You can't put Linux on an Xbox One Series X. The security system prevents running unsigned code and the bootloader will only boot the Xbox operating system. There has never been an exploit found for the Xbox One Series X or S for unlocking the bootloader.
this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2026
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Xbox One Series X or S
I think there's a bit of confusion due to Microsoft's insane naming conventions. These consoles exist:
- Xbox One
- Xbox One X
- Xbox Series S
- Xbox Series X
OP is talking about (2).
Technically there has been an exploit found:
But it might be only for (1) and it's not clear if there's a practical way to use it yet.
I've wondered about the names for years, never enough to search it. They really did a godawful job. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 works as does adding Super or whatever. Thanks for listing them out
Its worse.
- Xbox
- Xbox 360
- Xbox One
- Xbox One S|X
- Xbox Series S|X
I am expecting the next generation to be Xbox Series 2 X|S
It should be Xbox Parallel X|S
~Because electricity runs in series or parallel. /s~
Why do they suck so much at branding? I have no idea which is newer or more powerful. Just call it Copilot Games + number from now on.
Ah, dang. Yeah I worded mine to mean the Series X because I thought they were talking about that. I forgot about the non Series X.
On that exploit, yeah I think it's just the first Xbox One. And given it's soldering and applying voltages right to the chip, and it's nowhere near developed to booting a different OS, it might as well be non-existent at this point
They can use it bit it will take around 10 years or so
Yeah, I’m starting to realize this via my research. This is very disappointing (but not surprising).
What a waste.
I guess you could wait until it is cracked. But by then, I think it is best to use a old pc.
You say also if RAM can be upgraded. Consoles are not like PCs in terms of customizations. Only the old ones that have been cracked. You can't.
But your enthusiasm is there. That's cool.
And this is why we don't buy consoles.
Sell it and get a uFF or sFF PC. $200 at most - and even cheaper if you scope it right. It should be cost neutral swap.
I tried this a long time ago. My conclusion was that there is not really a way to install Linux on the Xbox One. There have been reports that have run Linux inside of a jail/VM, but things don't seem to mesh correctly like network connectivity. There is a whole hacking and modding the boot chain. I gave up. LOL
Perhaps there has been progress since I last tried. Also, very possible, I didn't have the skills to pull it off. Perhaps someone else will chime in.
Just find an old office PC. It'll do just as much as (if not more than) an Xbox One X, which runs even older hardware.
You can't really install Linux
I would just get a old workstation
A lot of people start with old Dell Optiplexes for self hosting because businesses dump them on the market cheap when they get old. But an old PC will work just fine as a server. I think the 7040 is a good buy, you could maybe go even older. I have a computer with a Haswell era cpu still being useful.
You can find the nicest CPU they’ll take for a couple bucks on eBay too.
Dell Optiplexe
Picked up a 7020 with the i7-4790 for $125 + an additional $50 USD for 32 GB RAM. I'm running 52 containers on it, and it doesn't break a sweat. Plus, it costs about $8 USD in electricity. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.
Years ago, I had the option of the 7020 or the lenovo m93p tiny.
I chose...poorly.
Well, poorly by sane standards. Perfectly sane by "squeeze blood from stone" standards. For better or worse, I fell in love with the usFF PC and turn my nose up at anything over 2L case size now. Too big, too loud, too hot.
Speaking of, I'm having a powerful urge to replace my smart phone with this now
https://www.hackster.io/etolocka/m5stack-papers3-overview-and-getting-started-3375f3
Why? Its a sickness. But damn...how cool would that thing be with your own apps? A modern day PDA, with WiFi, LoRA, BT? Battery life measured in weeks? Hell, I could gut my old Psion 5, throw this in...chefs kiss.
(Oh lawd, hide the credit cards).
(Oh lawd, hide the credit cards).
LOL!
7020 with the i7-4790
I've got a pair of those in my basement closet just waiting for something to do. The 4790 will always have a special place in my heart 😂
The 4790 will always have a special place in my heart 😂
I was actually pleasantly surprised. I had two Dell T320, which are good too, but put out a lot of heat, and cost about $40 USD/month to run. So I decommissioned one, and am now looking to purchase an additional 7020 and decommission the other T320. Don't know what to do with the T320s tho. Nobody on ebay would be willing to pay what it cost to ship a boat anchor. The money I'll save in electricity costs will more than cover the price of admission.
Afaik, this is not possible yet. There hasn't been a way to bypass the security measures yet, unlike with the bug in the tegra chip of the switch, or the exploit for the ps5 (or 4?) that got well known recently. Until such time, what you're looking to do is borderline impossible.
I always get mixed up with Xbox naming conventions (heaven forbid Microsoft went something simple like Xbox 1,2,3 etc) but are you sure that Xbox can run Linux?
If the answer to that is no, all else is moot. Better to get a tiny/micro/mini for $100 and go from there.
Also... I have to imagine that Xbox sucks down power from the wall, prodigiously, compared to the kind of Linux / server compute it gives you.
Sell it. Get a PC.