Dev Mode Guide

Guide Author: Jeen

Preliminary Steps

Important notes

  • If you are in the Xbox Update Preview program, ensure that you exit it before switching on Dev Mode. This step helps in preventing the E208 error. Here’s how to exit:
    • Open the Xbox Insider App.
    • Navigate to Xbox Update Preview > Manage > Leave Preview.
    • Update your console through settings.
  • Switching between Dev and Retail Modes deletes your Quick Resume states and any local captures. To save captures, use an external USB drive.

Purchasing Microsoft Developer Account

What You Need

  • An Xbox One or Series console
  • A Windows 10/11 PC or VM
  • USB drive for storing files

Steps:

  1. Visit the developer sign-up site and click Create a developer account.
  2. If the page does not load for you, try this alternative link.
  3. If it asks you to join a program to unlock new opportunities, select Windows and Xbox.
  4. Choose your country and select Individual.
  5. Fill in all required fields.
  6. Input your billing information. (Note: If there is a problem processing your payment, please try again later with a different account or payment method).

Unstable method for buying a developer account at a lower price

Important note

This section has a high chance of not working. There’s no fix for this.

Steps:

  1. Sign Out of Outlook: Open Outlook on your device and make sure you are signed out.
  2. Access Registration Page: Visit the Microsoft Developer registration page by clicking on this link: https://developer.microsoft.com/store/register
  3. Initiate Sign-Up Process: On the registration page, find and click the [SIGN UP] button.
  4. Create a New Account: When you see the option to “Create One!”, click it to start creating a new account.
  5. Set Up Email and Password: Follow the instructions to create a new email address and password. These will be your Microsoft Developer account credentials.
  6. Select Region/Country for Payment Method:
    • Choose Argentina when using a MasterCard.
    • Select Turkey if you are using a Visa card.
  7. Provide Postal Code: Use the postal code L6700 for Argentina. For Turkey, use 06000.
    • Some users report success using a generator for this information.
  8. Enter Date of Birth and Address: Any date of birth is acceptable. For the address, you can use “…” or any placeholder if you prefer.
  9. Payment Information for Dev Mode: Enter your card details, including the card number, expiry date, and CVV.
    • Use “…” or fake information for the address, but the postal code should be L6700 for MasterCard. For Visa, use a Turkish postal code.
    • Choose Argentina when using a MasterCard.
    • Select Turkey if you are using a Visa card.

Setting up USB drive for emulation

Manual instructions for formatting and adding permissions

Important notes:

  • This is a guaranteed method of successfully preparing your USB drive for emulation.
  • You MUST have access to a Windows PC or virtual machine to perform this setup properly.

Steps

  1. Format your USB drive to NTFS
    • Connect your USB/external drive to your PC
    • Right-click on your USB and select Format
    • Then click File System and select NTFS.
    • Now select Start at the bottom
  2. After formatting, right click on your drive -> select Properties and then select the Security tab at the top.
  3. Go to Advanced > Add > Select Principal > Advanced > Find Now > ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES > OK > Tick the Full Control box > OK > Tick Replace all child object permission entries box > OK
  4. You will get an error about System Volume Information, click continue and ignore it.
  5. Once you have connected the newly formatted drive to your Xbox, you must set it as Media! (DO NOT SELECT GAMES AND APPs).

Using the XboxMediaUSB

Important notes:

  • XboxMediaUSB is not applying the correct permissions for some users. To resolve this, you will need to do this manually using the instructions above.

Steps:

  1. Go to the GitHub.
  2. Download the latest version of XboxMediaUSB and extract it.
  3. Open XboxMediaUSB.exe.
  4. Select your USB drive and click Format USB.
  5. Safely eject the drive once it’s ready.

Installing Dev Mode on Xbox

Initial setup

  1. Go to the Microsoft Store and search for Xbox Dev Mode.
  2. Install and open the app.
  3. You’ll receive a code and a link to enter it.
  4. On your PC, go to the link (https://aka.ms/activatexbox) and enter the code.
  5. Your console will now activate Dev Mode and restart.

Configuration

First Setup:

  1. After a restart, go to Manage Dev Storage and allocate at least 5GB to Dev Mode.
  2. Restart the console to apply these changes.

Connect to Internet:

  1. Go to Settings > Network Settings > Set up wireless network (or use Ethernet).
  2. Once connected, proceed to configure remote access.

Remote Access via PC

Steps:

  1. Enable Xbox Device Portal: Go to Settings > Remote Access Settings and enable this feature.
  2. If you want to add a layer of security, select the box for Require Authentication and set up a username and password.

Accessing Xbox Device Portal

From PC:

  1. In a web browser, enter the Device Portal link shown on your Xbox.
  2. Ignore the security warning and proceed anyway.

What you can do in Device Portal:

  • Install emulators, manage files, change system settings, and more.

Installing Emulators

Download Emulators:

  1. Download emulators such as Dolphin and RetroArch from Xbox Dev Store.
  2. Extract the emulator files on your desktop.

Upload to Xbox:

  1. In the Device Portal, click the green Add button.
  2. Drag the emulator files (e.g., Dolphin APPX file) and any required dependency files (These dependency files will be x64).
  3. Click Next and follow the installation steps.