Xbox One Preview Update Live Now, Adds Cortana Opt-Out

Published: July 13, 2016 5:38 PM /

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xbox one logo

A new system update for the Xbox One has been released to players participating in the preview program. As always with released patch notes we'll go through the most important tweaks, fixes and changes here. If you want to read to the full patch notes you can go here.

Because this is a preview patch you will have to keep in mind that some things may break unexpectedly, so install at your own risk. One of the issues mentioned is that some of the content purchased in the new store, which is available only to preview participants, will be tied to machines running the preview version of the update. This means that you will lose access to this content if you decide to go back to the live version of the software. Any games you purchase on the new store will also only be available to you if your machines are running on the preview (games bought before updating your system can still be played), but games bought via Xbox.com will still work regardless of the software version you're running. Certain parental control features are also malfunction at the moment. This new update also has the SmartFilter feature from Windows, which protects you from surfing to harmful sites, and the new advertising ID which is capable of serving you with more personalized ads. You can manage these features from the settings menu. 

The biggest new thing to come out of this update is that the Cortana feature, which allows you to use voice commands that go above and beyond what the basic voice recognition was capable of, can now be opted out of. 

If you choose to opt-out of Cortana, please be aware of the following:

  • Headset voice control support will be disabled.
  • Voice dictation will be disabled.
  • Universal Windows apps voice features will no longer function.
  • Only “Xbox…” legacy voice commands will be recognized.

You can turn off Cortana in the system settings menu. If you live in either France, Italy, Germany or Spain you will lose access to the Cortana feature, which only supported these countries to gather data since the last update.

A known issue exists where first-time users of the Cortana feature can still encounter legacy voice command system recognizing the basic commands while failing to execute them. The current workaround can be done by launching Cortana from the My Games menu or by snapping Cortana from the guide. 

Other fixes and tweaks include a fix for Netflix which caused videos to stutter randomly, a fix for a bug in EA Access that failed to load games from the Vault, and a fix for a bug that prevented you from renting content from the VUDU app.

A known issue in this update is the system preventing you from buying GamerTag name changes after you spent your free name change. Adding a new profile works, but it'll take up to 30 seconds to load the menu that allows you to add a new profile to the system. Certain pinned apps (like movies, TV shows, and music) will disappear from the menu when that specific app receives an update.

Once again, if you want to read all the patch notes you can mosey on over here

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Chris Anderson
| Staff Writer

I've been playing games since I was just barely able to walk so I might as well write about them.