The Xbox One S is coming up on its one year anniversary, which means some owners may want to consider cleaning the dust out of their systems. This guide will help you keep your Xbox One S living a long and happy life! 

This guide is not for the faint of heart! You're going to take the Xbox out of its plastic case in this guide, which can be pretty scary! Ultimately, it's not much more difficult to get into the inside of the Xbox One S than the PS4.

What you'll need:

• Pry Tool 
• Security bit set
• Can of Air 
• Micro Fiber Cloth 

You can also look at iFixit's tool kit which has most everything you need for the project. There are a few different options you can consider, so shop around for what you think will work best for you. 

Step 1. Remove the back cover

The hardest part of the process is this first step, Xbox uses "Security Clips" to keep this back panel part in place. We found the easiest place to start is on the short side adjacent to the power input. From there, carefully work your way around the rest of the console feeling for where you can press in the security clips and pull the cover up. 

We recommend saving the extra security nub section (under the warranty sticker) for last, once you've already separated nearly all of the other security clips. Pressing in that small plastic piece will take a little extra coaxing but once you've pressed it in sufficiently, the back panel should free easily. 

Step 2. Remove all the green screws 

 Xbox made things easy for us by coloring all of the screws that need to be removed green. You'll need your security-bit-set for this. Five long screws extend through the entire console to secure it to the other half of the case. Removing these will allow us to separate the hardware from the case entirely. 

Step 3. Separate the hardware from the other half of the case 

It's not very tough to remove this second half, but you may need to grab your pry tool again if you can't get a good grip on separating the casing from the interior. 

Step 4. Remove the metal cover over the fan 

There are just a couple of foam pieces holding the metal cover over the fan. Compress the foam pieces and the cover lifts off easily. 

Step 5. Clean the fan

You'll now have access to the fan and heatsink. We wiped the console with a microfiber cloth and use compressed air to blow out any unreachable spots. Hold down the fan as you blow compressed air or the fan will spin and obstruct your ability to remove the dust. You'll also see a small Master Chief from Halo, hidden in the build congratulating you on making the effort to clean you system! 

We're glad to see such a large fan on the Xbox One S especially with their past issues with overheating. This console has stayed cool and to date we haven't had any issues with the fan acting noisy even when in a high dust area. This is a process you'll want to do every year. We hope you enjoyed our quick guide!