Have you ever had an issue where your Xbox One Won’t Turn on but Makes Sound? Gaming is one of the sweetest escapes some of us can run to after a long, stressful day. But sometimes, there are days when even a gaming session can turn irritatingly sour.
Imagine laying on your sofa, just about ready to shoot a grunt in the face, and suddenly realizing that your Xbox One won’t turn on but makes a sound. You sit there, looking at a black screen, taken aback by the audacity of the gaming gods to provide you with such a challenge after an exhausting day.
It’s something that’s sure to frustrate anybody more than getting spawned kill repeatedly. Fret not for your mission to find the answer ends here, soldier! What exactly can you do to fix this problem?
Thankfully, you are not alone in this seemingly lonesome quest. Others have gone before you and have emerged successful! And here’s how!
How To Fix A Xbox One That Won’t Turn On But Beeps
If your Xbox One won’t turn on but makes a sound, you can try doing a power cycle or a soft reset. You can even try doing both just to be on the safe side of things! As the old saying goes, when something just doesn’t want to work, all you have to do is try turning it on and off again.
This is one of the least invasive steps you can do to your Xbox One as it doesn’t affect any of the things you have installed on your console. However, it is recommended that you try and perform the soft reset first as this step drains all of your console’s power.
Doing a Soft Reset
A soft reset helps your console with releasing built-up power from its internal components. In most cases, if your Xbox One won t turn on but makes sound this is the step that can fix it. You can do it by following the instructions below:
- Unplug your console’s power cable from the wall outlet
- Wait a quarter of a minute (about 15 seconds)
- Press the console’s power button a couple of times
This will allow your console to discharge any of the extra built-up electricity that has been stored in its capacitors. Once you are done with the steps above, try plugging your console back in to see if it works!
Doing a Power Cycle
Sometimes, a simple soft reset may not cut it. Luckily, the steps you can take don’t stop there. The next step you can do is power cycling. Doing it is also pretty easy to do, and here are the steps to do it:
- Make sure your Xbox One is turned off and press and hold the power button for about 10 seconds
- Wait until the light indicator from the power brick intermittently blinks orange and then eventually to white
- Your console would have entered standby mode once you see the light turn solid orange
- Press the power button again to wake your console up from standby mode.
Doing a Triple Button Hold
Sometimes your console may be stuck in a software loop and doing the usual fixes won’t do your Xbox One problem any good. However, there are actually a couple of button presses you can do on your Xbox One to get it to work, much like a cheat code.
But instead of giving you 30 extra lives, it gives your Xbox One another shot at making you a savior of some digital galaxy! One of the button presses you can do is the Triple Button Hold.
- Simultaneously press and hold the Power, Sync, and Eject buttons for 10 seconds
- After the initial 10 seconds, release the Eject button while still pressing both the Power and Sync buttons and give it another 15 seconds
- Release the Power and Sync buttons after the 15 seconds have elapsed
- Turn on the console by pressing and holding the Power and Sync buttons again until the unit start’s up and initiates its sync process.
Doing an Eject Button Tap
As weird as it may sound, gamers from a variety of forums claim that this step has helped fix their Xbox One issue. This is definitely one of the most unorthodox troubleshooting steps out there. But if all the things you have tried doing at this point didn’t solve your issue, then this is definitely worth giving it a whirl.
You can do it by following the complicated step below.
- Tap on your console’s eject button a total of 10 times in a row.
Expert Tip: As a side note, you don’t need to have any discs loaded into the tray for this to work. As the people who claimed this has worked for them had said, this might just be enough for your console to break away from its software loop.
Common reasons for Xbox One not turning on
There are a variety of reasons why your Xbox One won’t turn on but makes a sound. Some are very common and have happened to a lot of people and there are also those that do not happen much, but in the right circumstances, can happen to anybody.
Overheating due to Poor Ventilation
This is already a common issue, especially for gamers running on energy drinks. Leaving your console on for a very long time may lead to severe overheating, even worse if your console can’t properly ventilate.
Giving yourself and your console a break is the easiest solution for this problem. You can also prevent overheating by making sure your console’s ventilation system is free from dust or any foreign debris, like pet hairs!
A soft brush should be able to do the trick. Even better if you use compressed air to blow off any debris your brush can’t reach.
Power Issues Caused by the Brick and Cable
Sometimes, the issue may be caused by something as simple as the brick or cable not supplying enough power to the console itself. This can be due to wear and tear, or the hardware itself is simply no longer functional. In these cases, the best solution is to get a replacement brick or cable and start gaming away.
Power Issues caused by the Internal PSU
Suppose your console’s power brick and cable are working properly. In that case, you may need to look into another piece of hardware, that being its internal PSU. Over time, this crucial piece of hardware may become faulty for various reasons.
If your gaming skills come bundled with tech repairs, and you have a spare unit lying around, this can be an easy fix as all you have to do is swap the PSU with a working one and you can be on your way.
However, if you do not have the necessary skills or spare parts, it is more advisable to purchase another Xbox One instead as the repairs can get pretty costly.
Faulty Motherboard
Although rare in occurrence, sometimes moisture can find its way into your console. It may be due to condensation as a result of temperature changes, an issue with the console’s internal liquid cooling system, or one clumsy human.
Nevertheless, if there is one thing science can tell us about this, is that electricity and wet equipment don’t mix. Thankfully, there are a couple of ways you can try to fix this. The easiest way would be by letting it dry out.
Place your console on its side and let any moisture drip out If you know your way around with a screwdriver, you can even tear your console apart (very carefully) to let each individual piece dry out, even better and quicker if you put them in rice!
You can also use a more common tool, like a hairdryer to help your console dry out quicker. Don’t worry if you don’t have any of these, as you can dry it out the natural way. Just leave you to console unplugged and you can air dry it for a couple of days.
Two to three days should be long enough, you can even leave it out for longer if you’re unsure. Don’t forget to eject any discs you may have left in your console. Surely you wouldn’t want a busted game disc with your busted console.
Just make sure that your Xbox One is completely dry before plugging anything back in as wet equipment may lead to shorts that could fry your console. It could be a problem if your area is naturally humid. Thankfully there is equipment made to combat just that.
Expert Tip: If you can get yourself a dehumidifier, not only will it help decrease humidity, but it also helps prevent moisture build-up, saving you a lot of headaches and possibly, cash meant for repairs.
Make sure to also place your console and its accessories in a spacious area away from anywhere that puts them at risk of getting damaged by anything remotely wet.
If you have kids or pets at home, try to stow your Xbox One away where it’s out of reach because the least you would want to happen is baby formula spilling all over your equipment, or worse, pet pee!
Always remember to keep your console away from anything wet that can damage it. The issue with water-damaged consoles may vary. Some Xbox One won’t turn on but makes a sound, while others may refuse to turn on entirely!
The motherboard is a sensitive piece of equipment, and it’s always to take a proactive stance rather than being reactive.
Turning Off the Instant On Option
Most times, people assume that issues with gaming consoles such as the Xbox One are hardware in nature. There are a couple of people who have overlooked the software aspect and some may even forget that their Xbox One can be configured to behave a certain way like turning it off by itself.
Some may believe this to be an issue, but it’s actually a system setting that you can still change. Here are the steps to configure it:
- Log into your Xbox One
- Head over to Settings and look for Power & Start-Up
- Set the Instant On option to Energy-Save
- Turn off Auto-Shutdown
It is worth noting that this is a setting that you can mess with only if you still have access to Xbox and just simply wondering why your console turns off on its own. That means, if it doesn’t turn on completely, then it must be something else, and you’re better off checking the steps mentioned above.
Conclusion
Having to deal with issues with your Xbox One can sound daunting at first, but you can rest easy knowing that you aren’t alone in this ordeal. Other people have had this issue before and have shared the quickest and most common way to solve the issue.
The easiest is by trying to do a soft reset and a power cycle, both of which are non-invasive steps that usually fix the issue outright.
If that doesn’t do the trick, be sure to remember the several button presses (like a cheat code!) that can help get your console out of the software loop. And then, there is also a matter of just having to replace some pieces of the hardware itself like the power brick, power cable, and PSU.
But make sure not to forget about the motherboard and the issues that may cause it to malfunction. As long as you prevent any moisture damage, you should be all set. It can also be pretty helpful if you have a humidifier to help keep your console safe from moisture in the air.
If the worse comes to worst and your console’s motherboard takes a hit from moisture, be sure to let it dry before powering up your console again. Be sure to also remember that if your console keeps turning off for some reason, it could be a setting that you completely forgot about!
However, there are times that the damage done to your console is irreversible. In those cases, it might be better to have it professionally repaired, or maybe even consider buying a new one.
Regardless, once you get everything back up, just always remember to take care of your console. Game away! There’s a galaxy in need of saving out there!