can i watch my cable through my xbox one without having to turn on my xbox one?

During the time we were using the Xbox one, it was apparent that you have to watch TV via your Xbox One. So, the power bill will be going up a tad to use this feature. If your TV is limited to just one HDMI port, it sounds like the pass through feature is your only hands off option. The only other alternatives would be to get an HDMI switch or unplug and plug in which device you want to use.

Why does it matter if you only have one hdmi port (im assuming you mean on your tv)? If you run your cable box through your xbox one you only need one hdmi cable going to your tv. Considering you can set everything up to turn on and off together you really dont even notice both devices are on.

i just don't want to have my xbox one on when i watch tv. its not a problem to switch out the HDMI cables. i was wondering if i can set it up to where i don't have too. so if i can plug my HD cable box into my xbox one and watch tv without turning on my xbox one, that would be cool.

You need to keep it on to be able to watch TV through it.  

What is your concern with having it on to watch TV?

i don't want to jack up my electric bill. not to mention that i worry about how it would effect my xbox one. i don't want my xbox one over heating or having problems because it is always on.

I am able to watch TV while the xbox one is turned off. I just change the source to TV and somehow it works

how do i change the source?

On my TV's remote, there is a button labeled "Source" which when I push that button it allows me to choose whether to display HDMI 1 or HDMI 2 on the screen. My TV is HDMI 1 and the xbox is HDMI 2 so I can switch between the two sources.  Although the xbox is not turned on, it does something called pass-through which somehow passes the cable signal through the xbox (which is turned off), and displays on my TV screen. However, I have come to find out that not all TV's support this so it will require research on your end. In terms of electricity, the xbox does not have to be actually on at all times, it is in a stand-by mode that draws less electricity than when it is turned on. I hope that helps.

Incorrect. The Xbox One does NOT pass through the cable box output over HDMI with the Xbox off (if it did, you would still have to use HDMI2 because it is still running through the Xbox). If you are really able to watch cable TV through the Xbox One when the TV is set to HDMI2 and also watch cable TV directly using your cable box when the TV is set to HDMI1, then one of 4 things is going on:

1) Your cable box has 2 HDMI outputs, one connected to the Xbox and the other directly to the TV. I am not aware of such a box with 2 HDMI outputs.

2) You have 2 separate cable boxes.

3) You are using an HDMI splitter to simultaneosly output your cable box to the HDMI input on the Xbox and the HDMI1 input on the TV.

4) You are confused--for example, perhaps your cable box is actually connected directly to your TV with component/composite, in addition to being connected to the Xbox via HDMI.

#3 is the only good solution to OP's problem. I can confirm the Monoprice 8204 HDMI splitter works well for this.

www.monoprice.com/Product

try to use an hdmi power splitter