No, Xbox Series X consoles aren’t melting
You’ve probably by now seen the videos of smoking Xbox Series X consoles doing the rounds. While the smoke itself is real, the consoles aren’t smoking, melting or overheating.
‘Malfunctioning’ Xbox Series X consoles
Videos similar to the one below spread like wildfire on social media yesterday, just one day after the Series X console began shipping excited customers.
However, the video is fake and easy to achieve if you vape. In fact, Microsoft addressed the issue by releasing the following on statement on Twitter yesterday:
“We can’t believe we have to say this, but please do not blow vape smoke into your Xbox Series X.”
If you have any “non-vape related support questions”, Microsoft suggests you reach out to the team through the official website and forums, as well as the XBoxSupport Twitter account and YouTube channel.
Forcing hardware problems on Xbox consoles
The Verge’s Tom Warren gave step-by-step instructions on how to make your console smoke. It’s easy, he says you simply have to buy a vape, and blow vape into the bottom of the Xbox.
The third and fourth steps, according to Warren, is to “feel proud of the smoke you created [and] post to Twitter and profit”. He also shared the following video, courtesy of XboxStudio. Warren added:
“I am in contact with people reporting early hardware issues, but please beware of videos/pictures that are clearly fake. They take advantage of media organisations that prioritise clicks over-reporting, and social media to spread far and wide”.
Warren reached out to Microsoft, and the company responded: “We take all product safety reports seriously and our products meet or exceed industry standards. We are in the process of investigating further.”
Netizens not convinced
Despite overwhelming proof that the videos are fake, some netizens were sticking to their guns, convinced that Microsoft is trying to “cover their rear end” by blaming vapers with video-editing skills.
“Sorry, the main video looks nothing like this. At all. The first video you can see some smoke coming out of the Xbox with not smoke at the bottom. Feel like this is just Microsoft trying to cover their rear end. Also, you can see the smoke does not stop it keeps going”.
When another netizen pointed out that the smoke in the controversial video “was black, like really, really black, the ‘something is burning’ kind of black.
He was reminded by another user that “if something was burning in an electrical fire, you’d see flames coming out of the system as it began melting”. The user added that “electrical fires don’t [expletive] around, things explode”.
Some of them has been asked to remove the case and show the inside of their [Xbox Series X console] after the smoke. Guess what happened? They refused to do so, clearly fake videos regarding fanboys”.
ELAVOID, Twitter