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How-To
November 12, 2015

How to stream Xbox One games to your Windows 10 Surface or Surface Book



With Windows 10, your Wi-Fi connected Surface becomes a remote second screen so you can play in every room of your house.

Screenshot from Halo 5: Guardians

Imagine this scenario: Your kids are determined to get to the next level of Halo 5: Guardians on their Xbox One, but you want to watch a movie on the family room TV. Avoid family anguish by lending them your Surface or Surface Book so they can continue the battle in the next room.

Thanks to Windows 10, you can stream your Xbox One games and dashboard to your Surface or Surface Book as long as you stay on the same home network.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Turn on Game Streaming on your Xbox One

Enable Game Streaming on your Xbox One by going to Settings, selecting preferences, and checking “Allow game streaming to other devices (beta)” as well as either “Enable the SmartGlass connection from any SmartGlass device” or “Only from profiles signed in on this Xbox.”

Screenshot of Xbox One preferences screen

Step 2: Launch the Xbox app on your Surface

  • Under apps, launch the Xbox app.
  • Sign into your Xbox Live account.
  • Select Connect from the panel on the left side.
  • The Xbox app will scan your home network for available Xbox One consoles. Select the name of the console you want to connect. (If you have multiple consoles, rename them from the pre-named “MyXboxOne” to tell them apart.)
  • Once connected, you’ll see options for streaming, power, and media remotes.

Step 3: Connect an Xbox One controller to your Surface

You have two options:

  • Connect the USB charging cable of your Xbox One controller to your Surface.
  • Plug in a Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows to play your games without wires. This wireless adapter can handle up to eight controllers, four chat headsets, and two stereo headsets.
Xbox One Wireless adapter

 

 

  • Plug a chat headset into your Xbox One controller or USB headset into your Surface before you begin streaming. Be sure to make the headset your default playback and recording device by going into the Control Panel of your Surface, selecting Hardware and Sound, and then opening Manage Audio Devices.

Step 4: Start playing!

Once your Xbox One and Surface are connected, tap the Stream option next to the name of your Xbox One in the Xbox app. Your Surface should then bring up the Xbox One interface exactly how it appears on your Xbox One!

At this point, you should switch to the Xbox One controller to navigate the Xbox One interface. Just choose a game and start playing like you would on your Xbox One. 

Limbo screenshot
The platform game “Limbo” ran perfectly on our Surface Book.

For best results

To get the best possible play experience, we recommend using a fast 5GHz wireless network and locating both your Xbox One and Surface in the same room as your wireless router.

If you need more help in connecting your Xbox One to your Windows 10-powered PC or tablet, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson walks you through the process in the video below.