There’s an error of legends, a terrible problem that may force you to reset the Xbox. It may be your best option if turning on your device delivers an Xbox One stuck on a green screen.
The problem may happen immediately after turning on the console. Alternatively, it may interrupt the console as you play. Then, the green loading screen may crash to black.
The nickname for this problem is “Xbox Green Screen of Death.” It’s a bit of an exaggeration, though. There’re effective solutions and fixes. These solutions revolve around resetting the Xbox and cleaning up the database.
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Xbox One Stuck on Green Screen Causes
The solutions are permanent and may take a while. So we want to make your job easier by listing the causes. There’s a chance you may identify your problem, which may lead you to the specific fix you want.
The error may happen on the Xbox One or Xbox Series console families. Often, it’s a booting failure. The result is seeing the green loading screen with no signs of changing.
- Storage Errors: Whenever you turn on the console, the system searches for the files it needs to load. If the drive is corrupted, the console will experience read-write errors, which makes it unable to access the dashboard.
- Integrity Check: Similarly, after the console shuts down abruptly, it will perform an integrity check when it boots up. The process verifies everything is okay and can become stuck due to random bugs.
- Random Bugs: Other unknown elements, like glitches and bugs, may be causing the error.
- Interrupted Updates: The most common problem happens after an update download or install is interrupted. That might mean a power surge or unreliable internet. The problem happens because the update process replaces key system files, so your console may be missing some of these files.
- Uncussestup Updates: The error may also occur if an interruption occurs during an update download or install. The process erases and replaces key system files. So, an interruption can leave a real mess. Perhaps the console shut down during the process or lost its internet connection.
- Server Errors: It’s not common, but they could be on Microsoft’s servers. It leads to software malfunctions, like the Green Screen Of Death.
- Hardware Damage: The console has internal hardware damage. Key pieces like the motherboard may need a replacement.
How to Fix Xbox One Stuck on Green Screen?
It would be best to start the troubleshooting by confirming your console’s possible problem.
Afterward, you may try the specific solution you think you need. Alternatively, try the fixes, one by one, until you find the one that works.
Power Cycle the Console
A power cycle would be the solution if your console suffered an abrupt shutdown. It resets the console’s cache and erases power bugs and other potential random bugs.
- Press and hold the power button on the console for a couple of seconds.
- Unplug all of its cables for five minutes.
- Plug back all of its cables.
- Turn on the console again.
The process allows the Xbox to do an integrity check after it boots. Therefore, it will allow it to find the files it needs to open the system again.
Bypass the System Integrity Check and Update the Xbox
The Xbox green loading screen detects, recovers, and uses the files it needs to work. Whenever there’re corrupted files, it means something is amiss, and it can’t start.
That doesn’t mean the Xbox can’t work. In fact, you may be dealing with random bugs rather than missing files.
So, we’re trying to bypass the integrity check. After bypassing the check, we can try updating the console normally to fix the issue permanently.
First, here’s how to bypass the check.
- Turn on the console by pressing and holding the power button.
- Connect the controller to the console with its USB cable.
- Press the Xbox button on your controller.
- Press and hold the Menu button on the controller for about five seconds.
- Take the battery out of the controller.
After bypassing the loading screen, let’s try updating the console:
- Once you’re on your dashboard, press the Xbox button on your controller.
- Go to Profile & System.
- Select Settings.
- Select System.
- Select Updates.
- If there’s an update available, follow the process to download and install it.
Suppose there’s no update available, but the system booted into a very slow loading screen. In that case, you may try to reset it with its menu:
- Press the Xbox button on your controller.
- Go back to Profile & system.
- Select Settings.
- Select System.
- Select Console Info.
- Select Reset console.
- Select Reset And Keep My Games & Apps.
If the problem persists, move on to the next solution.
Soft Reset the Console With the Buttons
A soft reset is similar to a power cycle. So, its purpose is to erase random bugs and glitches. Here’s what you can do:
- Make sure the console has no discs inside.
- Press and hold the Eject, Power, and Pair buttons simultaneously until you hear the first beep. If the console doesn’t have an Eject button, press the Power and Pair buttons simultaneously.
- After a first beep, the power button will flash. Here, release the Ehect button or the Pair button if there’s no Eject.
Afterward, check if the console goes past the loading screen. If it does, update the system, or restore it.
Update the System via the Xbox Troubleshooter
The second option may take some time. Updating the Xbox console with a USB drive is not as easy as updating a PS4 with a USB.
Still, it’s the solution if your console fails after an update interruption. Also, the process may erase all of your data. Here’re the steps:
- Get a USB drive with at least 8GB of empty space.
- Plug the drive on your PC.
- Format the drive to “NTFS.” To format the drive, right-click the item on “This PC” and select “Format.”
- Download this file: OSU1. It’s a ZIP file, so you need ZIP software (like WinZip or BreeZip). You can find it on Xbox’s official offline update site.
- Extract the $SystemUpdate file and copy it into the USB drive.
- Safely eject the pen drive from your PC.
- Plug your drive into the Xbox. The Xbox should be off at this point.
- Launch the console’s troubleshooting mode. You do it by pressing the Pair, Eject, and Power buttons simultaneously until you hear 2 beeping sounds. If the console doesn’t have an Eject button, press the Pair and Power buttons simultaneously.
- Select Offline System Update.
- Wait for the process to finish.
Here’s a full guide on updating the Xbox with a USB drive. It will cover up additional problems you may find during the process.
Factory Reset the Console
If you go through the Xbox offline update guide and the process doesn’t work, your next option will erase all your data.
See, the PS4 and the PS5 have an option to clean up the database from its Safe Mode troubleshooter. The Xbox does not, so you’re forced to reset the system:
- Power off your Xbox by pressing and holding the power button for 10 seconds.
- After it’s off, start the troubleshooting mode as I explained above. In the specific, press the Pair, Eject, and Power buttons simultaneously. Wait until you hear 2 beeps before releasing the buttons.
- Select Reset this Xbox.
- Select “Factory reset.” Afterward, it will allow you to keep or erase your installed games.
- Wait for the process to finish.
Afterward, turn on the console normally, and try it again.
Take the console for repairs or change the hard drive
If none of the options below worked, there’s no guarantee that changing the storage would fix the issue. A professional would identify the existence of the real culprit if that were the case.
As I said above, the problem commonly occurs in storage. That said, for the Xbox One, you can get any HDD drive ranging from 250GB to 8TB. The Xbox Series uses a proprietary internal SDD, so only a repair would do the trick.
But, changing the HDD on either console family is delicate, so we recommend you take the console as a professional rather than doing it yourself.
Then, after putting in a new HDD, you have to install the system software. You’d do it with the OSU1 file I explained above on a USB drive. It’s the same steps as an offline update.
Lastly, you can manage your storage with additional external hard drives after you change the HDD.
