox bootup times while in Energy-saving mode, but Xbox Integrated Marketing Director Josh Munsee confirmed the feature onTwitter, saying it could reduce boot times significantly.
Can confirm – worked with@harrisonhoffmanand@jakerose27to create a shorter boot up animation (~4s) from the original boot up animation (~9s), helping to reduce the overall startup time.
— Josh Munsee (@joshmunsee)June 21, 2025
That said, you won’t get to enjoy the benefits of the update, including the shortened boot times while in Energy-saving mode unless you either wait for an official release or join the Xbox Insider program yourself. If you aren’t already an Insider, the process forjoining the Xbox Insider programis pretty simple and can be replicated in a few steps.
If you’re using a Windows 10 or 11 PC, you can also join the Xbox Insider program by using the Microsoft Store app. Here, you’ll follow the same procedure — search for “insider,” then install the Xbox Insider Hub software onto your computer, which should allow you to participate in other previews — like back when Microsoft let Insiders try"Minecraft" with raytracing supportbefore the general gaming public.
