Nothing quite matches the sheer joy of ripping open a present on Christmas morning to come face to face with the gift that was at the very tippy-top of your wish list, so imagine the utter disappointment when you set that gift up only to find that it doesn't work. Not to mention how pissed off whoever it is that bought the thing for you in the first place.
That's exactly what happened for a couple of new Xbox One owners yesterday, Christmas morning. News For Shoppers is reporting that the console's famed disc drive malfunction has struck again.
The problem first surfaced not long after the Xbox One's worldwide release. At the time, a number of Xbox One owners reported the problem. Complaints popped up on Amazon, with one user writing, "The optical drive doesn't work just makes a bunch of grinding noises when you insert a disc. I would totally give this negative stars if I could! I am going to bring this back and get a PS4 instead which is what I should have done from the start. $100 less for a better product sounds like a win-win to me." Another claimed that the drive was "noisy and it damaged all my discs." A thread on Reddit has similar complaints, and links to videos of the problem in action.
According to Microsoft's initial response to the problem:
"The issue is affecting a very small number of Xbox One customers. We're working directly with those affected to get a replacement console to them as soon as possible through our advance exchange program. We know that with a hardware launch of this magnitude customers will have questions and we have many avenues for customers to get the answers they need and get back in the game as soon as possible. Rest assured we plan to take care of our customers. Any customer who believes they are experiencing an issue with their Xbox One should reach out to us. There are many avenues available for customers to get in touch with us including:
- Talking to a live customer support person that can call you back if you don't want to wait
- Xbox.com for support pages and forums
- On Twitter with @XboxSupport
- There are also Help and diagnostics on the console by saying 'Xbox Help'"
The statement is the same as the recent response given to News For Shoppers, who also reported that Microsoft has sent out used or refurbished consoles as a replacement for the console with the disc drive problem. The other option is returning the console directly to the retailer, where this interesting nugget came to light. The outlet reported:
"Upon returning the original malfunctioning console to Best Buy, the customer service rep told him about 10% of the Xbox Ones are coming back to the store with the disc drive malfunction."
10% huh? Certainly sounds like a lot more than Microsoft's "very small number of Xbox One customers."