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TechRadar
TechRadar
Dashiell Wood

Are you an Xbox Insider? I'm here to warn you that the latest update might wipe your console

Xbox Series X D-pad.

  • The latest Xbox Insider Program Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead update seems to be causing problems
  • Users are reporting that their profiles have been wiped from their consoles with others unable to install the update at all
  • The issue has now reportedly been fixed, but you should still be careful

I've got some bad news if you're a member of the Xbox Insider Program, as it seems as though the latest update pushed to the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead channels could be wiping user profiles from Xbox consoles.

According to the comments on a recent post to the r/xboxinsiders subreddit, users were finding their Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles seemingly reset when turning them on over the last couple of days. If you're unlucky enough to be impacted, this means that you will have to go through most of the setup process again in order to sign in with your Xbox account. While your purchases and game installations are thankfully unlikely to be impacted, customization settings and quick resume data are going to be missing and it might take a bit of time to get back to your desired setup.

Some users also reported being unable to get the update working at all, with multiple failed installations. One unlucky Redditor even stated that the language setting of their Xbox console is now "randomly set in what appears to be Chinese" leaving them completely unable to use the system because they "can’t read anything".

The issues have now reportedly been resolved, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't tread carefully. This is a good reminder that you likely shouldn't have your main Xbox console signed up to the Xbox Insider Program as, while very rare, there is always a chance that early updates like this can go wrong.

This latest update was first released on March 5, becoming mandatory on March 6. It was intended to introduce a few small fixes to the profile system, TV options, and various small localization tweaks.

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