UPDATE: First Wave of Xbox One April System Updates Now in Preview

This month, they are rolling out updates to the Xbox One Preview program members in two waves, with the first set coming today and more to come next week. Check out the list below for features in this first April system update preview that is starting to roll out this afternoon:

• Party chat improvements – Party chat is being improved with troubleshooting guidance for Xbox One owners. The Party App will help you get your microphone enabled and show you when privacy settings or networking issues are blocking communication with particular party members.
•  Game hub links – Members can more easily discover game hub content from activity feed items. You’ll see activity feed items when any of your friends follow a game, and you’ll also be able to get back to a game’s hub from activity feed posts related to the game – including feed items about the game’s achievements, game clips and screenshots. Finally, we’ve added a link to game hubs from the game’s page in the achievements app.
•  Achievement notifications – With this preview release, you’ll also see the achievement’s description in the notification so you know what you did to earn this achievement without having to open the achievements app. If you do choose to open up the notification to see the achievement details, we’ve also made some performance improvements to make loading the achievements app from a notification faster.

RELEASE: Ziggurat is Now Available for Xbox One

Ziggurat


 Ziggurat is a combination of First Person Shooter and Rogue-LITE. Become a neophyte sorcerer, and get ready for your rite of passage: Enter the labyrinth and face dangerous challenges to prove your worth and become a powerful wizard! The game focuses on fast-paced first person shooting, with an old-school vibe, and updated handling and game mechanics.

RELEASE: Mortal Kombat X is Now Available for Digital Pre-order and Pre-download on Xbox One

 Mortal Kombat X

XBOX ONE GAME EXPECTED TO RELEASE ON 4/14/2015. YOU MAY DOWNLOAD THE GAME FROM XBOX LIVE BEFORE THEN, BUT IT WILL NOT BE PLAYABLE UNTIL 12:01 AM EST ON THE RELEASE DATE. Once purchase is complete, download this game by selecting the “Manage” button on the product details page on your console.

Mortal Kombat X combines unparalleled, cinematic presentation with all new gameplay. For the first time, players can choose from multiple variations of each character impacting both strategy and fighting style. Legendary fighter, Goro offered as a pre-order bonus.

HOW TO: Use the Offline System Update Diagnostic Tool on Xbox One

You should use the diagnostic tool only to troubleshoot a console that’s having trouble downloading a system update from Xbox Live. Try all other troubleshooting steps first. The diagnostic tool file is a very large file and will take considerable time to complete. 

To use the Offline System Update Diagnostic Tool, you’ll need:

• A Windows-based PC with an Internet connection and a USB port.
• A USB flash drive with a minimum 2 GB of space formatted as NTFS. 

Important
This process is designed for troubleshooting use only. If you're updating your system for the first time, you'll still need to connect to the Xbox Live service.
Read these instructions thoroughly before installing the update

HOW TO: Use your Xbox One Controller on PC

The Xbox One Wireless Controller can work with your PC if you download one of the following driver packages:
PC drivers for Xbox One Controller (x86) 
PC drivers for Xbox One Controller (x64).

These drivers are compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1.

Note For your controller to work with your PC, it needs to be connected using a micro-USB cable. It will not work wirelessly with your PC. 

After you install the drivers on your PC, connect your Xbox One wireless controller to a powered USB port on your PC using a standard micro-USB cable. When you do, the controller will vibrate to let you know that it's connected.

Note To use your Xbox One controller with your console after using it with a PC, you must re-sync the controller to the console. You can do this by using the wireless sync button or a USB cable. For details, see Connect a wireless Xbox One controller to your console.

If you want to use an Xbox 360 Controller with your PC, you can use an Xbox 360 Controller for Windows. Or, you can use an Xbox 360 Wireless Controller together with an Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows.

YSK: Xbox One compatibility FAQ

Xbox One compatibility with Xbox 360 and original Xbox: FAQ

The Xbox One console was desig ned from the ground up to give you an all-new experience. The system is entirely new and is generally not compatible with the Xbox 360 or original Xbox consoles.

The following information answers frequently asked questions about the differences between Xbox One and Xbox 360.



Can I use my Xbox 360 games with Xbox One (or vice versa)?
No. Games that work with Xbox 360 won't work with Xbox One (or vice versa).

Can I use my Xbox 360 controllers or accessories with Xbox One (or vice versa)?
No. Controllers and accessories that work with Xbox 360 won't work with Xbox One (or vice versa).

Will my avatars and achievements from Xbox 360 be available to me on Xbox One?
Your avatars and achievements do carry over from Xbox 360 through Xbox Live. These features are accessible through the Xbox One Dashboard.

Can I be signed in to my Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles at the same time?
If you own an Xbox 360 console and an Xbox One console, you can be signed in to both at the same time. However, you can only be signed in to one Xbox One console and one Xbox 360 console at a time.

My TV has only one HDMI port. Can I connect my Xbox 360 to my TV via my Xbox One console?
Yes. You can plug your Xbox 360 into the Xbox One through the Xbox One’s HDMI In port.
Note If you link the two consoles together and use the Kinect sensors for both consoles, we recommend that you mute one of the Kinect microphones to avoid voice command interference.

YSK: XBOX Customer Support Numbers and contacts

You will find XBOX Customer Support number and toll free numbers in this post. Very useful if you run into problems and need customer support or technical support with your Xbox gaming console.

Calling up and getting help is not the easiest things when it comes to XBOX Customer Support. So try hard and you will be able to get the desired support from Xbox.




For Xbox US:
Phone assistance is available:
9:00 A.M. to 1:00 A.M. Eastern Time
6:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M. Pacific Time

Phone numbers
Toll free: (800) 4MY-XBOX or (800) 469-9269
Direct dial: (425) 635-7180
Hearing impaired (TDD device): (866) 740-9269 or (425) 635-7102

You can also twitter Xbox on twitter @ http://twitter.com/xboxsupport

Don’t like to call Xbox or tweet them? The you can probably Email Xbox @ http://support.xbox.com/en-us/pages/email-us.aspx

For Xbox Canada:
Phone assistance is available.
9:00 A.M. to 1:00 A.M. Eastern Time

Phone numbers
Toll free: (800) 4MY-XBOX or (800) 469-9269
International (direct dial to US): (425) 635-7180
Hearing impaired (TDD device): (866) 740-9269 or (425) 635-7102

HOW TO: Set the Family Timer on the Xbox 360

After you haver turned on parental controls (see: How To Turn On Parental Controls) you can set the family timer.

The Family Timer is used limit the amount of time your family can use your console on a daily or weekly basis. Family members can see how much time remains by pressing the Guide button on the Xbox controller. When the time expires, the console shuts down and can't be used again until the Family Timer automatically resets the next day or week.

To set the Family Timer

1. On your console, go to Settings, and then select Family. 
2. Select On to turn on Console Safety. 
3. Enter a 4-button pass code using your controller. 
4. Select Family Timer. 
5. Select whether you want to set a Daily or Weekly timer. 
6. Move down to the time period and use the left stick to increase or decrease the time period, then select Continue. 
7. Select Save and Exit. 

NOTE: When the Family Timer is on, notifications will appear 1 hour, 30 minutes, 15 minutes, and 5 minutes before the time runs out. These give players sufficient warning so that they can save their games. However, when one of these notifications appears, you can add time or disable the timer altogether by entering your pass code.

HOW TO: Turn on parental controls on Xbox 360

Is your son, daughter, brother or sister using your Xbox 360 way too much or way too late at night?  Do you want to restrict when and what they play?  Here is how to turn on parental controls on Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 console lets you customize and manage your family's access to games, movies, and television content. The Xbox 360 parental controls can be used to control both the console itself and access to content on Xbox Live, including:

• Which games can be played. 
• Which movies and TV shows can be watched. 
• How long each family member can use the console on a daily or                                                   Weekly basis.                                                  
• Whether or not a family member can access Xbox Live.
• Parental controls for Xbox 360 can be set through the console itself                                             or on Xbox Live through your computer. 

Parental controls are divided into two groups: console controls and online safety and privacy settings. Console controls are located in the Family Settings or Family Center area on your console (depending on your Xbox Live membership type). 

Set parental controls on your Xbox 360 console

1. On your console, go to Settings, and then select Family.  
2. Select the gamertag of the child whose settings you want to adjust. 
3. Under Privacy & Online Settings, select Change Settings. 
4. Update the settings and then exit the screen to save. 

Set parental controls through your computer

1. Sign in to your Xbox account. 
2. Tap or click My account. 
3. Tap or click Security, family & forums. 
4. Tap or click Xbox 360 Online Safety, and then select the account you want to adjust. (Your child’s avatar will be shown here next to your own.) 
5. Select Allowed or Blocked next to the areas you want to limit or allow access to, and then tap or click Save.

HOW TO: Add your MP3s to OneDrive so you can play them on your Xbox

So now it looks like we can upload mp3s to our OneDrive and stream them from there to our consoles.

Here is how:

1. Open your OneDrive Music folder from the web or via the OneDrive app.

2. Upload your favorite MP3s from your hard drive to the OneDrive Music folder.

3.  Sign into the Xbox Music application on your PC, Windows Phone, Xbox or the web with the same Microsoft Account you used in OneDrive. Your OneDrive music files will now be listed as songs in your collection, free to play wherever you go!

 Note: if you are still not seeing your files, please make sure you have accepted the Xbox Terms of Use here.


Frequently Asked Questions

NEWS: Store Mp3s on OneDrive for Xbox Music Playback

OneDrive and Xbox Music have teamed up to give you something Microsoft should have offered long ago: The ability to store your music in the cloud and play it back, too.

Although streaming services like Spotify are now in vogue, most of us still have a stash of MP3 music files on a hard drive. Beginning today, you can now upload them to Microsoft’s OneDrive, and play them back via Xbox Music.

You could always upload MP3 files to OneDrive—or pretty much any other file, for that matter. But OneDrive wouldn’t play them back, and there was no easy workaround. Microsoft is finally catching up, years after Google allowed you to upload your own MP3 files to Google Play, Apple to its iCloud, or Amazon to its own music service.

Why this matters: By now, most music lovers subscribe to a streaming service, or ad-supported apps like Pandora stream in the background. With large SD cards and external hard drives, stashing your music in a folder and trucking it around with you isn’t that big of a deal. Still, storing your music in the cloud is a convenience, and one that Microsoft should have offered long ago.

Source

Release: Tales from the Borderlands – Episode 2: Atlas Mugged

Tales from the Borderlands – Episode 2: Atlas Mugged


 Tales from the Borderlands is a five part episodic game series set on the unforgiving world of Pandora after the events seen in Borderlands 2. This story follows two adventurers on their quest for greatness and thrown together as unwilling partners in an adventure to recover cash they both think is theirs.

DO NOT purchase this content if you own the Tales from the Borderlands Season Pass. Tales from the Borderlands – Episode 1: Zer0 Sum required; sold separately.

Purchase Tales from the Borderlands – Episode 2: Atlas Mugged for Xbox One from Xbox Games Store

Purchase Tales from the Borderlands – Episode 2: Atlas Mugged for Xbox 360 from Xbox Games Store

HELP: Where do I send my Broken Xbox One for Repair/Exchange?

So your xbox is broken and you registered to get your console fixed or replaced. But where do you send it?  If you did not receive an address where you should send the broken One, here is a list of shipping addresses for the Xbox One's Product Returns Centers listed by country.










United States 
Microsoft c/o Exel
Product Returns Center
5400 George McVay Drive
McAllen, TX 78503

Canada 
Microsoft c/o Jabil - UPSSCS
4150 Mainway
Burlington, Ontario
L7L-0A7

Europe (including the UK and the Channel Islands) and UAE 
European Repair Centre
Teleplan Prague s.r.o.
a Dlouhém 88
251 01 Říčany-Jažlovice
Czech Republic

Colombia 
Complejo Logístico San Diego
Km 1.5 Vía Siberia Funza
Bodega 7C
Cundinamarca
Colombia

Mexico
Flextronics Manufacturing Mex SA de CV
Carretera a la Base Aerea No. 5850
Edificio 1 / FULFILLMENT
Residencial La Mora, CP 45136
Zapopan, Jalisco
Mexico

Brazil  
Tel-NT Brasil Comércio De Equipamentos De Telecomunição Ltda
162, Antonio Felamigo Street,
Macuco/Valhinhos/SP 13279-452
Brasil

Chile 
Jabil Global Services Chile, SpA / UPS Santiago
Carretera Gral. San Martin 9260
Santiago
Chile
Asia/Pacific Service Center addresses

China 
Jabil Circuits (Suzhou) Pte. Ltd.
Suzhou Industrial Park, Weiting Town
Block A4, 135 Putian Road, Putian Industrial Park
Post Code 215121

Australia 
UPS
Botany Grove Estate
14a Baker Street, Botany, Sydney
NSW 2019

New Zealand 
UPS
120 Pavilion Drive, Airport Oaks
Manukau, Auckland 2150

HOW TO: Get your Xbox One console or Kinect fixed/replaced

To request service for an Xbox One product, you must first register the product, as described below.

Note You need a free Microsoft account, which enables you to sign in to various Microsoft services such as Xbox Live, to register your Xbox One console and Kinect sensor. If you don’t have a Microsoft account, create a Microsoft account.

1. Sign in to the Xbox Online Service Center with your Microsoft account credentials (email address and password).
2. Under Devices, click Add a device. 
3. Under Register a device, the name, phone number, country, and state fields are pre-populated based on your profile information. Make sure they are correct. 
4. Note If your profile information is incorrect and you want to update it, click your name in the top-right corner, and then click Profile. 
5. In the Serial number field, enter your product’s serial number, and then click Register. 

 The registered product now appears in Device Manager. (To see it, click Manage devices under Home at the top of the page.)

After you have registered your Xbox One submit a service order request

1. Sign in to the Xbox Online Service Center with your Microsoft account credentials and click Problem with a device. If you’re already at the Device Manager page, click Request Service. 
2. Follow the prompts on the screen to complete your service order request. 

After the submission is received, you’ll be given a service order number, and an order confirmation email will be sent to you.

If after 24 hours you haven't received a confirmation email, check your email program's junk folder or spam filter. If you don't find the email in junk or spam, contact Xbox Support.

Send us the product

1. Remove all accessories and put only the console or Kinect sensor in a shipping box. Note If you're sending a console, make sure that there’s no disc inside. If a disc is stuck inside your console, see Manually eject a disc from your Xbox One console.  
2. After you attach the shipping label that you printed out or received from Xbox Support when you created your service request, send the box to our service center. 

If for some reason you do not know where to ship the broken Xbox See: Where do I send my Broken Xbox One for Repair/Exchange?

HOW TO: Manually eject a disc from your Xbox One console

So you need to send your Xbox One back for repairs or for some reason it will not power on, and you have a disc inside the needs to come out.

After looking at your console you may notice that there appears to be no manual eject button or hole anywhere on the One.  Don't fret there is a way to manually eject a disc from your Xbox One console.

1.  Disconnect the power cord and any other cables connected to the console.

2.  Uncoil a large paper clip.   Note A standard-sized paper clip is not long enough to eject the disc. You must use a large paper   clip because it must be inserted about 1.5 inches (nearly 4 centimeters) to successfully eject the disc.  

3.  Find the small orange rectangle behind the vents on the left side of the console.

4.  Insert the straight end of the paper clip into the eject hole, which is located next to the orange rectangle. You may have to angle it slightly forward (toward the front of the console) as you insert it.
5.  The disc should pop out slightly. Pull out the disc the rest of the way with your fingers.
Note Make sure the disc isn’t sticky and doesn’t have a label that might prevent it from ejecting again in the future.

Release: Bladestorm: Nightmare Xbox One

Bladestorm: Nightmare


Play as a mercenary and take control of a multitude of different squad types in order to guide their side to victory on a dynamically evolving battlefield. In addition to the new Nightmare scenario, in which dragons and cyclops appear, players can control up to 4 units with a total of up to 200 troopers and freely swap between them on the battlefield in order to carry out player strategies.

Purchase Bladestorm: Nightmare for Xbox One from Xbox Games Store

Release: Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Xbox One

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD


Final Fantasy Type-0 makes its Western debut as Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. Step into the fray as Class Zero, a group of fourteen students from an elite military academy whose country is attacked by an aggressive neighboring Empire. Using the powerful abilities and magic of all fourteen characters in fast-paced action-RPG combat, players must face the brutality and injustices of war to uncover the secrets of its genesis.

Purchase Final Fantasy Type-0 HD for Xbox One from Xbox Games Store

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Digital Day One Edition for Xbox One from Xbox Games Store (LIMITED TIME ONLY)

Release: Battlefield Hardline for Xbox One

Battlefield Hardline

Be the law or break the law in Battlefield Hardline. In the single-player campaign you’ll play the role of Nick Mendoza, a young detective who embarks on a cross-country vendetta, seeking revenge against once trusted partners on the force. In multiplayer you’ll hunt criminals, raid vaults, and save hostages in new cop and criminal inspired modes like Heist and Rescue.

Purchase Battlefield Hardline for Xbox One from Xbox Games Store

Release: Cabela’s African Adventures is Now Available for Xbox One

 Cabela’s African Adventures

Explore the vast wilderness of Africa on foot and by vehicle, where you’ll go head to head with the most ferocious beasts on the planet as you attempt to take down the biggest of the Big 5 – the Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Cape Buffalo & African Elephant. Features 5 different biomes and two modes – mission-based career progression and shooting galleries

Purchase Cabela’s African Adventures for Xbox One from Xbox Games Store

Release: Sling TV Xbox One

Sling TV is basically a service separate from cable that nets you a number of channels for $20 a month, with a few extra special interest packages like sports, kids or news. The base package highlights include AMC, ESPN, Food Network, Travel Channel, CNN, and Cartoon Network, among others.

CEO of Sling TV Roger Lynch thinks the program will be a success, noting “Sling TV and Xbox are a natural pairing; two out of three millennials think of themselves as gamers, while nearly nine out of 10 watch live sports on TV." We'll see about that. While many people are keen on cutting the cord, there are still millions out there who can't live without it -- and with a limited amount of Sling TV channels featuring on-demand or live TV control, it may be harder for those folks to give it up.

HELP: I can’t hear my friends online, or I can’t join or host a multiplayer game with my Xbox One

Can your Xbox One connect to Xbox Live, but you can’t hear your friends online within a game or a party? Or are you unable to host or join a particular multiplayer game? If so, then you may be encountering a Network Address Translation (NAT) related issue.







To check your NAT Type:

1. Press the Menu button on the Xbox One controller.
2. Select Settings.
3. Select Network.

On the Network settings screen, under Current Network Status, the NAT Type field will tell you your current NAT type.

If NAT type says anything other than Open you need to change that, before diving in to your router settings to try and Open your NAT thee are a few tricks that may work:

1. Try Hard Resetting the console

2.  Just simply reset your router.  Most router have a little button or a hole to poke with a paper clip labeled "RESET" or similar. Push it. when the router is back up check the NAT again as above.

3. The One has the ability to send a NAT Refresh code to your router has device discovery or UPnP on (you'll have to google your router info to check if you have this on).  To send the code:

1. Press the Menu button on the Xbox One controller. 
2. Select Settings.
3. Select Network.
4. On the Network Settings screen, select Test multiplayer connection on the right side of the screen.
5. Once the test completes do not go back to the home screen  simply Hold LT, RT, LB & RB all at once, and it will test NAT. A new screen will pop up:

If none of this works see: HOW TO: Open NAT XBOX One & 360

HOW TO: Open NAT XBOX One & 360

So you're trying to play multiplayer or chat with a friend but you get the warning that your NAT is strict and can not connect or your connection is limited.

Let me first tell you this is NOT an issue with your XBOX but an issue with your Router.  Having a Strict or Closed NAT has to do with settings in your router.  Because of the nature of how to Open NAT the best help I can give is to give you some resources to get your NAT Open. Ultimately it's up to you to figure out how to get into your router settings, your first step should be to GOOGLE  "your router maker & model + Open NAT"

What is NAT you ask? 

"Short for Network Address Translation, an Internet standard that enables a local-area network (LAN) to use one set of IP addresses for internal traffic and a second set of addresses for external traffic. A NAT boxlocated where the LAN meets the Internet makes all necessary IP address translations. 

NAT serves three main purposes:

1. Provides a type of firewall (security) by hiding internal IP addresses
2. Enables network to use more internal IP addresses. Since they're used internally only, there's no possibility of conflict with IP addresses used by other networks
3. Allows a network to combine multiple  connections into a single Internet connection. (connect more than one device to your network)"

HOW TO: Clear The Cache on Xbox 360

Sometimes you have issues with your 360, for example corrupt downloads, messed up game saves etc.  One of the simplest troubleshooting tools is to Clear your cache.

The Xbox 360 system cache stores such items as game updates, system update installation packages, and gamer pictures of your friends. You can often resolve issues with your Xbox 360 by clearing the system cache.


The following are not removed when you clear the Xbox 360 cache:

• Your gamertag 
• Content that you have downloaded 
• Game files 
• Console software updates

Clearing the cache removes previously downloaded game updates. You must download these updates again the next time you play the game.

To clear the system cache

1.  Press the Guide button on your controller, go to Settings, and select System Settings.
2.  Select Storage.

3.  Highlight (but don’t select) a storage device, and then press Y on your controller for Device Options.
Note It doesn't matter which storage device you choose. The cache will be cleared for all storage devices.

4.  On the Device Options screen, select Clear System Cache.

5. When prompted to confirm storage device maintenance, select Yes. 

Note When the system cache has been successfully cleared, you’re returned to the Storage Devices screen. You can then press the Guide button on the controller and return to Xbox Home.

HOW TO: Splitscreen Xbox 360 Minecraft

Splitscreen is a Console Edition-exclusive feature that allows up to four players to play on one screen at the same time. Using Splitscreen requires a screen with an output of at least 720p or higher. On television screens this can be achieved using either an HDMI or RGB component cable. Local Splitscreen can be played using Local, Silver and Gold accounts, while Online Splitscreen can only be played using Gold and Guest accounts. Guest accounts can only be signed in at the start of a session; they can not join existing sessions.

Because Splitscreen requires a screen with an output of 720p or higher, the console's video output needs to be configured accordingly. The video mode can be checked by going to Settings > System > Console Settings > Display - Make sure this is set to 720p or higher.

The following guide will show step by step how to setup and play a Local Splitscreen game


Step 1. Select play game and choose to either Create a New world or Load a previous world and make sure you are using 720p video.

Step 2. Make sure to uncheck the Online Game box.

Step 3. After entering the world, press start on the controller you wish to bring into the game.

Step 4. Sign in the player who will be using the controller.

Local splitscreen can be played with up to 4 players.

Online Splitscreen

The following guide will show step by step how to setup and play an Online Splitscreen game