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The Power of the Full Reboot
When all else fails, and often after changes to settings are made, a full reboot of the client and Rat(s)' Xboxes may be required, including pulling the plug.
This involves powering off the Xbox completely (holding the power button), then unplugging the power cord for 10 seconds.
Sometimes even when everything else has been attempted, a full reboot can help.
Some Words on Friends!
One main difference between PC/PS4 and Xbox, is that the Xbox friend list is across all games played and is independent from those games. The biggest advantage to this is that a rat does not normally need to be friends with a client to see/verify their current location in game, though typically it is best to wait for the client to appear on comms and then confirm in case xbox lags or does not properly display the information. If a rat states that the client’s system is confirmed or different than reported at the beginning of a rescue, it does not mean they are already fr+ with the client, just that they’ve checked the client’s profile.
For most Xbox players, they're already familiar with how to send a friend invite. Unless they're a brand new Xbox player it isn't necessary to give them instructions on how to send a friend invite.
Friend Requests on Xbox
Xbox rescues differ from other rescues in that Xbox Rats MUST send a friend request to the client. Adding someone as a friend on Xbox makes you a follower of the other person. It's not until both parties follow each other, that it's a true friend relationship and FR+ can be reported.
Most Xbox Rats send the friend request when they are assigned, so most cases of fr- are due to the client not sending the request or known delays in Xbox updating friend statuses (see troubleshooting below).
Because of this, the beginning of the ideal rescue for Xbox looks like this:
Client calls ratsignal
Rat calls jumps and is assigned to the case
Rat adds client as friend (favorite)
Verify client’s profile is online
Client adds rat as friend
Verify client’s system
- Rescue progresses as is normal for all platforms
Xbox Specific Terminology and Commands
party+ : Xbox Party Chat- An app integrated into Xbox that is separate from any game and allows voice chat for up to 16 players. Because the app is integrated into Xbox it doesn’t require any players to be in a game. It is separate from any in game comms and is not an indicator of connectivity between the rat and client, nor does it affect instancing in game. It’s not required to start an Xbox party, and is at the discretion of the rat and client to use a party for comms. The benefit to an Xbox party is that there can be voice comms with the client allowing for quicker responses, and every Xbox ships with a headset so communication is possible more often than not.
!xbl : Can be used to see online and privacy settings status BUT it is not the absolute troubleshooting resource. It is a tool, but should be double checked and verified if issues persist. Should not be used prior to assigning rats unless rats are not currently available.
Usage: !xbl SpaceDawg
Potential Result: SpaceDawg (Offline) . Privacy Settings: OK
Most Common Issues
- Client's Profile is set to offline
- This step is where most dispatchers prefer to begin, as it is most simply resolved and does not always require a complete reboot
- Client's Online Privacy and Safety Settings are not set to adult default
- If a rat who isn't friends with the client can't see information on the client's profile (such as friends), this is probably an issue and can affect the comms contacts
- The best way to check for this, is for the assigned rat(s) to manually add the client as their friend as soon as they're assigned. If they check the client's profile and don't see profile information, they should notify dispatch to correct the issue
Extra Credit!
Check out these screenshots to see what the various privacy settings look like!
Child Default: ChildDefault.png
Teen Default: TeenDefault.png
Adult Default: AdultDefault.png
Xbox Troubleshooting
Xbox Preview Program
The Xbox preview program (basically beta testing OS updates) has been known to cause issues. If standard troubleshooting doesn't resolve issues, confirm that the client and rat(s) are/are not in the preview program and assign additional rats when necessary.
Friend Request Notification Not Received (FR-) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Step | Possible Causes | What to Confirm | Possible Solution |
1 | Known Xbox Issue of notifications not appearing | Friend requests have been sent | Check the client's profile (on the console, not app) to make sure they show as a follower and friend |
Client needs to manually add the rat | |||
| Rat needs to manually add client (i.e. reverse FR) | |||
| 2 | Client and rat have not sent each other friend requests | Confirm that client and Rat have each sent friend requests and the Rat has the client as a Favorite | Client changes friendship status of the Rat to “Favorite” |
3 | Xbox Live Server Issues | Xbox Live services are operational http://support.xbox.com/xbox-live-status | Reschedule rescue until Xbox Live services are fully functional |
Client Profile is Offline | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Step | Possible Causes | What to Confirm | Possible Solution |
1 | Client profile is set to offline | Client’s profile says “Appear Offline” | Client click button on their profile page that says “Appear Online” and reboots Xbox. They can get to their profile by double-tapping the Xbox button on their controller, going up to their profile icon, selecting view profile and hitting the button that says “Appear Online”. A full reboot of the Xbox may be required for the change to be reflected (including pulling the power cord from the Xbox) |
2 | Online Safety and Privacy settings prevent multiplayer gaming | Account Settings > Online Safety and Privacy Settings are Set to Adult Default | Client changes Online Safety and Privacy Setting to Adult Default. Client can change the settings back after the rescue if they're concerned about security/privacy. It's critical that this is set correctly, even just "hiding friends" is known to cause issues with the comms panel. A full reboot of the Xbox may be required for the change to be reflected (including pulling the power cord from the Xbox) |
Rat and/or Client Name Not Showing on Comms Panel or Comms not Being Sent/Received | |||
|---|---|---|---|
In some instances, when possible, a DM can force a comms update if xbox privacy settings are correct. | |||
Step | Possible Causes | What to Confirm | Possible Solution |
| 1 | Rat or client XBL profile is set to "Appear Offline" | All XBL profiles are set to "Appear Online" | Set XBL profiles to "Appear Online" |
| 2 | Online Safety and Privacy settings prevent multiplayer gaming | Account Settings > Online Safety and Privacy Settings are Set to Adult Default | Client changes Online Safety and Privacy Setting to Adult Default. Client can change the settings back after the rescue if they're concerned about security/privacy. It's critical that this is set correctly, even just "hiding friends" is known to cause issues with the comms panel. A full reboot of the Xbox may be required for the change to be reflected (including pulling the power cord from the Xbox) |
| 3
| NAT Type | Network Settings > Network, NAT Type is Open | Client and/or rats with moderate/strict NAT Type hard reboot their Xbox including pulling the cord for 10 seconds |
Client and/or rats reconfigure their router for port forwarding or place the Xbox in the DMZ https://support.xbox.com/en-AU/help/hardware-network/connect-network/xbox-one-nat-error | |||
| Confirm that no other Xbox’s are connected to the Network and reboot the Client or Rat’s Xbox | |||
| 4 | Miscellaneous | In game text comms work | Rat invites client to wing (i.e. reverse wing) |
| Rat jumps to another system or drop to normal space and back to supercruise | |||
| Have the client SC Hop and attempt to wing from local. If that doesn’t work have the Rat follow the client and drop manually on their low wake | |||
| When all else seems to not be the problem, reboot the client and Rat(s) Xboxes. This is a bug that affects all platforms. | |||
Wing Invites are Immediately Cancelled or Unsuccessful | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Step | Possible Causes | What to Confirm | Possible Solution | |||||
1 | Online Safety and Privacy settings prevent multiplayer gaming | Account Settings > Online Safety and Privacy Settings are Set to Adult Default | Client changes Online Safety and Privacy Setting to Adult Default. Client can change the settings back after the rescue if they're concerned about security/privacy. It's critical that this is set correctly, even just "hiding friends" is known to cause issues with the comms panel. A full reboot of the Xbox may be required for the change to be reflected (including pulling the power cord from the Xbox) | |||||
2 | Nat Type | Network Settings > Network, NAT Type is Open | Client and/or rats with moderate/strict NAT Type hard reboot their Xbox including pulling the cord for 10 seconds | | | | | |
Client and/or rats reconfigure their router for port forwarding or place the Xbox in the DMZ https://support.xbox.com/en-AU/help/hardware-network/connect-network/xbox-one-nat-error | | | | | | |||
| If NAT type can't be corrected, have the client submit a support ticket to FDev explaining the situation. They will generally fuel the client if we're unsuccessful due to problems outside our control. | ||||||||
3 | Xbox being Xbox | If comms are available | Client should send the rat a DM. I f the rat can see the DM, they click on it. The client should send a wing invite again, and the rat can accept it through the DM. If the invite to wing button reads "unreachable" for the rat, it's a privacy issue. Usually this issue is characterized by the "Wing invitation received" message popping, but there's no invite for the rat to accept. | | | | | |
4 | Miscellaneous | Chain wing client and rat using another rat or friend of the client | | | | | | |
| Attempt to wing with client from Local contacts in supercruise | | | | | | |||
| When all else seems to not be the problem, reboot the client and Rat(s) Xboxes. This is a bug that affects all platforms. | | | | | | |||
Rat Can’t Instance with Client | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Step | Possible Causes | What to Confirm | Possible Solution |
| 1 | General Instancing | n/a | Follow standard instancing SOP: SC Hop, Manual, wingless, chain winging, Assign Additional Rats as appropriate. Often after checking for the common issues on XB and everything is good - a console restart for both rats and client can help. |
| 2
| Online Safety and Privacy settings prevent multiplayer gaming | Account Settings > Online Safety and Privacy Settings are Set to Adult Default | Have client change their Online Safety and Privacy Settings to “Adult Default” and hard reset their Xbox |
| 3 | NAT Type | Network Settings > Network, NAT Type is Open | Client and/or rats with moderate/strict NAT Type hard reboot their Xbox including pulling the cord for 10 seconds |
Client and/or rats reconfigure their router for port forwarding or place the Xbox in the DMZ https://support.xbox.com/en-AU/help/hardware-network/connect-network/xbox-one-nat-error | |||
| Confirm that no other Xbox’s are connected to the Network and reboot the Client or Rat’s Xbox | |||
| 4 | Miscellaneous | When all other avenues have been tested (above) and instancing is still not possible, see if the client and rat(s) can get into a game of CQC/Arena and play together. If the rat(s) and client can't continue troubleshooting without the client logging in | |
Less Common Issues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Problem | Step | Possible Causes | What to Confirm | Possible Solution |
| Rat can't see hull (displays as 0) and location shows as UNKNOWN - AND/OR Rat unable to see beacon after wing | 1 | Quick Resume Bug- Occurs even after full hard restarts | n/a | press the XBOX button on the controller, navigate to ED, press select (the three lines) and then QUIT, and then relaunch the game |
| Client is using a Child's account | 1 | Client is a child | Age of client and Online and Privacy Settings | Have the client's parent change their account settings to Adult Default for the rescue and back to Child settings afterwards |
Xbox Live Social and Gaming Server shows “Limited” connectivity issues | 1 | Multiple Causes
| Xbox Live services are operational | Attempt to wing with client from Local contacts in supercruise |
Have the client SC hop and interdict them using an FSD Interdictor | ||||
2 | Reschedule rescue until Xbox Live services are fully functional | |||
Client can not log into Open play | 1 | Client does not have Xbox Live Gold account | Client has an Xbox Live Gold Account | Have client obtain a trial membership or purchase a membership If that is not possible, for a non-CR, fleet carriers may be utilized at dispatch discretion. |
2 | Client is banned from Xbox Live | Confirm if client has an Xbox Live Account Ban | Nothing can be done until the ban is lifted | |
Client cannot send/receive friend invites | 1 | Client is under an Xbox communications ban | Confirm if client has received a ban which may show on their profile with information removed | Attempt to wing with client from Local contacts in supercruise or have rat(s) drop on low-wake |
3 Comments
Ofmiceandclyde
Under "Less Common Issues" for the topic related to "Xbox Live Social and Gaming Server shows “Limited” connectivity issues" and in the third possible solution it states "Reschedule drill until Xbox Live services are fully functional" but I think its meant to be "Reschedule rescue until Xbox Live services are fully functional" Otherwise fantastic job on the page rework! o7
Anja324
Read and addressed. Thank you.
Astronowolf
I'm not certain why this was put into place. My view is that the difference from PS and PC cases is not warranted. For many of the same reasons that we do not send unsolicited friend requests on PC and PS, even after assign, it should be maintained to be the case on Xbox too. Obviously dispatchers could advise differently based on the details of the case at hand.
The rat can and should follow the client back by opening the follow notification and choosing to follow back at that point.
Sometimes there is a delay in the notifications being recieved; however this is not too common, and even then is rarely a significant issue.
The delay in friend status updating ingame occurs on PS too, and is not related to the way XBOX's follow system works. No significant time is saved, and a simple forced refresh of the social tab fixes the issue.
Further with the addition of !xbl, and mecha automatically checking the status of clients further reduces any need for rats to send unsolicited follows.
Suggested re-wording of this:
Xbox rescues differ from other rescues in that Xbox Rats MUST take action to follow the client back. Adding someone as a friend on Xbox makes you a follower of the other person. It's not until both parties follow each other, that it's a true friend relationship and FR+ can be reported.
Client calls ratsignal
Rat calls jumps
Rat is assigned to the case
Client adds rat as Favourite friend