Seagate Storage Expansion Card 1TB for Xbox Series X|S: what to know

The Seagate Storage Expansion Card (model STJR1000400) is a 1TB NVMe solid state drive built for Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. It plugs into a dedicated slot on the back of the console and adds storage that behaves like the internal drive. It solves a common problem: modern game installs are large, and the built-in storage fills quickly.

Why a special card is needed

Xbox Series consoles use a design called the Xbox Velocity Architecture to load games quickly. Seagate says the card was designed in partnership with Xbox and is compatible with that architecture, so games run from it without giving up graphics, latency, load times or frame rates. That is the key difference from a typical external USB drive. Games built for Xbox Series X|S generally need to run from the internal SSD or an expansion card of this type, while external USB drives are usually limited to storage and to older generations of games.

What 1TB adds

The card gives the console another 1TB of space. Seagate says this lets you keep a large library installed. How many games fit depends on their size, which varies widely, and individual titles can run to many tens of gigabytes. Console storage is also used by the system and updates, so the usable space is less than the stated capacity, as with any drive.

Quick Resume

Quick Resume lets you switch between several games and pick up where you left off, and Seagate states it works from either the internal SSD or the expansion card. This is one of the reasons a matching card matters: games stored on slower drives do not generally offer the same feature.

Older games

Seagate says the card also improves the overall performance of thousands of Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games, which Microsoft's console supports through backward compatibility. How much faster a given older game loads depends on the game.

Fitting it

The card is small, at about 2.1 x 1.3 x 0.3 inches (roughly 5.3 x 3.3 x 0.8 cm), and weighs around 0.1 lb. The console has a slot at the back, usually covered by a cap. The general process is to turn the console off, insert the card, and let the console format it. Follow Xbox's own setup instructions. The slot is designed for this card format, which also means it is not interchangeable with ordinary M.2 drives or memory cards.

Warranty

Seagate includes a 3-year limited warranty. Check the terms for your region.

Who it suits

It suits owners of an Xbox Series X or Series S who are running low on storage and want newer games to keep their intended performance. It is especially relevant for the Series S, which has less built-in storage than the Series X. It is not for older Xbox One consoles, and it is not a general-purpose SSD for PCs.

What to check before you buy

• Console: it is listed for Xbox Series X|S only.
• Model number: STJR1000400 is the 1TB version; other capacities have different numbers.
• Library size: estimate how many installs you want to keep on hand, and consider that games can also be archived externally.
• Moving games: installed games can be moved between storage areas, but check the console's storage menu for how.
• Official support: the console's manual and Seagate's site have the latest compatibility notes.
• Not portable storage: it is designed to stay in the console, not move between devices.

The short version

• A 1TB NVMe expansion card made for Xbox Series X and Series S.
• Designed with Xbox to run games with the same performance as the internal SSD, according to Seagate.
• Supports Quick Resume from the card.
• Plugs into the console's dedicated storage slot.
• Includes a 3-year limited warranty.

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