Xbox (PC Game Pass) app auto updates games, even with the Automatic Updates option turned off.

Edition Windows 11 Home

Version 21H2

Installed on ‎11/‎29/‎2021

OS build 22000.527

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22000.527.0

Hello, first it's a pleasure to be able to help you today.

My name is welcome to the community

Hello Kenway, have you checked if you have the latest version of Windows installed, at 21H2, because recently came out the latest update to Windows 10 and 11.

See which version of Windows 10 you have

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/see...

Updates often seen as optional, Microsoft released major fixes this week, and make sure you have the Xbox Companion App installed.

If you haven't updated yet, click the link below, update and then make all subsequent security updates.

Download Windows 10

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

Download Windows 11

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

Also make sure all Xbox Apps are up to date in the store and make sure that after completing these updates the automatic update does not occur.

If you check Settings > System > Updates, you should see options (in checkboxes) to enable automatic updating.

From what I can tell by these options, only system updates are applied after the console is turned off, even when in energy-saving mode. Game/App updates can be automatically downloaded in the background, but only while the console is turned on.

Some people say that games and apps are automatically updated while the console is turned off in "Instant-On" mode, but I can't find any exact confirmation on this now.

Hello SpaghettiPolicy,

Thank you for reaching out to us about your issue!

First, I suggest checking for updates for your machine as this may alleviate the issues you are having all together.

For the first issue about the automatic updates, can you verify that the Xbox app and the gaming services are updated to the latest versions? You can find that by following these steps:

Open the Xbox App
Click your profile icon at the top right corner of the page
Select "Settings"
Select "About" on the left panel

The first set of numbers under "Version" will display the current version of your Xbox App.

Current versions:

Xbox App: 2112.1001.10.0
Gaming Services: 3.60.12001.0

While in the settings of the Xbox app, I also suggest selecting the "Automatically launch app at startup" check box so the Xbox App doesn't launch and start performing operations before you launch it.

Can you also verify whether or not you're an Xbox Insider using a different version of the Xbox app?

For the "card is about to expire" issue, we are currently investigating and will update as any troubleshooting steps or information is provided.

"I noticed my HDD blinks off and on whenever the xbox console is turned off."

In the console settings, there is an option to turn off the external storage when you turn off the console, so make sure you enable that. Even with that option enabled though, if a new dashboard/game/app update is released, that will get pushed to your console
automatically (if you have automatic updates enabled), so the hard drive will turn on to enable that content to be downloaded, then it'll turn off again when it's done. Also, if you buy a game via Xbox.com or SmartGlass, the hard drive will turn on and the
console will download the game, then it'll turn off again.

That said, there does appear to be a bug in the latest preview dashboard that causes your external hard drive to turn on and off repeatedly while the console is off, even though it's not downloading anything, so be wary of that. I've reported the issue and
it's been acknowledged by MS staff.