Arcade Sushi Quick Tips – Fixing the Xbox One Black Screen Error

Xbox One users are reporting an unfortunate error after a recent update. The error causes their Xbox One to go completely black after the startup screen. The console suddenly does not respond in any way to a controller. The only thing you can do is turn your Xbox One off and on again. Unfortunately, this doesn’t really fix the problem. Users afflicted with the error find that they boot right up again, past the startup screen, right back into a gaping black void. So, how do you avoid this Xbox One black screen of perpetual nothingness?

The answer, as is the answer for most electronics problems, is “turning it off and on again.” Yes, most users have tried that, but they haven’t really turned their Xbox One off. They have merely put it to “sleep.” The Xbox One is still retaining data in its RAM in this state, and that seems to be influencing the occurrence of the error.

So to “fix” the error, you actually have to cut all power to your Xbox One completely, which actually involves more than simply hitting the power button. To “power cycle” your Xbox One, simply hold down the power button for 10 seconds. The console should fully power off. At this point, the black screen error should go away, but to be extra careful, unplug your console and leave it unplugged for a few minutes. This should basically cut all power to the unit, and flush all of its memory. After that just plug it in, turn it on, and get back to your Titanfall Beta.

Note, that this doesn’t actually fix the error completely. It’s really just a workaround. It’s possible that you will encounter the black screen again, but to clear it up all you have to do is power cycle your machine again. Microsoft has said that another major Xbox One patch will be coming In early March, and this will likely fix the issue.

Aside from patching in this error, the latest Xbox One patch also introduced a new battery life indicator and added USB keyboard support, so it’s not all bad. The error also isn’t dangerous; it’s just annoying. Power cycling seems to get past the black screen basically 100% of the time, and your data, save games and accounts aren’t affected by the black screen in any way. We will bring you more information on this strange error as it becomes available.