According to a new report, some launch model Xbox One consoles are unable to download firmware updates.
According to Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry, the 2013 model – the large VCR-shaped console you see in the image above – has not been updated in some time, unlike the 2016 Xbox One S revision, which means it can’t download the latest firmware updates.
The report comes after a handful of players on gaming forum NeoGAF claimed they were having trouble downloading updates for older Xbox One consoles.
After further investigation, the Digital Foundry team discovered that Xbox One consoles with older firmware can no longer be updated.
The team attempted to update three Xbox One consoles, two running the 2017 dashboard and one running the 2018 dashboard. All three failed to update to the latest firmware, as they not only tried to download the update, but also tried to save it to a USB stick and install it that way.
Xbox consoles cannot use online features unless they are running the latest firmware. This means that these consoles cannot currently access Xbox Live or make digital purchases that require online verification.
The report also notes that if someone were to factory reset one of these consoles (for example, by selling it), it would effectively be ‘bricked’ as the latest firmware wouldn’t be available to download as part of the initial setup.
According to reports, Xbox One S consoles appear to be unaffected, and launch model Xbox One consoles that have been regularly updated for years appear to continue to be updated as normal. For now, it appears that only launch model Xbox consoles with older firmware are likely at risk.
Digital Foundry reached out to Microsoft about the issue and was told that while they are “confident that a fix will be made,” they “raise awkward questions about the future prospects of console hardware that relies on an internet connection for full functionality.”
