Technology

How to . . . upgrade your console’s storage

Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch: how to get more memory for your system

Photograph: iStock

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Ciara O'Brien
Sat Dec 29 2018 - 17:13

These days, most things are customisable. And when it comes to the storage capacity of your games consoles, there is no exception. If you find you are running short of space, a few euro and a few minutes of your time will see things expanded significantly.

Xbox One

Extending your Xbox One storage is reasonably easy. First, you need a USB drive that has USB 3.0 and is at least 256GB in size.

Switch on your Xbox One. Plug the drive into one of the USB ports on the console, then go to System>Settings>System> Storage. Select your external drive. Choose Format for Games & Apps>Format Storage Device.

You will then be asked to give your drive a name, and if you want it to be the default storage for games and apps. Then select Format Storage Device. Your data will now be stored on your external device.

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PlayStation 4

You can connect an external storage drive to your PS4 to use it to store your applications. To do so though, there are a few requirements. First, your PS4 must have system software version 4.5 or later, and the external drive must have USB 3.0 or later, a minimum of 250GB of storage and a maximum of 8TB.

First, you need to format the drive for use as extended storage. On your console, connect the drive and then go to Settings>Devices>USB Storage Devices. Choose your drive and select Format as Extended Storage.

To change the install location of applications, select Settings>Storage, and press the options button. Select Application Install Location>Extended Storage. Your applications will now install on your external drive.

Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch comes with 32GB of on-board storage, but some of this is taken up by the system. If you find that doesn’t cut it, you can add a memory card to expand your storage space. The good news? The system takes a standard microSD card. That means all those cards you have lying around from your Android devices will work in your Nintendo Switch. The Switch supports microSDHC or microSDXC cards up to 2TB - that adds up to a lot of extra space.

To add a memory card to your Switch, you need to find the card slot. It’s located under the stand, so swing out the stand to expose the slot. Position the card with the label facing away from the console, and push it gently into the slot.

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