Why Does My Xbox One Have An Orange Light? How To Fix It

There’s an issue you may confuse with the complete death of your console. It’s an orange light coming out of the power supply and the console failing to power on. But if this is not the end, What does the orange light mean?

The orange light means the power supply is on standby. A steady white/green light indicates the console is ON and the power supply is okay. You will notice the problem when you turn on the console, but the light remains orange, and the console remains off.

The issue affects the original Xbox One console mostly. There’s a simple explanation: It’s an old device. Moreover, Microsoft no longer manufactures the console or the power supply. Therefore, both parts of the puzzle tend to fail.

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Xbox One Have An Orange Light Error Causes

The Xbox One’s power supply has built-in surge protection. It’s a safeguard against electrical damage. When a power surge happens, the power supply suffers damage. As a result, it can’t send any power to the console or receive power from the outlet. A power surge may be lights running out, electrical surges, or you unplugging the console when it’s on.

But there’re other reasons why the Xbox One power supply is not working. In summary, these are the possible causes:

The console is overheating. It may not be getting enough ventilation, or it may be full of dust. That causes the power supply to heat up and throttle.
There’s malware on the system, which is causing malfunction. You’d know this is the case because the Xbox is turning off while you play. After the console turns off itself, you will see the orange light on the power brick.
The console is not getting the voltage it needs. Third-party power supplies don’t last forever. And after a while, they may fail to transmit the necessary energy to the console. Additionally, they could come with this error straight from the factory.
Alternatively, some countries don’t use the same voltage as the United States. The Xbox One needs a voltage adapter in some parts of the world -it works with 110V and 220V power outlets.

In any of these cases, the orange light means the machine is not receiving enough power. So, rather than turning on, it goes into standby.

Why Does My Xbox One Have An Orange Light? Troubleshooting

There are solutions for the orange light on the Xbox One. The fixes range from resetting the console to cleaning its vents and resetting the power surge.

The fixes we’re sharing are the same for Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, and Xbox One All Digital Edition. However, the problem affects the original Xbox the most.

Ventilate and Clean the Xbox

Let’s start with a fix that will always help you. That is the cleaning and ventilating of the Xbox.

Perhaps your Xbox is overheating, and it’s hot in touch. Or maybe it’s not. Regardless of the case, cleaning the console now will solve future problems.

Get a vacuum cleaner and vacuum all over the vents and grills. Make sure you clean all of the vents all around the body.
Also, use a soft brush to further clean the vents and all.
Afterward, use a can of compressed air, or something similar, to dust off the console.
Use wipes to clean the console’s body thoroughly.
Lastly, use Isopropyl alcohol plus a brush or a microfibre cloth to clean the ports and the vents. It will clean any corrosion on the console’s exterior.

We don’t recommend opening the console to clean the fan and its exterior. It’s a lengthy and challenging process. But if your console is noisy and hot, and you’ve used it for various years, it would be best to take it to a professional for a cleaning service.

After you clean the console, consider choosing a ventilated area to put it in:

The area should give the console enough space to breathe on all sides.
The console should be away from the floor level (especially if you have pets) and nearby air ducts like A/Cs, windows, and doors.
The console should be top a cold surface, such as wood, marble, or rock.

Reset the Power Brick

After you clean and ventilate the Xbox, you can try resetting the power brick. Resetting the power brick means erasing electrical-related bugs on the power brick.

Here’re the steps:

Unplug all of the cables from the console.
Unplug the power outlet from the wall and the power supply from the console.
Wait at least 10 seconds to let the power brick reset. We recommend waiting for ten minutes if it feels hot when you touch it.
After the time passes, plug the power supply back into the outlet, not the console.
Check the LED on the supply. The next step depends on its status (orange light, no light, or blinking orange light).

By this point, The LED should be on steady orange, indicating the supply is on standby. If this is the case:

Plug the power outlet into the Xbox One, but wait to power on the console.
Power on the console by pressing its power button.

If the power supply is not steady orange after you reset it, it is not working, and its error is independent of the Xbox. If this is the case, you must try another power outlet, buy a voltage adapter, or get a new power supply.

Try Another Power Outlet

First off, you can try a new power outlet. The one you’re using may be unreliable (perhaps the cables underneath are too weak).

So, you can try the steps above on another power outlet. If the power supply reset still doesn’t work, complete the next step.

Buy a Voltage Adapter

As I explained above, the console and the power supply may not be getting the voltage it needs. It’s common in Asian countries, some European countries, Latin America, Africa, and Australia.

In other words, mostly everywhere outside of the United States. See, the Xbox One is compatible with 110V and 220V outlets. However, finding 230V and 240V outlets is common worldwide.

You can “google” the voltage in your country and your city. But in any case, you can get a voltage adapter like one of these:

The power adapter you pick needs to deliver a 110V or 220V output. The models I selected work for 230V and 240V voltages, the most common worldwide.

However, only the original and older power supplies suffer from this error. Most, modern power supplies have built-in voltage adapters -you can skip this step and go straight to buying a new power brick.

Get a New Power Supply

As I said, the power supply on your Xbox One probably comes from a third-party manufacturer. If this happens on the Slim, the X, or other newer versions, you face the sad reality of technology: it’s fallible.

In any case, you can buy a new power supply. This is in case the unit you’re using doesn’t indicate anything on its LED light after you reset it.

Also, it’s the option after you try a voltage adapter or verify you’re using the proper voltage. It’s also the option after you try another power outlet.

Luckily, power supplies are easy to find and significantly cheap. At least, much more affordable than repairing the console or buying a new one.

Here’re two power supplies we recommend for the Xbox One:

Both these units are no-noise solutions with a built-in voltage transformer. It works worldwide, taking anything from 100 to 240V and making the console work.

Soft Reset the Xbox

You can try soft resetting the console by pressing its buttons. It will erase random bugs. So, if the problem is malware, this may fix the issue.

This is in case the console turns on but shuts off by itself.

Here’re the steps

Ensure the Xbox is connected to the power outlet.
Ensure the console is off and that there’re no discs on its disc tray.
Press and hold the following buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds: Pair + Eject + Power.
Press and hold the Pair, Eject, and Power buttons simultaneously.
If you have a digital edition (without a disc tray), these are the buttons you need to press for 10 seconds: Pair + Power + the controller’s Xbox button.
After 10 seconds, the power button should flash. Then, the Xbox button on the controller should flash as well.
After this point, hold the Pair and Power buttons for 15 more seconds.

After the process, you can try turning on the console.

Reset the Console

Also, if the console turns on but shuts off by itself, you can try resetting it via its interface:

Turn on the console.
Press the Xbox button on the controller.
Go to Profile & system.
Go to Settings.
Go to System.
Select Console Info on the right.
Select Reset console.
For this particular problem, we recommend “Reset and remove everything.” You may be dealing with severe malware, and this is a sure way to erase the problem forever.