Microsoft recommends not to use a surge protector on Xbox One X

Microsoft

“Did you know that your Xbox One is designed to be plugged directly into a wall outlet?

[Malice-Flare]

what about a UPS? i have my consoles & monitor on an APC unit...

[Bigpappy]

Many manufactures do this. HP does it for their printers.
Deadfrag is wrong. You don't measure power unless you have a special conditioner that most people do not have access to. What you would be measuring is voltage. Voltage X Current = power. So even though your surge protector give the right voltage reading, It could restrict current draw to try and protect your device. what happens is, the machine can't draw enough power to run some of it's functions and could freeze or give errors. Some surge protectors will work. Some will not. They are rated differently. UPS are good at letting you know their wattage limitations.

[nitus10]

Yes if you are just using Ohm's laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wi... which only apply to direct current, however, we are talking about alternating current from your standard electricity supply so Kirchhoff's Laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wi... would be much more appropriate (basic electronics 101).

Still, a lightning strike makes all the above null and void since a million plus volts hitting your mains directly can really ruin your day. Best to have contents insurance and make sure you don't have an "act of god" clause in the contract since that is a real "get out of jail" weasel statement. 😎

[Cobra951]

Voltage * Current = VA. For direct current, Power = VA. For AC, it works out to about 0.6 * VA. (Don't ask me for the maths on that. Don't know them.)

[Bigpappy]

The principle is the same. Not trying to do an engineering class here. Yes there is impedance and phases to be considered. Do you guy expect the average gamer here understands that level of calculating power?

By the way. My X is not plugged into the wall, I do have a surge protect for the purpose of using more low wattage device in that location.

[threefootwang]

Think it's best to follow what they say and plug directly in.

Even though my One X wasn't a Scorpio model, I'm on my second One X.

The first one completely died Friday night while plugged into my power bar (I've got a higher end MONSTER power bar), right after installing Halo 5. 3 seconds into the first level and it shut down. Wouldn't turn back on. Tried different plugins and everything.

What's interesting is that when I played Halo MCC from start to finish it didn't give me any problems. It crashed when I started Halo 5, which makes me think because Halo 5 enhanced needed more power to run, that's why my console died.

Anyways, I swapped it for a new one back at Best Buy yesterday, plugged it directly into an outlet, and have not had any problems since.

[Bigpappy]

yep. Best to plug into the wall if they tell you to do so. So far so goo on mine.

[DaGR8JIBRALTAR]

Second one also. I had an agent tell me to do this when I called in to troubleshoot my 1st xbox.

[itsmebryan]

Can someone please explain why he got a down vote?

[DarXyde]

This sounds like a pretty remarkable oversight. You should definitely let people know that it needs to be plugged into a wall before buying.

Does the manual make any references to using a wall outlet? I'd be very surprised if it didn't.

[nitus10]

If you have a surge protector board for your other electronics and one or more spare outlets on it just plug your XB1x into it since thereby keeping all your plugs in one place. If you wish to plug it into a spare general purpose outlet (GPO) on your wall then this is fine as well. Basically "It does not matter".

Normally a surge protector board has particular specifications although good luck finding them, but what are the specifications for the surge protector for the XB1x? Still, a one million volts plus lightning strike on your mains will ruin your day no matter what surge protection you have.

When designing power systems your electricity supplier should take into account the possibility of lightning strikes and other possibilities such as cars hitting power poles and transformers blowing up (this has happened where I live). Also, I have surge and short protection built into the mains input to my house but I still take no chances and have a surge protector board for my expensive electronics. Contents insurance helps as well.

BTW. I have seen what happens when a massive lightning strike (the day was mainly sunny) hit a main suburban power distribution center and the display was quite spectacular (exploding transformers and electrical shorts) even from two kilometers away. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The site was designed with lightning strikes in mind but a nothing is perfect.

[Taero]

How does drawing too little power destroy your machine?

[Kribwalker]

@taero
it can happen. If i use an undersized extension cord on some of my heavy duty tools it can burn out the motor on it as well.

[ArmrdChaos]

@Taero

Without getting overly complicated....Electrical components are designed to operate in a certain window. Most of the time they either have power or they don't. When you short the amount of power you get a "brown out" situation. It is not enough to be considered operational, but at the same time not completely in the Off state. When this occurs it causes the components to operate outside of the window they were designed for which in turn over time could damage them. Most of the time brown outs are far worse then just pulling power from the equipment. This is not a design flaw of the console....just a issue with what some surge suppressors can do. The warning is in the manual.

[Cobra951]

"what about a UPS?"

Modern units are fine. You want some approximation of a sine wave. Pure sine wave is best, but I've yet to run into any issues with simulated sine wave (stair-step--think big jaggies). I used APC for years. Now I'm on a CyberPower 1500VA unit.

[Pantz]

Bunch of Armchair Electricians up in here.

[Cobra951]

Heheh! Yes. We know enough to get ourselves in trouble, not out of it.

[Sayai jin]

I would suggest that people invest in a power conditioner. They protect your electronics, regulate voltage, help produce better sound and picture, etc. They are leaps and bounds better than surge protector. Look into Panamax ppwer conditioners or any equivalent....you will be amazed.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Dang

[Godmars290]

Sounds like over-design. Something people need to be notified of first thing.

Also reason why fan camp was eager to blame "users".

[Servbot41]

"Don't plug it into a surge protector, so when you do have a surge you're forced to buy a new one!"

[RommyReigns]

MS hoping for a type of 'RRoD 2.0' sales boosting situation with the surge?

[Kribwalker]

or you know, there’s a surge protector built in to the xbox power source.......

[badz149]

Over-design? If it can't handle basic connections most people today are using, that's crappy design!

[Malacath]

MS have been telling you not to plug them into surge protectors since at least the xbox 360's launch.
They have their own built in surge protectors. How is this crappy design?
I wish all devices had their own surge protectors

[Godmars290]

@Malacath:
But since most people use surge protectors, especially PC users, its something that really isn't needed.

And if they've been doing this since the 360, why is it only become a thing now?

[Malacath]

@godmars290

It's always been an issue. Xbox.com has told you not to use them since the 360 days. And Xbox support always ask if you use surge protectors if you call them

[Malacath]

@Godmars290

I also doubt most people use surge protectors too.

I would say most people are just too ignorant of power surges to think you even need a surge protector. And not all PC owners would use one either. Considering the vast majority of PCs will be used by people who barely know how to switch them on.

I've seen many PC's and games consoles in peoples houses plugged straight into the wall. Most just don't care until a surge happens.

[deadfrag]

This was also recommended for the standard Xbox One and even the Xbox 360 all this systems have power surge tech included in the hardware its not a feature of the Xbox one X only.The power surge its used against spikes and electric fluctuations does not increase or retains any power coming from your wall socket,so if you are using a power surge you are still having the same electric power available to your game system than having it directly plug to your wall socket!Either way still grants the system the optimal power required to operate has it shoud.

[Nodoze]

Yeah just let your Xbox be the hub through which any power surge will travel. Also it will allow the surge to follow ALL cables including that nice HDMI to your receiver, and then your TV and maybe as a bonus any other consoles you have connected. Yeah this advice is ridiculous. If you have a quality surge protector this is NOT an issue. As somone who has lost VERY expensive gear to surges and lighting strikes I can tell you that the surge follows ALL connected cables. NOT FUN.

Check out Panamax.

[2pacalypsenow]

Currently using a M5400-PM, not about to unplug anything from it.

[nucky64]

so true. and after that surge has has ruined multiple pieces of electronics - good luck on getting restitution from MS.

[Kribwalker]

you do understand there is a power surge protector built in to the xbox power supply, rendering your theory mute

[DrumBeat]

If my unit gets surged I'm slapping you, Ybarra.

[cbuc1125]

So this is the road to 1 million sales....make everyone buy 2. Genius!

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

it worked for the 360

[SpaceRanger]

Lmao!

[alphafallen]

why am I getting flashbacks off the red ring here

[Cryptcuzz]

Lol. If that was the case...I can only imagine the chaos that would ensue.

[giovonni]

That’s nothing new. Microsoft had the same “recommendation” for the 360.. it actually stated that in the setup instructions of the 360

[nitus10]

I think most people who live in areas where AC power is problematic will or at least should have a surge protector on their mains and/or have a surge protector board from their wall outlet to their electronics. It's all well and good having a console with an inbuilt surge protector but what about all your other (read expensive) electronics such as your TV, PC, Sound system etc?

Oh, it also pays to have house and contents insurance or contents only if you are renting. A lightning strike can really be upsetting and no surge protector can guard against that.

[Cobra951]

I know someone with surge protection built right into their house electric system. It's ridiculous to tell people they can't plug something into it, or to design something that can't handle it.

[jznrpg]

Oddball choice , I dont trust anything not being in a surge protector... lot of lightning in most of U.S.

[B1uBurneR]

It's in their setup diagram. Plugs directly into wall.

[ziggurcat]

what kind of a silly recommendation is that? are they wanting people's consoles to possibly get fried in a lightning storm?

[Kiwi66]

Not exactly silly as both the Xbox S & Xbox X have a surge protector built in so plugging them into a second one isn't necessary

[ziggurcat]

if that's the case then that's fine, obviously! just seemed odd is all.

[slasaru01]

I just can't plug it into a wall. We often have snowstorms with power outages and hickups. all previous versions had external power supply but Xbox one X and S have built in PSU. If anything happens it will be a pain to fix the box instead of just replacing the PSU. You just use expensive, good surge protector.

I'm not even saying that most of people don't have so many sockets near Xbox: for TV, for soundbar, for external HDD, for another console...

[AdsShotta786]

xbox one x does not need to be plugged into a surge protector as it already has one built in so if u connect ur xbox one x to a surge protector it could not get all the power therefore decreasing its performance so it's best to plug straight into the wall. Also it's been like this since the 360 ms say if ur having problems try plug straight into wall

[kreate]

I don't have a extra outlet. How do they expect us to have one?

TV, PS3, xbox 360, ps4, x1, router, desktop, soundbar, cable box, modem, signal booster, pc monitor. Google Chrome cast.

At least this is my setup.

[RosweeSon]

I recommended not bothering with an Xbox X but each to their own ;)

[OpenGL]

Yes, in the event of a power surge the user manual instructs the user to place the Xbox One X into the nearest e-waste receptacle.

[Gwynbleidd]

I have a surge protector and so far all my Xboxes ran fine with it: Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X. Never had any problems.
I never would like to run my home entertainment electronics without my surge protector.

[Malacath]

It's no surprise.

The Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox One S have their own built in surge protectors and are not supposed to be connected to another surge protector. There was no reason to think the X would be any different.

[2pacalypsenow]

I think 99% of people were unaware of this until today..

[Malacath]

A high proportion are probably still unaware as not everyone reads n4g or twitter.

But doesn't take away from the fact that it has been this was since the xbox 360. Those of us who do know are not surprised at all.

It's mentioned it on xbox.com for years and whenever I have phone MS support in the past with problems they have always told me to plug straight in the wall.

The n4g headline is misleading anyway. It says xbox one X but it's the same on all models of xbox from the original white 360 onwards

[Smootherkuzz]

This is nothing new, there are a lot of electronics that react strangely when surge protectors are used. I have a printer that turns powers on when ever there's a lightning storm. I contacted the manufacture and was told to plug it into wall. Some put this info in the manual but most people don't fully read them we want to power up and get to it right away. Someone said that if the product has internal protection than what is the specifics against power surges that's a good question because if you purchase a protector you want the most effective and more effective they are the more they cost some people like myself live in a area where electrical storms are severe so its a very good idea to use the best protection you can afford so please use them when appropriate.

[2pacalypsenow]

What about a power conditioner?

[ApexWolf22]

The same thing applies to the X1S, I had a surge over the summer and the console wouldn't reboot until I plugged it in directly to outlet...initially I thought it was fried and panicked, but you have to leave it unplugged for 3 minutes then it'll start right up...

[nucky64]

if MS is saying that the x has an internal surge protector, I would check the warranty to see if it mentions power surges - because it should
btw - I've never heard of a company upping the production cost even a penny by adding something like this that the consumer usually already has at home.
MS explanation sounds really sketchy to me.

[RhymeNorReason]

LOL everyone who will 100% NEVER considered buying an X is making this sound so bad. It’s a recommendation, it’s not an absolute. “That’s it! Deal breaker!” LOL! This commment section is filled with morons.

[TL24SS]

I've got my X plugged into my Monster Power Black Platinum strip and I've never had any issues so far.

[-Gespenst-]

What I don't get is why they'd include built-in surge protection when surge protectors are easy to get and almost everyone these days has them. Why add to the cost of production, and price, in this way? Seems superfluous and needless.

Unless of course they're lying, and this is a nefarious strategy to generate revenue from people buying replacements.

[BOSS]

Xbox 4 life

[optimus]

This isn't news. Almost all the electrical appliances I've had (minus TV's) say not to plug into a surge protector in the manuel...they've been saying this about all xboxes since the original.

[ecchiless]

Why are you pluggin something in Manuel? Poor Manuel D:

[HyperMouse]

The worst part about this is not only do you have to go get a new one, downloading everything again will put a slight dent in your download limit if you dont have unlimited data.

[Tross]

Built-in surge protector or not, how are gamers supposed to fit this console in their TV stand along with their other ones when MS thinks you should dedicate one socket solely to it? Sorry, but that really isn't an option for core gamers unless you have more than one wall socket in close enough proximity.

[medman]

That is preposterous. I think most with quality, dedicated surge protection would prefer to use their standalone units rather than the limited internal "surge protection" Microsoft has packed into their consoles, not to mention the inconvenience of using a wall socket for one product only, especially if you're running a lot of a/v equipment.

[Goldenarmz]

Why is everyone debating this? I think MS knows how the built their system.

[mahmoods26]

Wow first the red ring of death and now this, Microsoft really knows how to bring a party down.

[hiawa23]

All my consoles are plugged into surge protectors so will leave the X in also

[Takwin]

I would not plug anything in my house worth over $100 into the wall. So this is an absolute red line dealbreaker for me.