A new Xbox Insider update is apparently causing users' consoles to revert to factory settings, removing profiles and settings in the process.
According to VGC, the problem is happening to those who are signed up to the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead tiers of the Insider program, which allow users to download updates that will probably contain some pretty serious bugs given how early in the testing process they are.
That certainly seems to be the case with the latest update, which is apparently causing users' Xbox profiles, system setting preferences, and Quick Resume gameplay data to be deleted, essentially reverting the console to factory settings.
As VGC tells it, once the update is installed (which it will be if you're signed up to the aforementioned tiers, since it's now mandatory), the Xbox runs through its initial setup procedure rather than loading the Xbox dashboard as it normally would.
However, it sounds like the console isn't deleting users' installed games, which means it probably also isn't deleting save data stored locally. This does, however, mean that if this has happened to you, you'll probably need to re-add any profiles that were previously on your console.
If you're not signed up to the Xbox Insider program, then it sounds like you don't need to worry about this problem; it's just for those who are part of the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead tiers.
Hopefully, by the time the latest system software update makes its way to the general populace, this problem will have been fixed; these tiers are for those who don't mind a few extra bugs with their updates, after all, although I don't think most Insider users bargained for this.
Rather amusingly, the update itself was only intended to fix a couple of bugs related to profile viewing and Dolby Vision, but it appears to have caused a much worse problem in the process.
Elsewhere in Xbox news, the company recently revealed that its upcoming Fable reboot has been delayed to 2026, but that work on the game is progressing apace. Stay tuned for more.
