Developer Mode Activation App FAQ

Download the Developer Mode Activation App from the Store on your Xbox One console, and then follow the Xbox One Developer Mode Activation instructions.

If you’re part of the Xbox One Preview program, you’ll need to leave that program before you can join this one. If you decide that you don't want to get Preview updates anymore, you can opt out from the Xbox Preview Dashboard app.

Here's how to remove your console from the Xbox Preview program:

1. Open the Xbox Preview Dashboard app.
2. Select Registration.
3. Under Manage flights, select Change.

   Note If you have more than one console in the program, you can change their statuses by using Manage other consoles.

4. Under Manage programs, select Remove, and then select Submit. You'll be prompted to select a reason for leaving.

If you run into any issues, post in the private Xbox Early Access forums for help.

Note It will take one business day after requesting to be removed from the Preview Program for your request to process. Until then, you will not be able to download the app, and your console's status will show as Pending.

You must have a Developer Center account before you can activate the Developer Mode Activation App on your console. There is a fee to create your Developer Center account. For more information, go to dev.windows.com/en-us/registration/AccountInfo to create your Developer Center account.

You should have full access to the Developer Mode Activation App within minutes after activation. However, there might be times when the process might take a little longer to complete.

If you’re having trouble connecting to your Xbox One with Visual Studio, you might be running your console in Retail mode, not Developer mode. When your console is in Retail mode, you can't connect to your Xbox One using Visual Studio.

To check what mode your console is in, press the Xbox button  on your controller, and then scroll right to Dev Home. If you see Gold/Live content instead of Dev Home on your screen, you’re in Retail mode. To switch to Developer mode, run the Developer Mode Activation App.

For more information, see Fixing deployment failures.

To learn more about Retail mode and Developer mode, see the Xbox One Developer Mode Activation page.

No, while in Developer mode your games and apps will not work. You can switch from Developer mode to Retail mode to play your games and apps. For more information, see the Xbox One Developer Mode Activation page.

Caution The Xbox Developer Preview System Update includes experimental and early pre-release software. This means that some popular games and apps will not work as expected, and you may experience occasional crashes and data loss.

If your games and apps aren't working or if you don't have access to the Store, Community, OneGuide, or Xbox Live services, you're probably running in Developer mode. To check which mode you’re running, press the Xbox button  to open the guide, select Home, and then scroll right on the Home screen to Dev Home. If you see Gold/Live content instead of Dev Home on your screen, you're in Retail mode.

To play games, switch back to Retail mode. For details, see the Xbox One Developer Mode Activation page.

If you decide to leave the Developer Preview Program, you’ll have to do a factory reset on your Xbox One console. When you do a factory reset, all the content on your console is erased. If that happens, you’ll have to reinstall all your games and apps. As long as you were online when you played your games, your Xbox profile, games achievements, gamerscore, and avatar are saved, and you won't lose them.

With this release, you can't publish your apps. You’ll be able to publish your apps in a subsequent release. This release is intended to give developers early access to developer tools so they have time to code their apps before the final product/release.

See the Xbox One Developer Mode Deactivation topic for details on how to leave the Developer Preview Program.

If you no longer have access to your Xbox One, you can deactivate it from Windows Developer Center. For more information, see "Deactivating your console through Windows Development Center" at Xbox One Developer Mode Deactivation.

If you're still in Developer mode after you leave the Developer Preview Program, start Dev Home, and press the Leave developer mode button. This will reboot your console in Retail mode. For more information, go to the Xbox One Developer Mode Activation page.

Publishing for apps will be available through Development Center later in the year. The Universal Windows (UWP) apps that are created and tested on a retail Xbox One will go through the same review and publication process that Windows conducts today, with additional reviews to meet Xbox One standards.

You can use UWP and your Xbox One in Developer mode to build and test your games on your Xbox One. To publish UWP games, you must register at ID@Xbox.

ID@Xbox provides developers full access to Xbox Live APIs for their games, including gamerscore and achievements, as well as the ability to take advantage of multiplayer gaming between devices, cloud saves, and all the features of the Xbox Live service on Xbox One. ID@Xbox can also provide access to Xbox One development kits for games that require access to the maximum potential of the Xbox One hardware.

For information about the availability of the UWAP API surface for Xbox One, see the Known issues page for this preview release.

For more information about how the standard game engines will work, see the Known issues page for this preview release.

For information about the capabilities and system resources that are available, see System resources for UWP apps and games on Xbox One.

To learn more about how to start and use Dev Home, see Introduction to Xbox One Tools.

For additional help or answers, view the UWP Xbox apps frequently asked questions.

For additional information, see the UWP Xbox apps Known issues and the Developing Universal Windows apps forum.