Worried because your Xbox keeps making a buzzing, electrical sound even when it’s completely turned off? This is a quite common and easily fixable problem, so you don’t need to worry about saying goodbye to your beloved console just yet.
You can stop your Xbox from making a buzzing sound when it’s turned off by disabling the ‘Instant On’ mode from your console’s settings. The instant on feature keeps your console idling and ready to go, but obviously this leads to increased power use and that pesky sound of the console running.
Let’s look at what Xbox’s ‘Instant On’ mode does, how you can turn this mode off, and why else your console might be making strange noises. Some get a lot of value from this feature, but if it’s distracting you that means it’s really more of a bug in your case! Luckily it’s super easy to disable.
What Is Instant On in Xbox?
If you’ve set your console to ‘Instant On’, then your Xbox will make a buzzing sound when it’s turned off. This is because this mode does not fully power off the console, instead, it just keeps it dormant.
‘Instant On’ allows you to quickly boot up the console and download updates while it’s off. With this mode, you can also wake your Xbox with your voice, and turn on cable and TV with your console.
How Can You Turn Off Instant on to Stop Xbox From Making Sound When It’s Off?
Here’s what you need to do to turn off Instant On:
- Press your controller’s Xbox button to open the guide.
- Choose Profile & System.
- Select Settings, and then click on General.
- Select Power mode & start-up
- Under Power Options, choose the Power mode, and then press your controller’s ‘A’ button to toggle between energy-saving and instant-on.
Why Else Might Your Xbox Make Noise?
Your Xbox does not turn off instantly after you press the off button. Instead, it performs a few functions which can be why your Xbox keeps making noise.
Most of the time, it cools down, installs updates, and ensures everything is functioning properly before turning off completely. Occasionally, it also performs a full system check and connects and disconnects itself from the internet to ensure everything is working properly.