It wouldn’t be a tech launch without some sort of hardware failure causing a bit of a fuss across the internet. For the Xbox One, some people are finding that their freshly unpacked Xbox Ones have a broken disc drive.
Putting a disc into a drive with this issue results in nothing more than a bunch of grinding and clicking for a few moments, with the discs simply not being registered by the system.
The issue is demonstrated quite perfectly by this Youtube video out of Germany:
There’s also a collection of tweets and vines which we’ve found complaining of this issue, as well as a forum thread of a few pages on Microsoft’s Xbox forums, and a thread on NeoGAF.
Further notes are saying that Microsoft are sending out so called coffins for these machines to be sent back to MS and replaced, but that these replacements are set to take 3-5 days. If you face the same issue, you might have a quicker turn around going back to where you bought it. Naturally this is all quite a frustrating situation for someone who has just spent hundreds of euros, pounds and dollars!
However, as with the PlayStation 4’s release, which saw some consoles shipping with damaged HDMI ports and others unable to boot past the flashing blue stripe, this is most likely an issue which is befalling just a small percentage of all consoles sold. The Internet is always prone to the vocal minority getting noticed by the masses. It won’t be until weeks or months after launch that any systematic flaws are truly identifiable.
We have reached out Microsoft for a comment, which we’ll update this with when we can.
Alex C
Exact same sound my PS3 debug used to make.
Forrest_01
You heard it here first people – PS3 debug models used to create Xbox One base build! ;)
TSBonyman
Just like with PS4 there is bound to be some faulty units, hopefully not too many.
ABlokeCalledDaz
Hopefully this will just affect a tiny %age of owners. Feel bad for those affected though. Nothing beats that feeling of spending a lot of money on a dud.
3shirts
Take it back, get a replacement. Just like every other product ever.
I know you have to report it so I’m not having a go at TSA but, honestly, people need to calm the hell down. If Microsoft refused to replace them or something, THAT would be news
Vallon
I got a 360 at launch way back when, put the console on its side and it decided to turn my FIFA disc into a record (grooves) – made the same sort of munching noise.
bunimomike
That’s quite the grind! Oh dear. Fingers crossed it’s a small percentage of problems, just like the PS4.
JR.
I wonder if the media will blow this out of proportion like they did with the PS4?
bunimomike
It’s one of the things I hate about the internet. A few vocal folk can make things appear so seriously catastrophic when all that’s happened is a one-in-a-hundred chance and perfectly acceptable (like the PS4 problems).
The internet. Where everyone gets a voice but I don’t want to listen to 99% of them. Meh.
blarty
I’m sure some sites will report it… others won’t. I was glad with Kotaku when they not only reported that they had the HDMI issue their PS4 but also reported when they got it back and told people what had gone wrong and what to look out for so that others might avoid a similar fate – that’s responsible journalism; Going out of your way to root for and promote the Xbox One during a PS4 livestream? Eh, not so much.
Scythegpd
I know of someone who bought 2 xb1’s. One of them has this problem, the other doesn’t.
*applies polygon logic*
HEADLINE – XB1 has 50% failure rate!!!
… oh wait, sorry, doesn’t work in that direction …
Stefan L
Funnily enough, nobody else seems to have picked up on this.
You’re right, it doesn’t want to be blown out of proportion, but it is something worth reporting on, so that if people do encounter this, they know that it’s not just them, what measures MS have in place for helping to get you a working machine and any other alternatives.
jimmy-google
I’ve seen it elsewhere as well as reports of issue with the day one patch. Some get stuck in a loop but if you persevere it will eventually work. Others give an error which requires the console going back to Microsoft.
Hardware problems hear and there are normal. Not sure why the software/firmware side isn’t consistent but these sort of complaints seem to occur somewhere with every firmware update.
Cort
Nope. Non-gaming sites that have the PS4’s problems front and centre don’t even show a single report about this – e.g. BBC News and the Daily Telegraph’s tech sections.
jimmy-google
This is probably the least surprising story of the week
OnlineAssassinOA
(In the style of Harry Hills TV Burp) Probably the least surprising story of the weeeek… ;D
lambchop
Fingers crossed for my PS4, but I do have history with Electronic lemons! :(
blarty
I believe this may be in order…. http://familyguy.wikia.com/wiki/What_Really_Grinds_My_Gears