2020 roll up update causes controllers to be locked out - no way to talk to Microsoft support

Hi there, firstly my apologies for such a delayed reply! Life has been strange and busy lately, I hadn't even realised it had been as long as it had been which is pretty terrible.

So I ran the update on my old xbox and original controller; all working fine (I left it rubber banding whilst working to check to see if it would lose connection whilst in use). I then performed a full reset and had the same results, so I'm unable to replicate
the issue here unfortunately.

I have joined the insider program on my one x and this does seem pretty easy to join; it would appear that any xbox user can join it and allows you to update your OS to the latest omega build. I am currently running the omega build with zero issues, so I
don't know whether this is something you want to consider doing as well? Without knowing exactly what has caused the issue I'm not generally a fan of patching upwards unless I know there is a definite fix, but in this case I'm unlikely to find out exactly
what the issue is and it probably won't make anything worse, but could fix everything! So maybe something to think about trying?

I also posted your issue on the insider reddit channel here:
link.

I don't know if you're a fellow redditor, and if not I'll return with any updates that appear on there.

So far there is a suggestion of updating your controller firmware which I know you've tried already, not only on the xbox, but also via the accessories app on win 10. Not sure if it'd be worth trying that on win 10 as well or not, maybe it provides additional
options? I am yet to try it on mine.

Another suggestion is quite fascinating and I think if you are able too is worth a try as the poster has had the same issue as yours, but a fair while ago. They have suggested streaming to a windows 10 pc to see if it re-enables the controller as this fixed
it for them. It does seem an odd fix, and even if it happened to the poster a while ago I think its worth a try as I found a fix for an issue on the 360 that my mate experienced on the one and the same fix for the 360 worked on that as well.

Once again my apologies for the delay in my reply, and I hope you are keeping well and coping as well as you can during this covid thing. Nice to hear you got to see your son and daughter on his birthday, stay safe and well.

Hello again and thank you for your answers!

I wondered if you may be in the industry based on your troubleshooting, you have incredible experience in this area (seriously impressive!) which I know from personal experience makes being unable to just pop the lid or access the code even more frustrating;
I'm a software dev/manager. This is also why I really want to find an answer for you.

Unfortunately I don't have anymore suggestions as yet, but I wanted to let you know I am looking into this as much as I can (even discussed it with my wife last night ha ha!).

I know rolling back updates is impossible on the console, not sure if the insider program can help at all in this regard which I'll look into.

I'm going to try reaching out on the ambassador discord too and see if that brings anything in, and I'm going to run through some tests at home as I have an older un-updated One with older controllers that I'll use to try and replicate the issue.

The only thing I did note is when using the USB workaround I saw someone else resolve the issue in the same way, but they pulled the plug for longer, around 5 minutes. I'll hold my hands up and say I don't think extending the time beyond 2 minutes as you
did in your workaround will help, and I'm sure you're of the same opinion, but who knows it could be worth ruling out just in case.

Finally I just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear you are unable to see your son, and I hope you are staying as safe and as positive as you possibly can during this whole covid crisis.

All the best and stay safe, I'll report back with anything I can find out!

@w00 yay

Thanks for taking the time to write - i don't mind the added questions - just so you know. I have a VERY extensive background in tech (RF Applications and Engineer + Dir over Technical Support (plus Remote Desktop Support for my company for many years) for
a major Equip Mfgr to Tier1 Mobility Operators & Fixed Wireless Operators by trade + side business building custom gaming PCs/ Studying Cisco R/S)

That out of the way - firstly, the issue with the controllers is 100% tied to the massive update that was forcibly installed on my console the other day... No issues with the update - no errors, no nothing - I am using wired ethernet (not wifi) for the console
on a gigabit home network w/gigabit ISP. I do have wifi in the house, using a TP-Link Deco Mesh network & 2 APs (these are auto-controlled - no manual channel selection & serves 5ghz AC & 2.4ghz)

Regarding the USB connection option - as noted previously, once the controllers are locked out - even removing the batteries, waiting 60s and then connecting via USB the controller is still not identified or connected to the console interface. A Hard Reboot
using the 60sec front panel power button does not resolve the issue with wireless or usb connection - ONLY a pull of the power and waiting approx 120sec seems to be a temporary fix about 25% of the time and lasts for only a short period of time - it does seem
if i do that process and use USB only as a connection it appears to continue working for longer periods - but this is not a solution...

I've sold my 2 old 360's (which this controllers don't work with) and my son does not currently live with me and he has the other xbox 1... so that option is out, given the whole covid thing...

Again thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas...

BR - Chris

I like your idea about contacting them, thx...

The USB trick works when the system refuses to connect to them (despite my being able to use the Xbox via the app on my android mobile)... Still, USB is only an option when I do a pull the plug routine on the console ...

As noted in my OP, I've already checked to make sure all the controllers are up to date... They are...

I know USB, once it's working lasts a while without freeze , allowing me to play for a little while but I miss my wireless option...really don't want to go buy long micro USB cables to use while sitting on the couch...

Sooo frustrating... It's so random too about the controllers working sometimes and not others ... But once they've been locked out, that's it ... And stranger still is that normally you'll get a controller disconnected notice but you don't with this issue
... But if I go to the console settings from my phone and go to accessories, it says to connect then... It's almost like the wireless controller board went bad or the drivers are screwed up...idk but no one in the gamers help community had any decent ideas...
Just kept passing me off... Wierder still how after I did that full wipe - they worked for like 4hrs...then I set it down for an hour picked out back up and when I went to reactivate it , it worked for 10sec and locked out - straight back to the original issue
before the wipe

@w00 yay -

Thanks for your investment in time and interest to assist me with this headache... Let me know if you come up with anything - it's kinda blah outside today so i may mess around a bit with it again today to see if i can figure anything else out - just frustrating
there's no way to re-image the box without giving up my saved games - wish i could take a known clean load and clone it to the xbox hd - without loosing my collection...

i hadn't mentioned that part earlier - when i performed the full factory reset - or restore (whatever they called it) i chose the option to keep the games - when it did come back up and worked for that short period - i found it had dissociated 80% of my
games - things i had gotten through games for gold, purchased online years ago - things like that - what a nightmare it is - worse, some games are on my console that i bought for my son or he bought with b-day/xmas money - blew out his profile and now can't
access those games either... ugghhh! Had to reassociate every game manually - and the ms store "purchase history" is limited to just 90days - annoying...

One thing you mentioned was about the external hard drive - my xbox is 1st get - only has 500g onboard - i only use the onboard hd for storing applications - not games - i have a 2tb seagate external drive (the same model as the official xbox one and only
external hd that didn't cause in-game lagging in killer instinct or mk) - i have it plugged in to the rear of the console (as recommended by MS) - it has been in the same spot, alongside the xbox plugged to the same port for 2yrs without issue - of course
as we still do not know the root cause of the update creating this issue with the controllers, we have no way of knowing what's what...

Just a thought...

Well wished to you and yours - i appreciate your thoughts - btw- my son just turned 18 7days ago - mother & i split & divorced many years ago - as i travel often on business around the world to solve issues for mobile operators - he and my daughter live
with their mom. the whole covid thing - you have to put others ahead of yourself - but frankly he was so involved to varsity sports & working - we hadn't seen each other for quite some time - it was nice to see him & my daughter on his bday though...

BR, Chris