Tinker Mods Blog | Xbox One

This isn't really an ad.

Some of this blog post might come off as an ad for the kits I sell here at Tinker Mods. In reality, I get more than 20 e-mails a day from people that have a halted Xbox One case mod project. Usually it's because something got messed up or because their busy lives prevent them from finishing it. Many people ask me for tips on how to cut down the time it takes to finish certain parts of a build, and this comes to my inbox... every...single...day. So what is going on and how can we work together to stop this trend?

Inexperience = time

Before I start on this one, inexperience does not mean you suck at this or can't do it yourself. It means this might be your first or second case mod project. This absolutely means it will take you a lot more time to complete a build. This is because you want to be careful. I mean, you're cutting, melting,and altering your expensive gaming console. It would be a big mistake to NOT take your time. What I end up seeing the most, when someone gets caught up in their lives and their Xbox One console sits there half torn apart with LEDs hanging out of it.

Lack of experience can also result in having to teach yourself a skill needed to complete your Xbox One build. The most common of which I see with my viewers is soldering. Soldering seems straight forward. Melt the metal onto the wire to get it to stick where you want it. But, it really isn't that simple. There is a nack to soldering that can't be taught or described. You get that nack by soldering, and soldering some more, and then a bunch more too. If you are trying to teach yourself how to solder or how to use a Dremel to cut out a case window, simple common sense and math will show you that it's going to take a while to change your power button LED color.

Then come the mistakes

What does pretty much every human being do when they get frustrated and start running out of time? We rush, we all do it, I do it, you do it, that guy across the street with the perfect hair and $40,000 mustang does it. It's just a part of being human. Unfortunately, rushing usually equals mistakes, and now you're really screwed.

Now you've spent allllllll this time on your Xbox One case mod and you rushed. Now, you have a big cut mark through the side of your Xbox One case which basically means you have to buy a new case AND start all over. (Most people give up though, I am sad to say.) Okay but most of you know this, many of you reading this probably sent me an e-mail at one time or another because of a situation just like this. But some people don't, they haven't started their project yet so that's why I went into it. So... let's dig into the whole, "how do I save time and money with Xbox One case mod kits." thing.

Kits are piece of mind, Kits are learning.

So, at this point case mod kits for your Xbox one project don't even need to be explained. With everything I said it's pretty obvious why case mod kits will save you time. They are pre-built and ready to be installed. All you have to do is use what comes in the kit to replace what's on your Xbox One. Instead, let's talk about the less obvious.

Think of case mod kits like vitamins. Maybe a vegetarian uses protein vitamin supplements to make sure they get enough protein since their diet has no meat in it. Maybe you have the flu and you're taking Vitamin C to help you fight off the bug. That vitamin c ASSISTS you fight off your sickness. You still have white blood cells fighting and you still take in and produce Vitamin C on your own, That vitamin C just adds extra help to fight it off quicker and make it a little easier than waiting for it to go away on it's own.

Xbox One case mod kits do the exact same thing for your project. Maybe you aren't a skilled soldering machine, buying an Xbox One LED kit like this one will speed up your project quite a bit, without having a huge price tag. You won't have to teach yourself to solder in ADDITION to teaching yourself how to case mod. This also gives yourself an opportunity to see how one is made and how you can make one yourself on your next project!

I fully support the DIY attitude to Xbox one case mods. In fact, I've made free tutorials that will show you how to case mod your Xbox One from start to finish. BUT, this isn't always the best option or some people. Just like I started off with, it takes a lot of time to teach yourself as you build. In the mean time, you also aren't gaming because your Xbox One is split wide open with wires going everywhere. That's why an Xbox One case mod kit like this one, is a huge time saver and a great learning tool for someone looking to save hours on their Xbox one case mod project.

Don't give up

I see people give up on their Xbox One case mod projects all the time. Maybe they made a mistake and don't know how to fix it or what step to take now. Maybe the time it's taking to figure out how to solder and use a Dremel is turning them away from finishing. There are lots of reasons but those are the ones I see the most. That's the big reason I decided to write about this today. It breaks my heart to see a project someone gave up on or left collecting dust all because of how much time it was taking. So, regardless of whether or not this just sounds like an ad for my case mod kits, I really hope you consider them for your own project. In my little world, an abandoned and un-used game console is a terrible thing and I hate to see it. Which is why I do what I do!