Xbox Series X Videos Reveal Major Disc Drive Issue

The Xbox Series X released yesterday, and so far, the reception to the $500 next-gen console has been mostly positive. In our review of the console, we highlighted the machine's impressive amount of power and its robust set of features, but also noted it's lacking in the games department. It's a good start for the console, though this start is now being held back by viral videos showing off defective units.

The most viral of these videos are the ones showing the console "smoking." However, Microsoft has since seemingly debunked these particular videos. What videos haven't been debunked though are the ones showing issues with the disc drive. The bulk of these videos reveal that, for whatever reason, some units are running very, very loud when running a disc. Meanwhile, there's also at least one video showing an Xbox Series X outright refusing to accept a disc.

For now, it's unclear how prevalent these problems are. While the latter is limited to just one video, the former -- the console running inexplicably loud -- is not so limited. A quick search on Twitter will provide numerous video results highlighting the problem.

Hey @XboxDACH, mein Disc Drive funktioniert bei meiner Xbox Series X nicht. Habt ihr da eine Idee? Danke. pic.twitter.com/PZ1BvONpdL

— drknickel (@drknickel) November 10, 2020

@DMC_Ryan Hey Ryan! Is your Xbox Series X disc drive loud when installing games? This is mine when installing Crash Bandicoot 4. AC Valhalla was fine but there was only 900MB data on the disc and the 40GB+ had to be downloaded. pic.twitter.com/VOv9Oz2h9z

— Clive (@cliveysaur) November 10, 2020

What's up with the blue ray disc on Xbox Series X?#XboxSeriesX pic.twitter.com/vYy187xEkG

— IGNITION (@Ignition_vr) November 11, 2020

Hi @jasonschreier. Is the disc drive on your Xbox Series X really loud? Trying to find out if they all run this noisy, or if I got a defective one. This is what mine does when I put in a 4K Blu. pic.twitter.com/N5K6jWNg7J

— Robert Brian Taylor (@robertbtaylor) November 11, 2020

@mikester01 Should the Xbox Series X disc drive sound like this? pic.twitter.com/SEmgx6UDxP

— Jared “Korone Simp” - Time For The New Consoles! (@Kohaku233) November 10, 2020

At the moment of publishing, not only is it unclear how common this problem is and what's causing it, but so far Microsoft has not formally addressed the issue. If this changes, we will be sure to update the story with what is provided.

Of course, issues like this at the launch of a new console aren't uncommon. For example, the PS5 also appears to have a major launch defect, but like these Xbox Series X disc drive issues, the problem appears to be extremely uncommon.

The Xbox Series X is available for $500 alongside the $300 Xbox Series S. For more coverage on both consoles and all things Xbox, click here. Meanwhile, as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think or hit me up on Twitter @Tyler-Fischer_ and let me know over three. Have you had any issues with your launch Xbox Series X yet?