Videos circulating on social media appear to show smoke pouring from the vents on brand-new Xbox Series X consoles.
In a post on Reddit last night, user Hirsutophilia jokingly told members of the Xbox Series X subreddit that his friend's Xbox Series X "came with a campfire feature." In a short video, the console can be seen in an upright position on the floor, with smoke coming from the vents at the top.
In a response to a repost of that video on Twitter, user Arek_Adamowicz said they were suffering from a similar issue, posting their own video which showed even more smoke coming from their console. On Reddit, another user said their Xbox had also started smoking and giving off a funny smell, leading some people to suggest that the malfunction was due to a burned-out electrical component within the console.
At this point it's too early to say whether this is a widespread issue, although launch consoles can sometimes suffer from unexpected faults. Reaching out to Xbox Support is likely to be your best bet if you're affected by a similar problem, as it might help to determine the scope of the problem. Last week, a PS5 overheating in a supermarket display case was unfortunate for Sony, but these billowing Xboxes mean Microsoft will be hoping they are the exception to the rule of there being no smoke without fire.
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The pamphlet on First Life contains 93 lies and 7 truths. The truths don't provide any answers.