Xbox Series X Download Speeds Are Going To Get A Boost If You Enable This Feature
Microsoft is currently testing a way to increase download speeds on its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S game consoles, and if all goes to plan, the feature will roll out to the public in the not-too-distant future (fingers crossed, anyway). For now, however, it is only available to members of Microsoft's Xbox Insider program.
Here's the deal—when you are playing a game, any downloads you might have queued up in the background are potentially slowed down. As such, the latest test build in the Xbox Insider Program includes a new "Suspend my game" toggle. According to Microsoft, enabling it can "help improve download speeds," albeit at the expense of playing whatever title you had loaded up.
The new toggle is available to both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S owners in the Insider program. Flipping the switch allows the consoles to download content at full speed, after which you can hop back in the game you were playing and pick up where you left off.
"Hey Xbox Insiders! Did you notice these changes rolling out now? Suspend in the queue will let you download at full speed while making sure your game remains resumable (or quick resume-able on Series X|S). New banners in the Full Library will take you to more useful categories!," Xbox lead Eden Marie stated on Twitter.
For those who can access it, the feature is found in the Manage Queue section. The reason it has any effect on download speeds is because when you are playing games, the Xbox Series X/S throttles download speeds, so that any online features you might be using are able to function unhindered.
It sounds nice in theory, though we'll have to wait and see what actual impact this has on download speeds—we're not sure to what extent throttling occurs when playing a game.