The Ins and Outs of Xbox 360 Pre NXE Consoles

Do you miss the good old days of the Xbox 360 Blades dashboard and wish you could return? You can, thanks to the many pre-owned consoles with the Xbox 360 Blades dashboard for sale on eBay. These Microsoft Xbox consoles have been preserved by never upgrading to the newer NXE Xbox dashboard.

What is an Xbox 360 Pre NXE console?

The Xbox 360 is a home video game system and DVD player developed by Microsoft and introduced in 2005. The Xbox on-screen user interface is referred to as a dashboard. The original dashboard that shipped with the Xbox consoles was known as Blades because it featured four and later five blades'or tabs. In late 2008, Microsoft introduced the New Xbox Experience. This Xbox 360 NXE dashboard replaced Blades. Thus, pre-NXE means an Xbox with Blades, a dashboard that has never been updated to NXE.

When running Blades, you will continue to have access to all console features. You will also have access to Xbox Live social and other features. All controllers and other accessories work as well, but there may be certain games that require the NXE dashboard.

Can you revert an Xbox to Blades?

No. The software update was never designed to be reverted, and Microsoft never released a tool to accomplish it. Turning back manually is theoretically possible, but no reliable method is available. Furthermore, there's a high chance of 'bricking' your console during the process, and most of the consoles available aren't candidates because they shipped with NXE. This is what makes an Xbox with Blades valuable.

Which Xbox consoles are available with Blades?

Only Xbox consoles that Microsoft shipped with Blades can still have Blades, which means systems that Microsoft shipped prior to November 19, 2008. This includes the:

Xbox 360 Core
Xbox 360 Premium 20 GB
Xbox 360 Elite
Xbox 360 Arcade
Xbox 360 Premium 60 GB

How do you preserve the Blades dashboard?

You must never perform a software update on the console in order to keep the Blades dashboard intact. The easiest way to do this is not to connect it to the Internet because it then requires a manual update, which you can just opt not to complete. If you do connect it to the Internet, it may attempt to automatically update. You can cancel this as well as opt out of automatic updates in the settings.

Content provided for informational purposes only. eBay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.

Xbox 360 Pre Nxe

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