As a Windows-based device, the Xbox has a lot in common with a regular Windows PC. Xbox is one of the best consoles for interacting with Windows PCs, with the ability to stream games, share media, and more. If you want a flawless multimedia experience, it makes sense to pair your Xbox and Windows PC.
If you have the correct network setup, connecting your Xbox to your PC is easy. You will need both devices on the same network, and if you want to stream content an Ethernet connection is preferred. If you want to know how to connect Xbox to Windows PC, here’s what you need to do.
Connect Xbox to Windows PC using Xbox app
The Xbox Console Companion app gives you complete control over your Xbox One console from your Windows PC. It lets you start or shut down your Xbox, stream Xbox games to your PC over a local network connection, install or uninstall games, and chat with your Xbox game friends.
Xbox Console Companion is installed on all Windows PCs as part of Microsoft’s plan to further integrate the two services. If you have a local user account, you need to sign in using your Microsoft account in order to use the app – existing Microsoft account users should find that the app logs in automatically.
- While the Xbox App is associated with your Microsoft account, it will not automatically connect to your Xbox – you will need to do it manually. To do this, click the Connect icon in the left menu of the Xbox app on your PC.
- In the Connect to Xbox One window, click the Add Device icon in the upper right corner.
- Windows will automatically search for your Xbox One console. If he finds it, click the “Connect” button. If you need to do this manually, enter the Xbox IP address in the provided field, then click Connect to connect to it.
- If you are unable to connect, you may need to allow streaming connections in your Xbox settings. To do this, open your Xbox Settings and choose Devices & Streaming> Device Connections. Make sure your Xbox settings are selected or enabled for Allow playback to stream, Allow games to be streamed to other devices, and Only from profiles signed in to this console.
- After adding the Xbox, you should see it listed under the Connections tab. From here, you can turn your Xbox on or off, watch the currently open game or app, check the streaming quality, or stream your Xbox to your PC by pressing Stream.
Stream Xbox Games to Windows PC
You can stream Xbox games to your PC from the Connections tab in the Xbox Console Companion app.
- On the Connections tab, click the Stream button to start streaming from your Xbox One console to your computer.
- Once you’ve set up a stream, you’ll need to decide if you want to connect your Xbox One controller to your PC or continue to control it from your Xbox. If your Xbox is a little further away, you can connect it to your computer. When you’re ready to proceed, click Continue.
- Using an Xbox controller, you can navigate the Xbox One menus as usual. Play a game by selecting it from the My Games & Apps menu.
Stream media content to Xbox using Microsoft Movies & TV
While most users are likely to be interested in connecting and controlling their Xbox to a PC for gameplay reasons, you can stream other multimedia content to the Xbox using the PlayTo feature. This allows other PlayTo-enabled apps to stream content from Windows to Xbox (and vice versa).
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- You need to make sure PlayTo streaming is enabled first. To do this, open your Xbox Settings and go to Devices and Streaming> Device Connections, making sure Allow playback for streaming is turned on.
- In Windows Settings (right-click the Start menu and click Settings to open it), click Devices> Bluetooth & Other Devices> Add Bluetooth or Other Device.
- From the Add Device menu, select your Xbox One console from the list after the scan is complete.
- Windows will confirm that the connection has been established. Click “Finish” to confirm.
You can now stream content from the Microsoft Movies & TV multimedia application. To do this, you need the same app installed on both Xbox and PC.
- To do this, in the Movies & TV app, click the three-dot menu icon in the lower-right corner of the play bar while content is playing. In the options menu, click Cast to Device.
- From the Connect menu, select your connected Xbox One. The Movies & TV app opens on your Xbox and content is streamed from your PC for playback.
Stream media content to Xbox using Kodi
If you prefer to use alternative multimedia apps, apps like Kodi can be installed on the Xbox. Kodi supports a full range of media playback options, including the ability to access network shares from a Windows PC or other network storage devices.
- On Windows, you can share any folder by right-clicking it and clicking Properties. On the Sharing tab, click Share to share the folder, and make sure a user account is selected in the next window.
- On Kodi on Xbox, you need to enable network sharing using the SMB protocol used by Windows. To do this, go to Settings> Add-ons> My Add-ons> Virtual Filesystems and select the SMB Support (libsmb2) option.
- In the plugin options window, click “Enable” to enable the plugin.
- With SMB enabled, you can now access Windows network shares from the Settings> File Manager menu in Kodi Then click “Add Source”.
- In the Add File Source window, click Browse.
- In the Browse New Share window, select Windows Networking (SMB).
- A list of your network devices will appear. Find your computer here, then select the network share from the list of options before clicking OK.
- If you need to provide a username and password to connect, select Add network location instead. Select Windows Networking (SMB) from the Protocol drop-down menu, then select a location, username and password using the options provided.
After adding a Share to your Kodi settings, you should see it listed in the various media categories (for example, Videos> Files) on the Kodi home screen. From there, you can select any media to play from your PC to Xbox.
Xbox game from Windows PC
Now that you know how to connect your Xbox to your Windows PC, you can take full advantage of the multimedia capabilities of both devices. With the Xbox app, you can stream and control your Xbox from your PC, as well as stream other types of multimedia content from your PC to your Xbox in a different way.
For fans of classic games, the Xbox is the perfect excuse to pick up a controller with excellent backward compatibility with older Xbox consoles. If you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you can even play Game Pass games on your PC by sharing with your Microsoft account.
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