How to Customise the Home Screen and Pin Game Groups on Xbox Series X and Series S

The Xbox Series X and Series S dashboard serves as the central operational hub for your gaming console. With extensive digital game libraries, Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, streaming media applications, and cloud gaming titles available at your fingertips, scrolling through the full “My Games & Apps” library every time you want to play is unnecessarily cumbersome. Microsoft provides powerful dashboard customisation options designed to help you curate a streamlined, personalised Home screen.

Through custom Groups, dynamic backgrounds, and Home screen pins, you can organize your games into thematic categories—such as “Multiplayer Favourites”, “Backlog”, or “Quick Resume Hits”—and pin them directly to the main dashboard. In this comprehensive guide, you will learn how to create and manage custom groups, pin items to the Xbox Home screen, reorder dashboard rows, and tailor dynamic wallpapers on Xbox Series X and Series S.

Understanding Dashboard Groups and Pins on Xbox

The Xbox operating system organises quick-access collections through Groups:

• Universal Availability: Groups exist across both the Xbox Guide overlay and the main dashboard Home screen. You can access your favourite groups mid-game without leaving your active gameplay session.
• Cloud Synchronisation: Any group created on your console synchronises with your Xbox profile in the cloud, automatically appearing on secondary consoles or when migrating to a new machine.
• Home Screen Pinning: You can place entire groups, individual games, media apps, or community feeds directly onto your main Home screen carousel, scrolling down through bespoke rows tailored to your daily routine.

Step 1: Creating a Custom Game and App Group

Before pinning collections to the Home screen, assemble your custom groups:

1. Turn on your console and navigate to the Home screen.
2. Highlight the My Games & Apps tile and press the A button on your controller.
3. In the left-hand navigation menu, scroll down to Groups.
4. Select Create a Group.
5. Use the on-screen virtual keyboard to enter a descriptive name for your group (such as Co-op Night, Retro Games, or Streaming Apps) and press the Menu button (three horizontal lines) to confirm.

Your new empty group will appear in the Groups library.

Step 2: Adding Games and Apps to Your Group

Populate your group with titles from your installed library or digital cloud backlog:

1. Within My Games & Apps, highlight any game or application tile you wish to add.
2. Press the Menu button (three lines) on your Xbox controller to open the options pop-up.
3. Select Add to a Group.
4. Choose your target group from the list, or select Add to new group to spawn a fresh category instantly.
5. Repeat this process for all relevant games and applications.

You can also arrange the internal order of titles within a group by highlighting a game inside the group, pressing the X button, and sliding the tile to your desired position.

Step 3: Pinning Groups and Content to the Home Screen

Once your groups are organized, bring them front and centre on the main console dashboard:

1. Navigate to My Games & Apps > Groups.
2. Highlight the group you wish to feature on your dashboard.
3. Press the Menu button on your controller.
4. Select Add to Home.
5. Return to the main Xbox Home screen. Scroll down past your recent game tiles: you will see your newly pinned group displayed as a dedicated, horizontal row complete with game cover art and quick-launch shortcuts.

You can also pin individual standalone games directly to Home by highlighting their tile on the dashboard, pressing Menu, and choosing Add to Home.

Step 4: Reordering and Customising Home Screen Rows

To arrange which groups appear first when scrolling down your dashboard:

1. From the main Home screen, scroll down to the bottom of your pinned rows.
2. Select the button labelled Customise Home.
3. Under the Reorder panel, highlight any pinned group or row.
4. Press the A button to pick it up, use the D-pad to slide the row up or down to your preferred position, and press A again to place it.
5. To remove an unneeded row or recommendation feed, highlight the row and press the X button to remove it from Home.

Step 5: Customising Dynamic Backgrounds and Themes

Complement your pinned groups by personalising the visual backdrop of your Xbox dashboard:

1. Press the Xbox guide button on your controller, navigate to the Profile & System tab on the far right, and select Settings.
2. Under the General tab, select Personalisation.
3. Select My Background.
4. Explore the background choices:
   • Dynamic Backgrounds: Animated motion graphics, official game art (such as Halo, Starfield, or Forza), and abstract particle waves that react to cursor movement.
   • Solid Colour and Game Art: Automatically sets the background wallpaper to match the high-resolution hero art of whichever game tile is currently highlighted.
   • Custom Image: Upload your own wallpapers or screenshot captures from a USB storage drive.
   • Achievement Art: Set your wallpaper to any rare achievement banner unlocked across your gaming history.
5. Select your preferred wallpaper and press A to apply it instantly.

Troubleshooting Common Xbox Home Screen Issues

• Groups Missing After System Update: If your custom groups fail to render following an operating system update, verify that your console is connected to the internet. Groups sync with Xbox Live cloud servers upon sign-in; if offline mode is active, only local default tiles may appear until connection is restored.
• Maximum Home Screen Pins Reached: The Xbox Series dashboard enforces a soft limit on the total number of content blocks and rows that can be displayed on the Home screen to maintain system responsiveness. If the Add to Home option is greyed out, remove unused rows or store recommendation blocks via the Customise Home menu.
• Game Art Not Displaying on Pinned Tiles: If a pinned game tile shows a blank grey box instead of cover art, the local cache may need refreshing. Highlight the tile, press Menu, select Manage game & add-ons, or restart your console cleanly via Settings > General > Sleep Mode & Startup > Restart Now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do pinned groups take up additional console storage?

No. Groups and Home pins are lightweight database shortcuts referencing existing installed packages. Pinning or grouping titles does not duplicate files or consume any measurable internal SSD storage space.

Can I access my custom groups while playing a game?

Yes. Press the central Xbox guide button on your controller to open the Guide. Navigate down to My Games & Apps, and your custom groups (such as Pins and custom folders) appear right inside the guide overlay, allowing you to launch another game without backing out to the dashboard.

What happens to a group if I uninstall a game?

When you uninstall a title, it remains visible inside your group if you choose to keep it in your digital collection, marked with a small download icon indicating it resides in your cloud library rather than internal storage.

Can I share my custom Xbox groups with friends?

Currently, groups are tied specifically to your personal Xbox Live gamertag and cloud profile. While friends cannot import your exact group collections directly, any console where you sign in will automatically load your customized groups and pin arrangements.