Do you want to know how to activate ESPN on Xbox? If yes, then, you have come to the right place, as this article will provide you with the guidelines and all you need to successfully activate ESPN on your Xbox.
ESPN is an American multinational basic cable sports channel that was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen along with his son Scott Rasmussen and Ed Egan.
The channel, whose full name is Entertainment and Sports Programming is a cable and satellite television channel that focuses on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports highlight and talk shows, alongside other original programmings.
Because we are discussing how to activate ESPN on Xbox console, we also have to shed some light on what the Xbox console is.
Xbox is a gaming console brand developed and owned by Microsoft. The console is designed such that it can connect to a television or other display media, providing realistic graphics for games.
The Xbox has a series of consoles ranging from the Xbox itself, Xbox 360, Xbox One with the latest being the Xbox S and Xbox X series.
What You Need To Set Up Xbox
The Xbox setup experience has become easier than it ever was. All you need to setup is;
- A Microsoft account
- A broadband internet connection.
- HDMI-capable TV
- An Xbox console.
How To Get Xbox Started
Before you can activate ESPN on your Xbox console, there has to be a setting up process and the process is both physical and digital. So, for the physical process, here’s what you need to do;
- Unbox the console.
- Position the console.
- Connect the console to your TV or monitor.
- Connect your set-top box to the Xbox console.
- Connect the console to your router or modem (wired connection only).
- Then connect the console to a Kinect sensor.
- Connect a USB 3.0 external storage device.
- Plug in the power supply or power cord.
For The Digital Set Up
- Start by powering on your console for the first time.
- Select your language, this is just in a bid to personalize your console.
- Then, go ahead to select your language variety, this is basically to identify the region of whatever language you had earlier selected. More so, selecting the correct region of the language you chose will help voice navigation to understand you better and to adjust the spelling and grammatical selection of text shown on screen to match your expectations.
- After that, move on to change your display settings, but if the Change your display screen does not appear, skip this step and continue with your digital setup.
- Connect your console to the internet.
- Select your location.
- Update your system.
- Once the system update is completed, you’ll be prompted to sign in on your console. This is where you will need to create a Microsoft account, if you do not already have one. But if you do, then just use it to sign in.
With your digital setup done, you can now go ahead and activate ESPN on your Xbox console.
How To Activate ESPN on Xbox
Here lies the main gist of the day. The steps will be simple and as uncomplicated as possible, and before you know it, you have been able to activate ESPN on your Xbox and settling down to premium sports contents.
- Start the ESPN app on your Xbox One.
- Then select settings.
- From settings, Select Subscriptions and select Subscribe.
- Select Log In.
- Note down the activation code and go to http://espn.com/activate on your computer or mobile browser.
- On your browser, enter the activation code and click Continue.
- Then, login to your existing ESPN account or create a new one.
- Your subscription will now be linked to your Xbox One, and your account will be available to use on any other supported device.
- That directly means you have been able to activate ESPN on your Xbox console successfully.
How To Watch ESPN for Free
Aside just being able to activate ESPN on Xbox, did you know that you can watch ESPN free for 7 days on these devices?
- fuboTV ( has a free 7-day trial) has overtime been considered as the ultimate streaming service for sports fans.
- Hulu Live TV (has a free 7-day trial)This will always be a great option for sports fans and it is a top ranked streaming service for sport channels like ESPN.
- Hulu Live(also has free for 7 days trial) that allows you watch ESPN online free all week!
How To Fix ESPN Not Working on Xbox.
That you were able to successfully activate ESPN on your Xbox device doesn’t mean issues might not arise with the app. So when that happens, here are some quick fixes for you.
1. Restart The App
This works like you are resetting to default mode and helps the software to regain its proper functioning capabilities. So start by;
- Quitting the app
- Then, check if the app is available on your Home screen in most recently used files.
- From there, highlight it with your controller without selecting it.
- Press Menu on your controller.
- If you get the Quit option, select it. When this option is not there, it means the app isn’t running.
- Once the app is closed, go to recently used tiles, and select it from My games and apps
- Then, relaunch the app.
2. Uninstall and Reinstall The App
- Turn on Xbox One using the Xbox button.
- Then, go to the Home screen
- From there, move right and select My games and apps
- Highlight what you want to uninstall.
- Press Menu
- From there, you can now reinstall the app then open it.
3. Test Your Network Connection
Sometimes, it could just be a network problem that is causing the challenge. So you need to check your network connection by;
- Pressing Xbox button to open the guide.
- Then, select System
- Select Settings
- Select Network
- Select Network Settings
- Go to the right panel under Network Settings and select Test Network Connection
ESPN is compatible with many other devices, like Hulu, Fire TV, PS4, Roku, Android TV etc but if you choose to activate ESPN on your Xbox device, then this is how you can go about that.
We hope this article helps and answers whatever questions in your mind regarding how to activate ESPN on Xbox.