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One of the major names in video gaming is Xbox, which was developed by Microsoft. It has many great features that are certainly the reason why it is so popular. The Kinect connectivity, the controller with its latest updates, and the other accessories are all indeed a testimony to the way technology has developed so far.
Operating any technologically dependent device is bound to create problems once in a while and these problems can manifest in multiple forms. In the case of this article we will be talking about the issue of an Xbox download that stops at 100% and doesn’t go any further.
There is nothing quite as annoying as a download stopping but it is especially annoying when it stops and 100% and instead of actually being done it just sits there! So, why does this happen and what can you do to fix it?
There are four basic things that can go wrong when your Xbox is downloading something that can cause it to get stuck at 100%. Those things are:
- Poor internet connection
- Location and account region don’t match
- Downloading a 360 game to Xbox One or vice versa
- Issues with the hard drive
These four things are the most common problems that would cause a download to stop before finishing. We will discuss each of those in more detail later in this article.
Unfortunately this is a common problem with the Xbox and something that you will probably have to deal with at one point or another if you own one. To learn more tips about how to fix this common issue be sure and check out the video below as well.
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What is the issue with your Xbox?
There are a variety of different issues that you can have when downloading or updating games on your Xbox but in this article we will specifically be talking about when the download stops or gets stuck at 100% but doesn’t complete.
Some Xbox video gamers may have noticed that while downloading certain games on their Xbox One or Xbox 360, the process goes on uninterrupted until it gets to 100%, but when they open the game to play, it doesn’t work. So, more specifically speaking, in some cases, when they click on the game, they are redirected to the games section and the game is nowhere to be seen.
Some people have also noticed a black screen for a few seconds before being sent back to the games section.
What are the possible reasons and their solutions?
There are many reasons that this could be happening. We will discuss the four main reasons why this might be happening and what you can do about it to try and fix the issue.
The internet connection is problematic or too slow for the download to complete
The first thing to check is if there is an issue with your internet or with the modem in some way. If your signal does not stay constant (if your console is connected via Wi-Fi) then that could cause an error and the download to not be able to finish.
Your modem or router can also interrupt the downloading if it is malfunctioning in some way. The first thing to try and solve the issue is to power cycle your modem and router. You do this by unplugging both devices from the electricity for 15 seconds. You then will plug the modem back in first, wait 15 seconds and then plug the router back in.
You want to complete power off both the modem and router so if either of your devices have a battery backup you would need to remove that as well when shutting them off.
If you have access to another internet source (for example a hotspot on your phone) you can also try downloading through that to see if you still have the same issues.
Your physical location does not match with your account region.
Many people who have reported this downloading issue have solved it by fixing the two locations not matching. The region your account is set for and then the physical address that you are downloading from can be an issue for certain games if there are laws or other things prohibiting you from downloading or updating that game in the region of the world that you are actually in.
For example, Battlefield 4 is banned in China so if your account is for the USA but your physical location is China then that could be causing an issue with the download being blocked.
There are many video games that have been banned in certain areas over the years so if you have recently moved to another country then this could be causing the issue
You might be downloading Xbox One games on the Xbox 360 or vice versa.
Some games purchased on the Xbox store cannot be played on the Xbox 360 console and sometimes a 360 game won’t download onto the Xbox One. This is a software problem that the Microsoft team has been working on but the easiest solution is to not buy digital games from a different console then the one that you own.
Also, this can be solved if you are buying a hard copy of the game instead of the digital version. The headers on the video game case always show which games are compatible with both Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The header “CROSS GEN” or “Xbox One + Xbox 360” means it can be played on both of the consoles while having just one or the other on the case means it is only designed to be played on that certain console.
The Xbox One is backwards compatible with some Xbox 360 games but not all of them. You can find a list of the games that Xbox is compatible with on the Xbox website.
Check to see if the problem is with the hard drive
Sometimes, using an incorrect hard drive or the hard drive running out of space can cause a sudden stop in the downloading process. If you encounter this issue be sure and check if your hard drive has enough space left on it for the entire game or update.
If it does have enough space you can also try changing the hard drive out for a different one.
If you are using an Xbox 360 gaming console, using an official Xbox 360 Hard Drive can hopefully solve the problem. If this is not working, try another hard drive and as the last resort, request a replacement hard drive from Xbox (Microsoft).
But what if none of this works?
If you have tried all four of these things and your download still is sticking at 100% you can try deleting and redownloading your profile. There is very little or no chance that you will lose your saved progress as you are simply disconnecting your profile from the console and then reconnecting it.
You can also try clearing the cache and then attempting to redownload the game.
Another possible solution is the console might need to be updated before a game or update can be downloaded (especially if you are using the Xbox Dashboard features). So, if that is the problem, delete the previous updates and download them again. After deleting the update, you have the choice not to download it again immediately but, if you don’t, you will not be able to sign in to your Xbox Live (if you are an Xbox Live member).
If you are downloading games using the Games With Gold, the download will stop if you do not have a full active membership. Also, you can try one or multiple power cycles on your Xbox (hold the Xbox button on the console for approximately 10 seconds) to see if that fixes the problem. Holding the on button resets the power supply of the device and can solve many basic issues similar to the power cycle of the internet mentioned earlier in the article.
Another thing that some users have reported to work is to download the game offline.
What you have to do is pause the download, disconnect the internet, and then resume the download with the internet off. This has worked for many people as whatever was causing the download to stop cannot access the internet so it can’t stop the download. This fix rarely works but if all else has failed it is worth a try.
If you are still facing a problem, disconnect the internet again, delete the game, do a full power cycle, switch the system on, then go back online and download the game.
The final method that we will suggest if you do not want to do power cycles is: start the game, press the home button, and then quit the game. Then play another available game for 5 to 10 minutes. Keep on pressing the home button at regular intervals to see if the download is progressing. If it is progressing while playing another game keep playing that game until the download is complete.
Why this method works is a mystery but sometimes it does.
Conclusion
Whenever you are facing any problem with downloads getting stuck or stopping, you can search online to see if any other Xbox users have reported this issue in the past and if they ever got it fixed. Many times you can find a bunch of different things to try that have worked for some people so they are often worth trying.
If everything in this article and everything you find online does not work then you should contact the Microsoft team for help. You can call them or chat with them and if they are also unable to help, you can ask for a refund so that you can buy a different game that will actually download or go and buy the physical copy of the game.
Hopefully you have been able to fix your problem using one of the many methods mentioned above. Good Luck!