Xbox One owners across the globe are facing mysterious black screens upon turning on their consoles. All Xbox One consoles we've tested at Windows Central present the issue, preventing them from accessing menus, games… and essentially anything. Similarly, Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming network appears to be down, signaling a widespread issue across its gaming platform.
While details on the black screen are scarce, the bug appears to stem from a recent Xbox service update. As detailed by Xbox Insider Program head, Brad Rosetti, via Twitter, Microsoft plans to roll back the service change, aiming to correct the fault spanning Xbox One consoles worldwide. Microsoft's official Xbox Support Twitter account has also acknowledged reports, with the team "continuing to address" the issue.
Updated January 30, 2019 @ 15:25 ET: Xbox Support has announced that all Xbox One start-up, sign-in, and updating issues have been fixed.
The issues surrounding Xbox One console startup, sign-in, title update errors, and our status page have now been resolved. Thank you for sticking with us while our teams addressed these issues and we appreciate the reports. As always, we're here and we're listening.The issues surrounding Xbox One console startup, sign-in, title update errors, and our status page have now been resolved. Thank you for sticking with us while our teams addressed these issues and we appreciate the reports. As always, we're here and we're listening.— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport) January 30, 2019January 30, 2019
Updated January 30, 2019 @ 14:40 ET: Some previously-affected Xbox One owners can now reaccess their consoles. To restart your Xbox One with a hard reset, hold down the console's power button for 10 seconds while the system is on. The console will enter a full reboot cycle, and the Home menu should display once it loads. If a black screen still displays, we recommend waiting for official updates from Microsoft.
Updated January 30, 2019 @ 14:20 ET: Xbox Support states its teams have identified the cause of today's bug, promising to provide future updates once available.
Our teams have identified the cause for our earlier issues and are continuing to address these now. Thank you for your patience, we'll update again when we know of any other changes.Our teams have identified the cause for our earlier issues and are continuing to address these now. Thank you for your patience, we'll update again when we know of any other changes.— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport) January 30, 2019January 30, 2019
We are aware of reports of Xbox One console startup, title update and sign-in errors. We will keep everyone informed once we have more information to share. Thank you all for your patience.We are aware of reports of Xbox One console startup, title update and sign-in errors. We will keep everyone informed once we have more information to share. Thank you all for your patience.— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport) January 30, 2019January 30, 2019
As of publication, no formal workaround has surfaced for the black screen bug. Equally, there's no estimated time for when Microsoft will issue a fix. However, it highlights a clear dilemma in the world of internet-connected consoles, where a single misstep can render millions of consoles unusable. We'll be sure to update this post as new details surface.
