How do I share my Xbox account, games, and Xbox Game Pass? If you just bought yourself an Xbox Series X or an Xbox Series S, account sharing on Xbox should certainly be of interest to you. How to enable sharing? Can we share our games and the Xbox Game Pass? Are there any changes since sharing on Xbox One? We take stock of these issues.
What is account sharing on Xbox?
Account Sharing is a feature introduced with Xbox One and called “Home Gold”. Presented at the launch of the console in 2013, it allows, on the same console and for all profiles, to enjoy the games and subscriptions of the main account.
For example, if I play my console, pay for Xbox Live Gold, and buy games from the Marketplace, each account logged into that same console will also have my content with the intent of charging only once for products/services that stay in the same household.
The other, better known and less “official” account sharing is used differently. To activate it requires two accounts and two consoles, and you don’t have to be on the same network for it to work. Thus, for example, you can share your content and your subscriptions with your brother even if he does not live in the same household.
With the arrival of new consoles, we wondered if Microsoft was going to reconsider its position on this “hijacked” account sharing and the answer is ultimately no. Account sharing on Xbox Series X|S works just like it did on Xbox One.
How to share your Xbox account
To share your Xbox account, it should be noted that you must first do this with someone you trust. For what ? Because the two people will have to exchange their Xbox identifiers (email address and password) to connect their respective profiles on the other’s console. They will therefore have easy access to information related to the account such as bank details for example and will be able to make purchases on the market.
You will find the complete tutorial in video below, or in writing in the steps below.
1. Share your Xbox – setting up account sharing
Setting up account sharing is down to a single setting called “Primary Xbox”. This allows you to link the console to an account that connects to the console. What interests us here is therefore to put our friend’s account on our console in Xbox Main and for him to do the same on his with our account. Both accounts must be registered at the same time on both consoles.
To do this, we must connect our friend’s account to our console. This can be done in several ways. If the console is new and has never been powered on, then at the first start, after updates and basic configuration, we are offered to create a new account or log into an existing account. We must therefore choose “Connect”, and enter our friend’s email address and password. After this step, the console will ask if this Xbox is indeed “my home Xbox”. You must therefore indicate that yes, this Xbox is the Main Xbox of the friend account that connects to it.
If the console is already installed and you wish to establish an account sharing, then you simply have to press the Xbox button on the controller to open the guide, go to the profile menu and select “+ Add new”. From there, we will have to connect our friend’s account as indicated above, and then manually change the setting of my main Xbox.
To change Xbox Home settings manually, follow the steps below:
- Go to Parameter
- Choose “General”
- Choose “Personalization”
- Choose “My Home Xbox”
- Choose “Make this my Home Xbox”
2. Download games
Once Xbox account sharing is active and so that everyone can download each other’s games, you have to go to “My games and applications” then to “Ready to install”. In this section will then appear all the dematerialized games purchased by the main account. For example, if I buy Assassin’s Creed: Vahlalla today, the game will appear in my friend’s “Ready to install” section. If he’s online while I’m buying the game (or if his console is on Instant Start), it will download instantly without having to manually install it.
Account sharing works on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S
Many of you have asked us about the sustainability of account sharing on Xbox Series X|S. We confirm that it is still possible to share your account with the next generation Xbox consoles.
As a reminder, you are entitled to 5 changes per profile, so be careful not to change every four mornings.
Account sharing: Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass too
Here is the list of all subscriptions shared with Xbox account sharing as well as other items shared and paid for by only one of the two accounts.
- Abonnement Xbox Game Pass
- Abonnement Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
- Abonnement Xbox Live Gold
- EA Play membership (included in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership)
- Xbox games downloaded from the store
- Games Season Pass
- Game DLCs
- Game pre-order bonuses
Note that for EA Play, only free games in the vault are shared between the two accounts. Other benefits of the service such as 10 hours of early access and promotions are only available for the subscriber account of the subscription.
FAQ: Xbox Account Sharing Questions
How do I stop and cancel account sharing on Xbox?
Canceling account sharing is as simple as re-designating your own console as your primary Xbox console. Everything will return to normal then, in a completely classic way.
Can you share your Xbox account with 3?
The answer is no and the explanation is very simple: by purchasing a game with my account on a console other than my main console, it naturally appears on the main console linked to the account, but still launches the download of the same game on the secondary console. As a result, it is impossible to bring a 3rd account into the equation.
Are game DLCs shared when sharing an account?
Yes, everything is shared during account sharing. Games, Season pass, DLC, various subscriptions…
Can the account that does not pay a Gold subscription play online at the same time as the one that pays?
Yes, both accounts can play online at the same time, and therefore together, whether at the same game or different games.
Can the account that does not pay Gold subscription play Games With Gold games available for free every month?
Yes, but it is up to the subscriber account to start downloading Games With Gold games, the other account cannot.
Can we download games via the store on the internet directly on the secondary console in addition to the main console?
No, but if the secondary console is instant-started or powered on at the time of purchase, the download will automatically start “everywhere”.
Xbox Account Sharing: Is It Prohibited?
If the main use of Home Gold is totally official, its “hijacked” function for account sharing seems to be tolerated by Microsoft, which Xbox support confirmed to us. Simply by the fact that it is not possible to prove that it is not you who plays on another console and that if Microsoft wants to prohibit account sharing, it will necessarily deactivate Home Gold.
How many times can I change Home Xbox?
Microsoft says it’s possible to switch primary Xboxes up to 5 times a year. This period begins when the home Xbox is first modified. If you reach this quota, you will receive a message telling you when you can switch again.
Does Xbox Game Pass work with account sharing?
Yes, account sharing is also done with the Xbox Game Pass console as well as the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. All Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, including Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Finally, who really owns the games when we stop account sharing?
All purchases are tied to accounts, not consoles. Therefore, if Account A wishes to purchase a game, it does not matter on which console he makes the purchase. He will still own the game and can download it on as many consoles as he wants.
Is the Netflix account also shared?
No, Netflix subscription is not affected by account sharing. It can be shared, but not that way.
