Xbox One ad is switching on Microsoft consoles

Xbox One owners are complaining that a new TV advert is switching their consoles on without their permission. The ad - featuring Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul - has the actor say "Xbox On" near its start. The instruction appears to trigger the machine's Kinect voice/motion sensor, activating the console.

A spokesman for the firm said it had no comment at this time, but noted that previous ads had also featured voice commands. Many people have posted comments about the problem on social media sites.

[XiNarutoUzumaki]

Lmao

[XiSasukeUchiha]

WTF why is this happening MS hopefully you guys can patch this in a monthly update.

[Gazondaily]

Its kinda sick that Aaron Paul turns on your Xbox. Next-gen!

[GarrusVakarian]

Funny thing is, the advert is turning people's X1's on, but the X1 in the advert isn't even on after he says "Xbox on". XD

[Naga]

... Yeah, what a huge "problem". Especially considering most Xbox One owners are watching these commercials through their Xbox One.

/s

[SilentNegotiator]

@Naga

"Most" Xbowners (heh) watch TV through their Xbox? Have any data to back that up?

[GUTZnPAPERCUTZ]

I have an X1 and I think it's funny as hell lol, besides, who is not watching cable/satellite on the same TV that there X1 is hooked up too is the bigger question... ONE GUIDE PEOPLE! ;)

[Naga]

@ SilentNegotiator

Well... I was really just basing that off of personal experience; every Xbox One owner that I know who also has cable/sat TV service has it running through their console. That, and as I was watching last night's NBA Finals game, ESPN's app insisted on playing this commercial at least every other break. I can't imagine my experience is a particularly unique one. Besides, when you have an HDMI-In and OneGuide sitting right there... it only makes sense.

But anyhow, seeing how Microsoft would be utterly skewered if they started pitching their TV statistics when talking about Xbox One, I wasn't able to get you any hard data. But then again... I really didn't think I needed to provide scientific evidence for an off-handed remark like that. It's really not a point of contention worth having an argument over.

[tgunzz]

Interesting... This hasn't happened on mines. I have seen this ad quite a few times.

[SniperControl]

Kinda funny that he uses all those xbox kinect phrases during the ad, yet they show the "dis-kinected" x1 at the end. Lol

[Anon1974]

@SniperControl. I noticed that too. :)

Ad: Here's how cool voice commands work with Kinect! And here's an Xbox One that can't do any of that without spending another $100. If you're confused, it's your own fault for not paying attention to the tiny disclaimer...

Marketing win!

[SilentNegotiator]

"But then again... I really didn't think I needed to provide scientific evidence for an off-handed remark like that. It's really not a point of contention worth having an argument over"

Hey, you're the one that claimed that it wasn't an issue because of a stat you made up. If you're going to completely disregard a problem for a reason that may very well not even be true, expect someone to question it.

[miyamoto]

Another PR Disaster. When will this stop?
Somebody really needs to patch them holes on the Xbox Ones.
This is bad news for gaming.
I hope M$ has rushed their product for the last time.

[shorty74a]

Is this really a problem that needs a patch XiSasukeUchida? You know that you can turn the Kinect off right? No patch needed. This is just as funny as the "Xbox Bing" troll in COD Ghost. And why isn't the cable/sat not connected to the XBone anyway?

[rdgneoz3]

"ONE GUIDE PEOPLE! ;)"

Which only works in certain areas (US), not everywhere xbone is sold...

"According to Ben Smith, group program manager for TV on Xbox, the Xbox One's OneGuide will be available to owners of the console in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. later this year. That includes the ability to plug a cable box into the Xbox One and use the OneGuide as a TV interface with Kinect voice commands."

http://www.polygon.com/2014...

[choujij]

Wait... So people aren't watching TV through their HDMI input? Otherwise, the Xbox would already be on.

[rainslacker]

Does it record too if they have TV snapped and he says "Xbox record that"?

[SilentNegotiator]

@miyamoto

"PR disaster"? I think you're being a BIT dramatic.

[Malacath]

The only way to patch it would be to remove voice commands. Besides it's not a bug or anything. The Xbox is just doing what it was designed to do.
Most people won't be effected by it any because most will have the TV boxes connected to the Xbox and be watching TV through that. Xbox on won't do anything then.

[Why o why]

That's some funny sh*t

OBEY

[HighResHero]

Shhhh! They'll hear you. They're always listening! :/

Funny indeed!

[kenshiro100]

I lol'd so hard.

[frostypants]

I still don't see how online games aren't full of people screaming "XBox Off...YES" to screw over their opponents who aren't using headsets.

[ziggurcat]

@ XBisLIKE:

regarding A: not if they don't have kinect plugged in.

[medman]

This ad featuring Aaron Paul is absolutely one of the dumbest I've seen this year. Pointless.

[frostypants]

It's kind of painful. It's as if his agent wrote the script. He goes on about how busy he is, but last I checked he was in 1 bad movie. Not sure why MS chose him for the commercial...

"YOOO"...god...

[3-4-5]

NOBODY could have seen this happening ever. /s

[caffman]

just tried it. didn't work with us.

[FanboyKilla]

Lol thats all yall got. Cmon maaann. Next

[XiNarutoUzumaki]

LMAO!!

[nosferatuzodd]

ha ha ha ha ha

[Magicite]

hah, this is actually hilarious :D

[TheSaint]

lol

[gamer1138]

Xbox on, bitch!

[VforVideogames]

Lol that's funny

[GdaTyler]

LOL took the words right out of my mouth. XD

[akaFullMetal]

Haha funny that Aaron Paul is turning on xbox ones, just need him to say "Bitch" while doing it, ahaha

[Codewow]

Did no one read the patch notes? It's a feature. ;D

[MysticStrummer]

Truly next gen stuff. The TV turns on the XB1 so it can snap to another channel and watch itself.

[Software_Lover]

...... Well you can't say its false advertising.....b!tch

[Flutterby]

Well really if you think about it , the only people that see it work gave an xbone anyway , the one in the ad isn't even with a kinect for it to work.

[Budobear]

I read its only an issue as its turning off peoples TV's.
And if this is the case, surely that means that its failed to do what Msoft wanted, which was for people to use it as a media hub and watch their TV through the xbox?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Negative Budobear... your xbox wont turn off hearing "xbox on". You have to say "xbox turn off" and those words are not uttered in the commercial.

[LAWSON72]

Then you have to say yes

[kewlkat007]

Yup you have to confirm with "YES" for the xbox to turn Off.

[No_Limit]

Dude, to turn off the XB1, you need to say 2 commands.

"xbox turn off" then you also have to say "Yes" in order for that to happen.

[mcstorm]

Dlacy13g, No_Limit I think what Budobear means is that people are not watching tv through their xbox one systems.

If you watch tv through the xbox one no one which I do no one will have an issue but if you don't watch TV through the xbox one for example having freeview built into a tv and you say xbox on the xbox turn on the xbox one but will turn off your TV and sound system if they are controlled through your xbox one.

I have this issue when I play on my WiiU I need to remember to turn off the TV and sound system and then turn on my xbox one otherwise the xbox one turns off my TV and sound system.

On the flip side it shows people that Kinect works and works well on the xbox one and shows people have been wrong to say it dose not work.

[Budobear]

Bingo Mcstorm, thats what I was getting at thanks.
If the TV is on and the Xbox isn't, when the xbox turns on it sends the on/off signal to the TV and if its on it turns off. If it was on already (like it would be if you were watching TV through it) it wouldn't be an issue.

1st world problems!
(I find voice controlls annoying but only because both my wife and children like to try and turn off the console by talking to it!)

[OC_MurphysLaw]

cheers for the clarification... re-reading yes I see what he was getting at.

[wsoutlaw87]

thats stupid that the xbox doesnt know when the tv is already on. My tv will turn on when my ps4 gets turned on, but doesnt get turned off if it is already on. The ps3 and my surround system does that too.

[rainslacker]

Does the Xbox One use HDMI commands to turn on the TV, or does it use infrared to turn it on/off? I can see why that would happen with IR. HDMI-CEC has distinct codes for on/off.

[Rainstorm81]

Downfall of an IR blaster, I prefer HDMI control

[Flutterby]

Lol the xbone defense force attacked before reading , it always makes me smile when people make them selves look stupid when it could have been easily prevented just by reading without the fanboy goggles on.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

So the funny part about this is, its switching on the xbox for those people that arent' running their TV through their Xbox. If you have the TV running into the Xbox like designed its a non-issue as your xbox is already on.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Ha...I love that I get disagrees off stating what basically is a fact.

[SilentNegotiator]

So you're blaming the Xbox owners for not wanting to waste their Xbone's lifespan to watch TV?

[MysticStrummer]

People disagree about what the funny part is.

[r2oB]

I think he is ignoring the rest of the world where the feature is not available yet. It's not uncommonn for Xbox supporters to think US = The World.

[christocolus]

Lol. I saw this yesterday on reddit. I would lol so hard if this happened to me. Not surprised though,the new kinect is a lot mor responsive than the first. I remember insomniac devs actually having fun by using the "xbox on” command to switch on and off their fellow colleagues dev kits.. Lmao.

[n4rc]

Over a pa speaker in the office..

Put a buddy on speaker phone and he can control your Xbox.. Put him on party chat or Skype and he can say Xbox turn off until he's blue in the face and nothing will happen.

Your supposed to calibrate it so it can filter out any commands coming from your sound system.. But I'd assume 5.1 systems could pose a challenge to it

[christocolus]

I agree with you. A lot of people aint patient enough to calibrate the new kinect. I actually did that and when ever I move the console to my room, I always re-calibrate it.its just funny to see this happen though. Would be much better&very interesting if an xbox advert feat beyonce, salma hayek or even rihanna was turning on xbox ones around the world&their owners too. Lol.

[n4rc]

Id bet money on people not calibrating kinect. It needs to run a test on your sound system to work properly

[Yetter]

So the problem is the Kinect works really well?

[ape007]

LOL

[OC_MurphysLaw]

The actual problem is that some people don't have the TV running through their xbox. so the TV is on but the xbox is off... when the commercial comes on it turns on the xbox. If they had the TV running through the xbox and using it to power everything then the xbox would already be on and hearing "xbox on" would do nothing.

[Jrob420]

@cobra951
You do realize what a hazard that is for electronics to do that? and Why would you fucking even use a power strip as a power button when you can just use your controller or press the physical power button on the xbox itself?
Power strips are scams unless you invest in a very expensive one there is literally no difference in protection, do you think a 2cm piece of plastic in a power strip can stop something miles of ground, wiring, protective measures, conductors and what not all put in place to prevent power surges by electrical companies cant?

@everyone else
fucking retards on this site man, If this was sony in microsofts place everyone would be just talking about how magical it is and all the rainbows that shine from sonys asshole just because its sony and hating microsoft is just the cool thing to do nowadays.

This is not a problem that the kinect works properly, if you do not want to use this feature to turn the xbox on by voice, check this one out, you can disable it. yep thats right 2014 you can enable or disable a feature, crazy shit right who'da thunk? Now lets go hate on some other things we have no idea what we are talking about or how to use.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

@jrob420 .... Problem is actually 100% the wrong word. You are 100% correct... people don't have their boxes set up correctly for their situation, etc...

[Th4Freak]

There's no problem its just hilarious.

[abradley]

Am I the only one to find this funny as hell? LOL

Yep, that Kinect really is next gen when people can't even control it in their own living rooms!

[incendy35]

Hmmmm..if your Xbox is off and you are watching TV, you are doing it wrong : )

[SilentNegotiator]

Some people would prefer to not waste their game console's lifespan to watch TV.

[HugoDrax]

"Some people would prefer to not waste their game console's lifespan to watch TV"

Actually it was announced that Microsoft designed the console to remain on all the time. It's dead silent! I've had my XB1 since launch, and it's connected to the Tv in my living room. My XB1 literally has only been powered off for approximately 30 hrs total since launch. Still works flawlessly :-)

[SilentNegotiator]

@Hugo

The Xbone isn't magic. Every bit of use slowly deteriorates the system's hardware, just like any PC ever. I'd rather wear out a cable box that my cable company gave me for free than the system I use for games.

[uth11]

some people already have a cable box and don't need that feature

[porkChop]

Uh... didn't Microsoft say that Kinect would only recognize *your* voice? What happened to that?

[incendy35]

Nope, they never said that. It should work with all people "has to". It does sign you on individually though, unless you have it set to always sign one person in.

Nothing in this article is a problem, it is working as it should. If you don't want voice to turn on your X1, disable that feature.

[rainslacker]

Something working as it should doesn't mean that it doesn't have a design flaw. I'm sure many people would consider something airing on TV that turns off your TV through another device a design flaw.

Not saying it's a terrible design flaw that affects the system. Sounds like it would be funny the first time or when friends are around, but get rather annoying after a while considering this commercial airs a lot.

[MasterCornholio]

ROFl

This is so funny.

[KakashiHotake]

Wow, that Kinect sure seems like more trouble than it's worth.

[ELpork]

...LOL! OMG! What a stupid problem to have! Ohh god that sucks for the people at Microsoft, but man!... That's hilarious.

[mrpsychoticstalker]

Not a problem. My Xbox is always on

[PrinceOfAllSaiyans]

I remember watching the ad on YouTube and didn't think nothing of it. And then I got up and my Xbox was one, and I was like "Wtf when did I turn you on ?" And it took me forever to realize what happened. Wierd. But they "Xbox On" rarely works for me.

[Bizzare21]

I'm sorry, but this is hilarious. LOL!

[XtraTrstrL]

LMAO! Talk about forced advertising, goodness.

[Perjoss]

Anyone having trouble with the voice controls should just record Aaron Paul's voice, problem solved.

[Sp1tfireXM]

I'm calling BS....I put the commercial on, cranked the speakers and rewinded aaron paul saying the command several times....even turned my center speaker and raised it a bit once. The xbox didn't turn on once...paused, said the command myself and it powered up without a hiccup. Anyone who is familiar with the command and watches the commercial would know he says it far too fast in a sentence for it to actually register as a command. If this is a real problem, why not show a video? Also he said the IR blaster turned his tv off....xbox on does not turn your tv off, it turns it on.

[LordDhampire]

Skynet

[aLiEnViSiToR]

Actually i'm...

http://www.quickmeme.com/im...

[Julion0715]

Lmao I thought I was the only one that had this problem every time the commercial comes on I get up bcuz I already know what's ganna happen haha

[LAWSON72]

People just need to learn how to calibrate their Kinect.

[aLiEnViSiToR]

Call Garrus or get his book :P

http://i.imgur.com/UjuH5gq....

[ALS365]

LOOOOOL

[ghostface9]

It would be an honor if Aaron Paul turned on my x1 but every time I see his commercial my xbox is already on

[MegaRay]

Anyone saw the ads in one of futurama's episode? We're not far from that lol

[Stoppokingme]

There's a two step solution to this problem:

Step one-unplug the Kinect.

Step two-never plug it back in.

It worked for me. Don't get me wrong Kinect is some awesome tech, but it's always finding new ways to piss you off.

[GearSkiN]

I use xbox on everyday, coz it's bad ass, turns my TV on at the same damn time.

[filchron]

AT THE SAME DAMN TIME!

[GearSkiN]

YES SIR AT THE SAME DAMN TIME!

[HollywoodLA]

This is the dumbest article ever...

How about the fact that it's an incredibly misleading advertisement. Considering Aaron Paul is saying "Xbox On" to an xbox which is supposedly priced at $399 -- one would wonder how a KINECT-LESS xbox would ever turn on through the use of voice commands.

Other than that OBVIOUS intentional misleading of the consumer -- why did Aaron Paul sound like a drunken frat kid. I'm guessing Microsoft is switching strategy from 'media center' to 'dude bro.'

[Chris12]

Wrong, read the text on the advert.

[HollywoodLA]

You mean the small text that's very difficult to see, and which families pay no attention to, since they don't stare intently at their TVs in the corner of the homes?

The add is an intentional mislead. It's very blatant and transparent. You've failed miserably to disprove that.

Try again.

[Chris12]

This isn't an advert for a kinect less Xbox, it's an Xbox advert full stop.

The LARGE writing at the end states 'starting at $399'

You're just another 'MS are evil' troll, warrior on.

[MerRoids]

DERP.. TV commercial TROLLING peoples Xbox One Consoles = Priceless

[moscardini7]

Hahaha this funny

[MerRoids]

Ha, had to make this in lieu of this epic Trolling.

It reminds me of the COD: Ghost trolling incident that happened a while ago. You would think the voice recognition would know who, or what is speaking.

[LGM313]

NSA

[Jamaicangmr]

I thought the X1 could be set up for individual voice recognition. Not trying to be an ass but I thought that would be in place unless it is and people just don't use it. This isn't a crisis by any stretch but kind of a silly problem to have.

Again I'm not trolling I genuinely don't know.

[Ashby_JC]

ANything coming out of the speakers is cancelled out.

So if im watching TV through my xbox ....the person on the tv can say xbox on ...off or whatever and it wont control my kinect.

NOW if a tv was NOT connected to my console then YES an advert from xbox ....with someone saying XBOX on...it could indeed turn my system on.

[Jamaicangmr]

Thank you for clearing that up for me.
Plus bubble

[RobLoPR]

Also when the XB1 is off it only recognizes Xbox On from anybodys voice... kinect needs to be on for the voice and facial recognition to work

[Picnic]

This advert was so 'casual professional' that it even disguised how casual it was.

I mean, the gaming / football split screen is to be expected. It's a good feature.

But the ending was the most telling when he receives a phone call. Not a video call by Skype on his Xbox One.
A phone call on his possibly nondescript mobile phone. Not even necessarily one with Microsoft Windows on it. After all , he's a real person.

Then he says he wishes he had more time to use his Xbox One - so popular is he receiving calls from his friends / girls. Yes , owning an Xbox One has not dented that popularity. In fact it might have slightly increased it even though his friends don't game at all.

He's too busy living face to face in the real world without worrying about Skyping. You don't have to be a geek to navigate the Xbox One - he picks and chooses which features he uses. Yet he can clearly have his independence whenever he likes.
And this too can all be yours- can STILL be yours- with an Xbox One.

[bligmerk]

The real hilarious irony of this commercial is that it is the first one advertising the No-Kinect Xbox.

The commercial is messed up all the way around. It is to introduce the $399 XBO without Kinect, but they have Aaron Paul using the speech recognition with Kinect. Then, there are tiny print disclaimers during the commercial that Kinect is not included with this version of the XBO.

Then to top it off, the commercial designed to sell more XBO without Kinect, is turning on XBO already out there with Kinect.

MS should have called the Kinect, The Konfusion.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Unintentionally hilarious!

[sgtGanGreen]

''Xbox on'' can't do anything when console is on. WTF this guy talking about?
Even if somehow recognizes ''off'' you need to say yes after that to shut it down

[Clown_Syndr0me]

If your console is in standby and you say "Xbox On" it turns on..

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Lol that's funny, I have mine in power saving mode so wouldn't affect me. I wonder though are any X1 owners actually complaining or is this just an excuse to have a bash at MS?

[xDHAV0K24x]

It's the cool thing to do *shrug*

[RobLoPR]

I dont know cause when im watching TV... my XB1 is allready. I watch TV via my XB1 console...

[ocelot07]

Great way to advertise your kinectless option Micrsoft!

NOT!

[WiseTurtle]

XBox on BITCH!

[Flames76]

Fake

[xDHAV0K24x]

Lies

[WishMeWell259]

LMAO o man thats funny.

Mircosoft keeps shooting themselves in the foot. I would have thought the kenict would memorize your voice or something. Lol that really sucks

[Gr1mmyshadows]

you realize nobody who actually owns and uses the kinect is complaining, this is just another attempt at trolling

[iiorestesii]

Havn't you guys seen the youtube commercial with the kid whose gamertag is xboxoff? lol. Silly gimmicks are awsome

[Jsoc]

It really sucks it happens all the time to me, I don't have the cable box going thru the Xbox one. Because I did not want to have it running all day. So when the damn commercial comes on my Xbox one turns on. At first it was funny , but now it's getting annoying ...

[AnEwGuY]

I wish I could turn on my X1 by saying "Turn the f*** on, B*TCH!"

[Ninja_G_Aidan]

Muhaha the power of Crystal Meth!

[MasterD919]

THIS HAPPENED TO ME YESTERDAY! I was freaking out...wondering what I was doing and I finally realized...

"XBOX ON" is all it takes for my console to react to Jesse Pinkman.

[Ashby_JC]

Anything that comes out of the speakers on MY system at least well not control the kinect.

I even had a friend talking through my speakers try and control my kinect. It did not work. Not sure what its called but commands coming from the speakers (xb1) are canceled out.

So I dont see how this ad ..which I have seen myself is controlling the kinect.

Now one thing I can say is if im watching videos on my tablet....the kinect will listen to commands. Like saying I was watching a major nelson video...his voice certainly from my tablet will control my kinect.

[RobLoPR]

Hey but thats Major Nelson man

[Slick81]

Haven't had a problem but my xbox is allready on when I'm watching tv

[Slick81]

If u have the xbox on voice command activated and your system is always on and not connected thru your xbox then I could see this happening but if not the kinect and xbox should be shut off and the commercial shouldn't affect it

It is actually kinda funny

[heisenberguk]

YES MICROSOFT YES SCIENCE!!!!

[90Supra]

http://replygif.net/i/1409....

[GoPanthers999]

At least it works! Mine NEVER works on Xbox On.

[InTheZoneAC]

If I owned a xbone and didn't have kinect or have it enabled, I'd constantly be yelling "XBOX TURN OFF, YES".

Anyone that has the mic paying through the tv/speakers...have fun...

[Tzuno]

Here let me link you a fix for this..."Xbox on"...better?

[Skeith]

Xbone is really stupid console.
LOL

[voodoogts]

Didn't work. Just a troll thread with no prof of video.

[MCTJim]

I am not to sure this really has merit. I have my X1 hooked up to my TV and If I am watching the TV how could it turn on? If the TV was off how could the commercial turn on the TV?

I guess somehow its possible, if you had 2 Tv's in the same room, but if its hooked up way it supposed to be..seems kinda odd that this is happening.