ROG Xbox Ally / Ally X SSD upgrade: which drive fits and how to swap it

Updated Guides, Upgrades

The ROG Xbox Ally, ROG Xbox Ally X and the ROG Ally X take a full-length M.2 2280 NVMe SSD. The original ROG Ally takes a compact 2230 drive. The stock drives are PCIe 4.0: 512 GB in the Xbox Ally and 1 TB in the Xbox Ally X.

ASUS’s guide installs Windows fresh on the new drive using ASUS Cloud Recovery. To keep your data, ASUS suggests cloning the old drive to the new one in an external SSD enclosure first, but doesn’t cover the steps.

Before you start

Discharge the battery to 25% or below and remove any microSD card. You’ll need a small screwdriver and a guitar pick or similar thin plastic tool.

Opening the case

  1. Place the handheld face down on a soft surface.
  2. Remove the back-panel screws. On the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X there are five on the back and three short ones along the bottom. The ROG Ally and ROG Ally X have six. One screw is captive: it stays in the panel and helps lift it.
  3. If the panel doesn’t come free, slide the pick along the seam to release the clips.
  4. Lift the panel carefully. On the ROG Ally X, Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, a ribbon cable connects the back panel to the motherboard and can tear if you pull too fast. It can stay connected while you work.

Swapping the drive

  1. Disconnect the battery. ASUS shows its connector under the right fan, or on one model under a black flap between the fans. Where there’s a metal retaining clip, slide it back first.
  2. Remove the screw holding the SSD, slide the drive out, insert the new one and refit the screw.
  3. ASUS notes that some ROG Xbox Ally models need the battery removed (five screws) before the SSD can come out. Those also have a strip of conductive fabric on the drive and board, which you can discard.
  4. Reconnect the battery and close the case, checking that all clips and screws are back in place.

Reinstalling Windows

Connect the 65 W charger and remove any SD card. Hold Volume Down and press Power to enter the BIOS. Press Y to leave EZ mode, then go to Advanced → ASUS Cloud Recovery and press A. It needs Wi-Fi, downloads the system image and restarts several times. Afterwards the device sets up as new.

Stock storage: ROG Xbox Ally X
Storage1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280[1]
Card readerUHS-II microSD[1]

Model comparison: ROG Xbox Ally vs Ally X.

Steam Deck owners need an M.2 2230 drive instead: Steam Deck SSD upgrade.

Sources

Last checked

  1. ROG Xbox Ally X (2025) RC73XA – Tech Specs ASUS ROG · Manufacturer product page

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