Xbox Series S turning on and off rapidly or not starting at all.

Cael Carey-Bolton · Jun 28, 2025 at 1:13 AM

Good evening.

I have had my Xbox Series S for about 2 years now and it has never had any problems of any sort ever before.

Yesterday when turning it on in the morning, the power button began flashing as the Xbox made the power up sound followed by the power down sound rapidly for about half a minute before turning off entirely. I left the Xbox alone for a period of about 24 hours before turning it on earlier today. It powered up fine and worked normally for about 20 minutes before turning off again.

I then switched the power cord, HDMI cable and plugged it into a new socket. I left it for another 30 minutes before powering it on again. The power button would not respond to any variation or combination of presses. I used an Xbox controller to remotely turn the Xbox on, which worked. The Xbox worked fine for several more hours without issue. Now, after it was powered off for about 2 hours, it will not fully start, no matter what. It simply powers off again every time I try to power it on, or it does not respond at all.

Everything external that is related to the operation and powering of the Xbox has been changed, including in multiple combinations, yet it simply will not work.

Any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

:)

Victor Hugo (imp)

Hello Cael, thank you for reaching out! My name is Victor, I'm an Independent Advisor and member of the Microsoft Xbox Community like you. I hope you are having a good day despite this issue.

I see you are having issues attempting to turn on your console. I understand how frustrating this is, let me assist you in figuring out and hopefully fixing this problem.

As for external hardware troubleshooting goes, I appreciate your detailed explanation on what you've tried already. As the problem persists no matter what combination you've tried, the source of it is likely on the console itself. If the issue is software related, a reset to factory settings should clear up any bugs or errors related to the OS. Please follow the steps below to boot your console into the Xbox Startup Troubleshoter screen, and then reset to factory through that menu:

1. Power off your console, and then unplug the power cord to ensure that the console is completely powered off.

2. Wait 30 seconds, and then plug the power cord back in.

3. Press and hold the Pair button and the Eject button on the console, and then press the Xbox button on the console.

(Note that the Xbox Series S and the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition do not have Eject buttons. You can bring up the Xbox Startup Troubleshooter on your console by holding only the Pair button (steps 3 and 4) and then pressing the Xbox button.)

4. Continue holding the Pair and Eject buttons for 10-15 seconds.

5. Listen for two “power-up” tones a couple of seconds apart. You can release the 6. Pair and Eject buttons after the second power-up tone.

7. The console should power up and take you directly to the Xbox Startup Troubleshooter.

8. Select "Reset this Xbox". When prompted, select "Keep games and apps". This option will reset the OS and delete all potentially corrupted data without deleting your games or apps.

(Keep in mind that this will remove any and all connected accounts from your console. Make sure you have access to your account's sign-in credentials before performing this reset)

Source: https://support.xbox.com/en-us/help/hardware-ne...

If the issue persists even after factory resetting, you could also try an Offline Update (https://support.xbox.com/en-us/help/hardware-ne...). In case you still experience unexpected shutdowns on your console after all these steps, I'm afraid the issue is likely related to internal hardware, and you should look into getting your console serviced. For more information on that, check the support page below:

https://support.xbox.com/en-us/help/hardware-ne...

I appreciate your understanding, and feel free to reach out if you have any further questions. Take care!

(Note: Keep in mind we are simply users of Xbox products and services trying to assist and guide other gamers here on the forums. I will try to respond as soon as possible if requested, and I appreciate your patience in case of any delays. Also, please remember that this is a public forum, so be careful never to share any personal information that could put your or your account's safety at risk.)

FernandoCarvalhoPV

My name is Fernando I'm an independent consultant, I'm happy to help.

Try this procedure, hope it helps: Plug the power cord back into your Xbox Series X|S; Turn on the control; Press and hold the sync button on your Xbox Series X|S; Press the sync button on the controller until the time it starts flashing rapidly, then release it.

Hope I helped and see you soon

brandiesel1

Hi Bt AZURA,

Have you tried these troubleshooting steps?
Click here.

This is just one of the solutions in that link that might help you:

If your S console is turning off randomly, try wiping off the power and eject buttons with a dry microfiber cloth to remove any oils or dirt that has accumulated. Sometimes this can be enough to trigger the buttons.

Keep us updated.

Brick8799

I tried this idea and it has not worked yet, Im now leaving the xbox for a while after "resetting" the brick

darkhaven3

This is a total hunch and I'm not basing my suggestions on any actual evidence, but here's something you can try: keep playing like normal, but sit next to your console and be ready to pull the power cable out of the back of your Xbox. When it turns off
by itself, disconnect power, press the power button, then wait a few seconds. Reconnect the power cable and see what happens.

Xbox Series S turning on and off rapidly or not starting at all.