Owners of Xbox One consoles with outdated firmware are facing a technical problem. Players report that attempts to update them with new firmware fail. Digital Foundry was able to confirm the information and has a request.
The Xbox One seems to be causing technical problems for some owners. Owners of the launch model are complaining on social media that they cannot install new firmware updates on their console.
It apparently doesn’t matter whether it’s a used Xbox One or a previously unused, original packaged model.
First, owners of the launch Xbox One reported in the games forum NeoGAF about Difficulty downloading and installing firmware updatesThe information has since been verified.
Attempts with multiple consoles failed
After extensive investigations, the team from Digital Foundry found that Xbox One consoles with outdated firmware may no longer allow further updates.
The team at the tech publication attempted to update three Xbox One consoles, two of which were equipped with a dashboard from 2017, while one console had the dashboard from 2018.
The attempt to install the update to the latest firmware failed on all three consoles. It was not possible to complete the update via the online update or to install it via a USB stick. This in turn affects the online functionality, which requires up-to-date firmware.
“Used consoles sold on eBay that have been reset to factory settings have the same issue,” writes Digital Foundry. Ultimately, older firmware revisions experience errors when connected to Xbox Live.
Digital Foundry attempted to further isolate the problem and, after a series of user tests, concluded that a necessary file was added with firmware released in 2018 or later.
The Xbox One S from 2016 is not said to be affected. Overall, there are only a few reports of the proven problem.
In line with this topic:
Xbox One problem raises fears of a bleak future
While it can be assumed that Microsoft will solve the problem quickly by restoring the previous conditions on Xbox Live, this problem is likely to give many players food for thought.
Due to increasing digitalization, games are now largely dependent on the online servers of the platform providers. And even disk games often require online activation. A console that can no longer be updated is therefore only of limited use.
“If that happens now, what will it be like in 10 or 20 years?” Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter concludes. “I can pull an Atari VCS out of the attic after 40 years and, assuming there is no hardware failure, start playing. Or if a retro enthusiast wants to do the same, they can buy original hardware and games and start playing. Nothing can take those games and experiences away from us.”
The PS5 Slim is also problematic in this context. The disk drive must be registered once during setup, which is done via an online connection. Without this registration step, the disk cannot be used. And in the event of a PSN failure (such as in 2011) access to the digital library is also denied. We reported:
Overall, Digital Foundry would like to see a strategy that ensures that console manufacturers can continue to use consoles in the long term. A “final update” would be conceivable so that users receive a reliable solution that ensures continued use even after the infrastructure is shut down.
What do you think about the situation? Are you worried that your consoles will become unusable at some point?
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