Can You Use a Laptop as a Monitor for Xbox One?

Have you ever been out with your favorite console and laptop? During the lack of a display, suddenly, you realize your laptop has a sweet HD display that is just dying to be fully utilized.

You even see an HDMI port on the laptop, and you believe that all your stars have finally aligned. Only the question remains, can the laptop’s display act as a monitor for your Xbox One, since you want to play the exclusives that your laptop obviously can’t run.

Well, you’re not alone, so let’s get you set up to game on your laptop using the Xbox One.

1. Laptop Display as Monitor for Xbox One: Possible or Not?

Short Answer: No, most probably, your laptop can not be used as a monitor for Xbox One through the video ports.

The HDMI and other video options on your laptop are designed to output video signals to other devices (like projects and other monitors) and not receive input video signals.

Thus, even if you were to connect an HDMI cable from your Xbox One to your laptop, the system will not identify the video signal.

I know you must be thinking, what if I’m from the top 1%, and my special laptop has an HDMI port that can receive video signals? However unlikely that would be, read on to find out if your laptop supports this type of configuration.

2. Check if your Laptop Supports Video Input

You think the general statistics don’t apply to you. You’re the unique snowflake, and so is your laptop, and you are out to prove it, but how to do so?

You want to know if your laptop supports video input or not and the best place to look up is on the manufacturer’s website. Find out your laptop’s model number and look for its technical specifications.

If the video input is indeed supported on one of the video ports, it will be specifically mentioned as “HDMI Input & Output.”

If it does not support it, then there are still hopes of using your laptop as a monitor for the Xbox One. Find out how.

3. No Video Input on Laptop? We got you covered

Dejected to realize that you are not the unique specimen you thought you were, you return to the blog to salvage whatever pride you have left. Fret not soldier, as you shall receive the knowledge you seek.

With physically connecting your Xbox One to your laptop being out of the question, your best bet would be to use the Xbox Game app on Windows 10 to stream from your Xbox One wirelessly.

Follow the following simple steps to get your games streaming on your laptop.

4. Stream Xbox One to Your Laptop/ PC

First of all, your laptop or PC should be on the same network as your Xbox One.

1. On the Xbox One, enable game streaming. Go to Settings > Preferences and check Allow game streaming to other devices.

2. On your Windows 10 System, launch the Xbox app and click Connect on the left pane.
3. Select your Xbox One and click Connect.

4. Use a USB cable to attach your Xbox One controller to your laptop or PC
5. Finally, hit the Stream button.

That’s it, and you’re finally up and running. Now you can even game from your bedroom on one of those days where you can not be bothered to go to the room where the TV is.