Yesterday night I tried to turn on my Xbox One with my voice. It failed. I assumed it was the new update, but alas... my second Kinect refuses to power on, just like the first.
The issue is odd. After a fair amount of time (10-11 months) of perfect performance, the unit has an issue where the light shuts off and it doesn't respond, yet the Xbox Settings page for Kinect has the interface set up as if the Kinect is working (but there's a black image). After a short while, the unit powers pack on and behaves normally. This happens for bout a month, with the gaps of downtime getting longer and longer.
Over about another two weeks after this point, the Kinect unit shuts off but doesn't automatically turn back on at all. The connector must be unplugged, given a sec, and then re-plugged for the Kinect to function as expected. Oddly it works without power-downs for a longer time than during the automatic phase of the issue, typically working a whole long night of gaming. The next day though, it'll require that it be hard power cycled by unplugging it. After the two weeks of **** reaching behind my (well-ventilated, open) TV stand to have TV control and proper voice commands, the Kinect then suddenly refuses to power on at all, no matter the solution.
I had this happen to a Kinect that came with my Xbox One. Support got me to send in the broken unit for analysis and purchase a discounted replacement (that oddly had the same exact serial number) that while a better deal, was by no means a cheap solution. Considering I was out of warranty and it could have been a one-off issue, I went with the replacement. Now however, my replacement has suffered the exact same fate in the exact same timeframe. Either I didn't actually get a full replacement and the new unit was actually my own with new guts, or the replacement failed to fix the issue it replaced. Either case is unacceptable.
I'm posting this here because Xbox Support has once again told me to send in my dead unit and buy a replacement. This is completely unacceptable because by the track record I'll simply lose the 'new' unit to the exact same circumstances as the first two. I refuse to buy something I know with fair certainty will break in short order. If any techs or customer service representatives are reading this, could you see what additional options are available to me? Does the newer Kinect for Xbox One S work with the original Xbox One, and can I get one of those instead (to see if the newer hardware fixed the issue)? Could I somehow bend the rules with a lemon law of sorts and get a freebie (sans shipping, which I'll gladly pay) to tide me over until Scorpio arrives? I'll take any solution available that doesn't involve me buying my way into another insane iteration of a reproducible issue.
Even if there's no solution that benefits me, I'd still want to send in my dead unit with the assurance that Microsoft will actually try and find a solution for others. At this point I'm convinced it could be so little as my one unit being faulty and the replacement not being truly new. I'd be happy with buying a brand new Kinect at full price if I could be assured that this issue wouldn't eventually plague it as well.
There are three Xbox Ones in my household and I'd like the trend to continue, but hardware reliability is important especially after last generation. Don't fail me now, Microsoft. Our relationship is only beginning, hopefully.
Thanks for reading this wall of text. I have a very specific issue and I at least want it to be documented in full for others with similar issues. If you can help me, I'd greatly appreciate it. If you have a similar issue and would like to add to the thread, please do and thank you. If there is no hope for me, goodbye and thanks for all the fish.