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[Update] Considering The New Xbox One Experience Preview? Here Are The Known Issues

by Mike Futter on Oct 22, 2015 at 02:47 PM

Update: Microsoft has responded to our request for an updated list of known issues. We've been told that a publishing problem is why those of us not in the preview program were seeing the September 16 bug list.

A new list is now available for us to report on. The current build is not without its problems, but it is significantly improved from a month ago (as you'd expect).

Some games still do not work properly. These include Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Xbox Fitness, The Crew, and Nightmares from the Deep. Further Bedlam causes a crash when achievements are unlocked and Titanfall might require a hard reset to restore connection to the Xbox Live servers.

Additionally, some video apps may not launch. These are:

  • Showtime Anytime
  • Every Street United
  • Voice Studio
  • BlinkBox
  • Wuaki
  • NowTV
  • MLB
  • Xbox Video
  • Groove Music

Other video apps may launch but not actually work. These include:

  • YouTube
  • SyFy
  • Epix
  • beINSPORTS
  • GoPRo Channel
  • AT&T U-Verse
  • iHeart Radio
  • Media Player
  • VUDU
  • TWC TV

Additionally, you may run into a problem with disc-based media that can be fixed by ejecting and reinserting. Because this is preview, you'll possibly experience app crashes, problems loading back up from standby requiring a forced quit, and issues with Skype and party chat.

Note that the New Xbox One Experience is a work in progress and the team is pushing new builds frequently. The full list of known issues is now available on your dashboard. If you want to opt out of the automatic rollover of all preview program members, you need to opt out of the program entirely.

Original Story (October 21 at 9:05 a.m. Central)

Xbox One preview members have received notification via Xbox Live message that their consoles will soon be transitioned to the new dashboard. It’s still possible to opt out, but it means abandoning the preview program entirely.

When the option to participate the New Xbox One Experience (NXOE) preview was first made available, we reported on a number of known issues. These included a variety of games failing to launch, issues with DLC, and incompatibility of a number of video apps.

Microsoft hasn’t updated the Known Issues section of the preview app since September 16, so it’s unclear whether upgrading to the new dashboard will still break games or render your video apps like Vudu and SlingTV inoperable.

We’ve reached out to Microsoft for an updated list of known issues. We’ll update as soon as possible so you can decide whether you want to remain in the preview program.

The NXOE includes faster navigation via an icon bar that takes you right to different sections of the dashboard, a vertically scrolling home menu that includes more information, an Xbox 360-like guide feature, and an updated OneGuide that shows trending videos from your apps. The new dashboard also gives players easier access to social media-style like/comment/share features for clips and screenshots.

 

Our Take
While this indicates that Microsoft is feeling confident about the NXOE’s stability, the lack of an updated known issues list is concerning. It’s hard to know whether staying in the preview program is a good idea without information about whether games and apps will work. 

I saw an updated version of the new dashboard in action last week. While it seemed stable (and affords a number of great improvements), I didn’t have hands-on opportunity or get confirmation about game and app functionality.