Things You Didn't Know Your Xbox One Could Do

Xbox One allows you to connect up to eight wireless controllers to your console at once for mega-multiplayer action—but did you know that you can also combine the inputs from two controllers to act like one? With Copilot mode, you can use two Xbox One controllers linked together to control your console or play a game. The feature first launched in early 2017 for Xbox Insiders, but it's since been pushed live for all Xbox One owners.

Copilot offers a leap forward in progress for gamers with disabilities. Combining Copilot mode with controller remapping adds even more accessibility, as even paired Copilot controllers can be remapped individually. Additionally, Copilot is a great way for parents to help their kids play a single-player game by sharing the controls without the need to hand off a controller. To get started using Copilot, check out this guide.

No controller? No problem! Your Xbox One can be controlled directly from a tablet or smartphone using Microsoft's SmartGlass integration. Want to search for a show on your Xbox, or visit a website in your console's internet browser? No longer do you have to painstakingly type out each letter with the thumbsticks and buttons on your controller. Now you can just use the Xbox mobile app to connect to your console and use your device as a controller. You can browse your Xbox One's apps and games, see what your Xbox Live friends are up to, check out and share your recorded game clips, type using your phone or tablet's keyboard, and much more. Start by downloading the correct Xbox app for your mobile device's operating system: Android, iOS, or Windows. Then follow this Digital Trends guide to setup the connection to your Xbox One.

With the rollout of backwards compatibility for an ever-growing library of Original Xbox and Xbox 360 games, many Xbox One owners are revisiting their old favorites. While it's always fun rediscovering a game by starting over from scratch, you don't have to lose all of your progress just because you've upgraded to a new console. You can actually transfer and sync those save files from your 360 to your Xbox One by using cloud storage.

Cloud storage can only be used by Xbox Live Gold members, so sign up for that first. Next, follow this visual guide, which explains how to copy or move Xbox 360 save data to cloud storage. Sign into your Xbox One with the same profile, launch the game, and your console will sync automatically with the cloud save. Xbox 360s are limited to 512MB of cloud usaan ever-growing library of Original Xbox and Xbox 360 gamesge, so you might have to repeat this process a few times if you have a bunch of large save files. Once you've re-saved them on your Xbox One hard drive, you can delete the cloud saves to make room if needed. When you're done transferring all your Xbox 360 game saves, you can safely cancel your Gold membership. However, if you leave the subscription active, there's an added benefit: cloud syncing works both ways. If you make progress on a game with your Xbox One and then play it later on your Xbox 360, the older console will sync and download the new save state from the cloud.

If your child spends way too much time playing video games, then the Xbox One has a secret weapon. By using the parental control settings, you can set a limit on the amount of time a child can use the console. This feature can also come in handy if you want to limit your own gaming to help keep yourself from losing track of time and spending hours playing L.A. Noire.

Check out this great guide to making a child account and limiting screen time on your Xbox One. Make sure you take a look at the general parental control settings first and create a passkey to keep them from being "adjusted" by any enterprising minors in your household. You can put in a total hour limit, or even create a schedule designating what days and times the child account can use the Xbox One. To limit your own screen time, just make a "child" account for yourself, and sign into that profile when you want to keep your gaming or binge-watching in check. When the time runs out, a "Time's Up!" screen will appear on the console—which gives parents the option to extend screen time by overriding the limit using their passkey.

Ever since the Xbox One was first released in 2013, one of the most common complaints has been how long games take to install. Gone are the days when you could pop a new game into your system and start playing immediately. Even if your game came on a disc, you must still let your Xbox One install it to the hard drive — a process that could take hours. Microsoft put out an update to help address this issue in late 2016, but game installs can still take a long time if you don't have high-speed internet.

If you just can't wait to play a new game, then here's a sneaky Xbox One workaround you can use to speed up the installation. Press the Xbox button on your controller, then open the "Settings" menu. Go to "Network settings" and choose "Go Offline." This should disconnect your Xbox One from the internet (and Xbox Live). Put in your new game disc, and it should install just in ten to fifteen minutes—bypassing any patches or updates for the game. Keep in mind that you'll probably need those patches and updates eventually, especially if you want to play online. Just re-connect your Xbox One to the internet later and download the updates and patches at a convenient time when you aren't using the console.

Did you know that you can share the digital games you've bought for Xbox One with another console? By designating a "home" Xbox, you can access your digital games from any other Xbox One—even from a friend's house or halfway around the world. This feature allows you to share any downloaded games—even ones that are part of a subscription—with a second console. If you have an Xbox Live Gold membership, you even can share that, too! This guide from Microsoft can get you started sharing digital games between two different Xbox Ones in your household.

If you have a friend who also loves to buy their video games digitally, you can use this feature to share all of your digital games with them—and vice versa. Make sure you only do this with someone you trust, as they'll have access to your Xbox Live email and password. Start by checking out this article for detailed information about how Game Sharing works. Then follow this visual guide, which will show you how to add a friend's account to your Xbox One—allowing you to download their digital games onto your console. Finally, have your friend repeat this process on their Xbox One using your account information, which will share your digitally purchased games with them. You can only change your "Home" console three times a year, so use this feature wisely. Removing an Xbox One as your Home console will also remove remote access to that system's digital games.

Recording and editing Xbox One game clips is just one way to use Game DVR and Upload Studio. If you'd like to make a longer collection of gameplay clips, the sky's the limit with Upload Studio's "multiclip" function. You can use multiclip to string up to fifteen clips together, adjust their order, and meld them into one polished video. Want to use more than fifteen clips? Just make several multiclip videos in Upload Studio, quit and reload the app, then combine those multiclip videos together into a mega-montage. Make sure you keep the length under 30 minutes total, or you won't be able to upload it to Xbox Live from your console.

If 30 minutes just isn't enough time to showcase your formidable gaming skills, you can record clips up to 1 hour long if you have an external hard drive connected to your console. Additionally, all Xbox One owners will soon be able to record in 1080p instead of the standard 720p resolution. You can't use Upload Studio to edit and upload these super-long videos, but you can change the capture location—allowing Game DVR to put recorded clips on your external hard drive. After recording, just connect the hard drive to your PC to transfer, edit, and upload the videos manually.

Playing Assassin's Creed Origins or Forza Motorsport 7 for hours can be fun, but sometimes you just want to kill a few minutes playing something a little less engrossing. If you've got a craving for simpler games like Minesweeper or Pong, the Xbox One has you covered. You can actually use your console's web browser to play these games and other popular-yet-trivial games like Flappy Bird, Bejeweled, and many more.

Start out by downloading the free Internet Explorer app from the Xbox One store. Open up the console's browser, tap the right menu button on your controller to bring up the address bar, then type in https://playboxie.com/. The PlayBoxie website has dozens of free Flash and HTML5 games available for you to play right on your Xbox One. Even better, some games offer multiplayer support, like Super Breakout. Have fun!