Hands On: Microsoft Adds an Xbox Assist/Care App for the Xbox One Fall Update

Richard Hay, Senior Content Producer

August 9, 2017

15 Slides
Hands On: Microsoft Adds an Xbox Assist/Care App for the Xbox One Fall Update

Earlier this week Microsoft began testing the Fall Update for their Xbox One console with the initial release of a completely new build to their Alpha Ring testers in the Xbox Insider Program.

This update includes a big overhaul of the consoles Guide, new customization options, and the addition of multiple elements of Microsoft's new Fluent Design Language that was announced at Build 2017.

Check out our video walkthrough of the updated guide

As part of the testing process, the Xbox Team adds various quests to the Xbox Insider app so that specific elements of the update can be fully tested.

Overnight they have added the ability to test an upcoming feature called Xbox Assist that provides these key capabilities:

  • Learn how to optimize your experience

  • Stay informed about issues that impact your experience

  • Get personalized help

  • Take actions to solve issues or improve your overall experience

Those abilities are accessed in the Xbox Assist App and cover three main categories of support/assistance:

  • Explore (How-to videos and other tips)

  • Find & Fix (Identify problems and use troubleshooters to remedy the issue)

  • Help (How-to videos and other updates for using your console)

Included in this new app is also a status page that provides you the current status of all Xbox related services that will lead to troubleshooters to address any issues that are occurring on your console.

 

The Services Status Page is also labeled as the Action Center

A move like this makes a lot of sense because it brings that content directly on the console so that it is easily available when needed by the user. Most of this information has been available through the Xbox Support site however, this will make it much more convenient to access and put to use as necessary.

Note: This is an early Alpha Ring Preview and so the feature is buggy. It crashed on me a few times as I tried to accomplish the associated troubleshooting quest earlier today. That should improve over the next few builds.

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About the Author

Richard Hay

Senior Content Producer, IT Pro Today (Informa Tech)

I served for 29 plus years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Master Chief Petty Officer in November 2011. My work background in the Navy was telecommunications related so my hobby of computers fit well with what I did for the Navy. I consider myself a tech geek and enjoy most things in that arena.

My first website – AnotherWin95.com – came online in 1995. Back then I used GeoCities Web Hosting for it and WindowsObserver.com is the result of the work I have done on that site since 1995.

In January 2010 my community contributions were recognized by Microsoft when I received my first Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for the Windows Operating System. Since then I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP each subsequent year since that initial award. I am also a member of the inaugural group of Windows Insider MVPs which began in 2016.

I previously hosted the Observed Tech PODCAST for 10 years and 317 episodes and now host a new podcast called Faith, Tech, and Space. 

I began contributing to Penton Technology websites in January 2015 and in April 2017 I was hired as the Senior Content Producer for Penton Technology which is now Informa Tech. In that role, I contribute to ITPro Today and cover operating systems, enterprise technology, and productivity.

https://twitter.com/winobs

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