The official site of the ultimate Xbox storage device explorer.
Xbox 360 SSD Support Information
Starting with the FATXplorer 3.0 beta 35 release on September 4, 2025, Xbox 360 SSD Maker makes it possible to flash certain SSDs for retail Xbox 360 compatibility.
License Options
Since SSD Maker is likely a one-time-use feature for many, a more affordable licensing option is available exclusively for this. For only $3 USD, you can get unlimited access to it.
Alternatively, the full standard license ($25) includes SSD Maker access. If you already have this, no additional purchase is necessary.
Compatible Controllers
Click the image below to enlarge:
Recommended SSDs to buy
Updated: September 15, 2025
Warning: This list is provided on a best-effort basis. Manufacturers can switch controllers at any time. Also, the links go to the largest recommended size. Sometimes different sizes use different controllers, so keep that in mind if you are on a budget.
Only in-production products are listed. This is meant to be an easy buying guide and not a historical list. There are many more SSDs not in this list that will be compatible.
Safe buys
These SSDs are basically guaranteed to come with a compatible controller and have been tested by many users.
| SSD Name & Link | Controller(s) to expect |
| Inland Professional | Phison S11 (512 GB), Phison S17 (256 GB)* |
| Lexar NS100 | Maxio MA1102 |
Riskier buys
These SSDs are either known to come with incompatible controllers, or there is not enough data to mark them safe.
| SSD Name & Link | Controller(s) to expect |
| PNY CS900 | Phison S11, SM2259XT2, Yeestor (which is not supported yet) |
| Silicon Power A55 | Can come with anything, including Hosin Global HG2259 (which is not supported) |
| Patriot P220 | SM2259XT2 |
| Timetec | SM2259XT2 |
| fanxiang (Option 1, Option 2) | Maxio MA1102, SM2259XT2, maybe Realtek |
| KingSpec P3 | Maxio MA1102, maybe Realtek |
| TEAMGROUP AX2 | SM2259XT2, Yeestor (which is not supported yet) |
| TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z | SM2259XT2 |
| Yottamaster S25PRO | Realtek |
Do not buys
Here are specific SSDs to avoid buying:
| SSD Name | Why |
| Crucial MX500 | Out of production, custom/unsupported SMI controller implementation |
| Samsung SSDs | Custom/undocumented controllers, digital signature on firmware |
| Western Digital/SanDisk | Unsupported controllers |
| Verbatim Vi550 | Comes with Yeestor controller (which is not supported yet) |
If you want to find out what controller an SSD may use, these are a great help:
What sizes to buy
- Recommended: 20, 60, 120, 250, 320, and 500 GB sizes. 500 GB is cheap so there isn’t much reason to get anything other than that.
If you want to buy an SSD to use for both retail and JTAG/RGH, you must choose a 20, 60, 120, 250, 320, or 500 GB size. Any amount of unusable space will lead to your content not showing when used on JTAG/RGH. SSD Maker will highlight any amount of unusable space. Example sizes where this is a problem: 256 GB, 512 GB - Avoid 240 and 480 GB sizes because due to how Xbox 360 security works, you will lose substantial space.
- Sizes larger than 500 GB and up to 2 TB will work, but only 500 GB will be usable.
- Avoid sizes larger than 2 TB. These will not work at all.
How to check your SSD controller
Method 1: Physical Check
SSDs are easy to open and you can often do it without voiding the warranty. Look for the controller chip on the PCB. It may be under a sticker or a heat pad. Here’s what a controller chip looks like:
Credit: Wikipedia
Credit: ACELab
Method 2: Software Check
FATXplorer’s Xbox 360 SSD maker can identify supported controllers for free. If FATXplorer successfully identifies it, it’s compatible.
Method 3: Google
If you Google the SSD’s firmware version, you can oftentimes find results that indicate what controller is associated with it. You can obtain the firmware version using CrystalDiskInfo.
Method 4: Review Photos
If you look at review photos on Amazon or Newegg, you will often find photos that reveal firmware versions or even the actual controller chip itself.
500 GB limitation
The 500 GB Xbox 360 drive size limitation is still in place and SSD Maker is not able to circumvent this,
M.2 Form Factor
There are some SSDs in the M.2 form factor that, when put inside an enclosure, may also work in the Xbox 360 as long as it uses a supported controller. This is untested, but should work.
Note: NVMe is NOT supported. Not all M.2 SSDs are NVMe – some are actually SATA and those are the only ones to look out for.
Bad Update and Softmod
The Xbox 360 Bad Update exploit cannot enable the use of any internal drive, so SSD Maker is required if you want to use an SSD with it.
A potential softmod was teased by Grimdoomer at the time of writing that potentially involves loading an exploit via firmware modifications. This is being monitored closely – nothing to add to this for now.
SSD Performance Testing
Some synthetic benchmarks were run directly on the Xbox 360 and unfortunately the results basically matched the same tests run on a WD Black HDD. It’s still possible that some games may benefit, but that is up for you to discover!
SSD TRIM
The Xbox 360 kernel does not support TRIM, which may degrade the SSD over time. Ultimately, reads should greatly outnumber writes/deletions, so this may not end up being a significant concern.
It is possible TRIM support may be added in the future through a new patch project.
Future Development Plans
- Finish SM2259XT3 support.
- Attempt to add Yeestor controller support.
- Attempt to add Hosin Global controller support (may be a while).
- Add Phison S12 and S17 locked firmware support.
- Investigate disk size modification to alleviate JTAG/RGH interchangeability issue with certain sizes.
- Investigate special patch options for large SSDs (1 TB+) to reserve space past 500 GB for JTAG/RGH.
- Investigate feasibility of adding TRIM support to the kernel.
FAQs
For anything not covered above, check out this FAQ:
Q: Why is HDD Maker free and SSD Maker is not?
A: HDD Maker was made possible thanks to the contributions of various people, and there is also the free HDDHackr tool available. For these reasons, it made sense to release HDD Maker as a free feature.
SSD Maker on the other hand is basically all-new development using processes and procedures developed entirely in-house that are not available publicly. To help cover the expense and effort, it is not a free feature.
Q: If it doesn’t work, do I get a refund?
A: Yes. Please check that your SSD is compatible before purchasing, though.
Q: If I buy the SSD license, can I upgrade later to the full license?
A: You can purchase a full license at any time, and then change the license in FATXplorer. If you want a credit to reduce the price by the amount you already paid, ask here.
Q: What is the best SSD to buy?
A: The Xbox 360 is not able to take advantage of the full speed of any SSD you buy, so it’s not necessary to buy the one with the fastest speeds. Any SSD that isn’t from a sketchy seller should do just fine. There is a lot of fraud in the SSD world, so be careful with SSDs that are too cheap.
Q: I have a 10+ year old SSD somewhere, is it likely to work?
A: At release, the focus was to develop solutions for SSD controllers currently in production. The older the SSD, the less likely FATXplorer will recognize it. Support for older SSD controllers may be added in the future if there is sufficient demand to warrant the effort. It is probably a better idea to buy a new SSD, though.
Q: Is there a possibility of the flash going wrong and bricking the SSD?
A: The Silicon Motion flash process is the most extensive as it involves a full firmware reflash. The procedure was designed in a way to reduce the chances of a brick occurring. Should a brick ever occur, it is very likely that it can be recovered.
The other controller brands are low risk and no problems are expected.
No SSDs were rendered permanently inoperative during testing.
Q: I have a JTAG/RGH, is this useful to me?
A: Not unless you have a dual-nand setup and have a retail side. Make sure to choose an SSD with no amount of unusable space if you want to use the SSD interchangeably.
Q: I have a fast WD HDD installed already – any reason to upgrade to an SSD?
A: Even though performance benefits may not be noticeable, SSDs have no moving parts, run cooler, and are less susceptible to damage should you drop your console. SSDs are also really cheap now. For these reasons, upgrading should be a no-brainer!
Q: Do I need to back up my data before flashing?
A: No
Q: Do I need to open the SSD?
A: Not unless you want to physically identify what controller it uses.
In the unlikely event of a brick, it may be necessary to open it to perform recovery steps.
Q: Does SSD Maker work over USB?
A: Yes! Most USB adapters should work just fine. The 1 thing to note is that for Realtek or RayMX controllers, some USB adapters may not be compatible.
Q: Does this make use of any sketchy Russian/Chinese “MPTool” software?
A: No
Q: My Xbox 360 shows E68 on boot, what is wrong?
A: This is a problem with the SSD or the internal SATA connector and has nothing to do with anything FATXplorer does. The only solution is hardware replacement.
Q: Can I get banned from Xbox Live?
A: No
Q: Is original Xbox backwards compatibility supported on SSDs?
A: Yes, see here for how to set it up.
Q: How can I transfer all my content from my old drive to my new SSD?
A: View the content transfer tutorial here.
Q: Are pre-flashed SSDs available for purchase?
A: No
Q: Are Yeestor controllers supported?
A: Not right now, but hopefully in the future.
Q: Is there any hope for Samsung SSD support?
A: Unlikely since the drives are completely locked down and even the world’s top data recovery company can’t work around it.
Q: 5-10 years from now, are there any care/maintenance steps I should perform?
A: If you feel the SSD has been subject to heavy writes and/or file deletions, you can back up your partitions, perform an ATA secure erase, and then copy everything back. This essentially does a full device TRIM and you will defragment all your files at well.
Q: What happens to Xbox 360 HDD Maker now?
A: Xbox 360 SSD Maker should be considered the successor. There isn’t much point in using a HDD anymore. HDD Maker will remain a fully supported and free feature, but there aren’t any plans to extend support to other HDD brands.