YouTube warns of Xbox Series X/S design flaw that's 'impossible' to repair solo

A prominent tech YouTuber is warning Xbox Series X owners to not try to repair their consoles themselves, says design is anti-repair.

Despite lagging behind the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X has enjoyed an extreme amount of success since its launch in 2020. Not only is it a powerhouse in terms of performance, but it’s also been held up by Xbox Game Pass, which constantly gives gamers something new to play on their system.

Take a look at the Xbox Series S Carbon Black Edition below

However, tech YouTuber, The Coder, has warned consumers about a flaw in the console's SSD design. An SSD stores integral data for the console and allows for high performance games to run on the system. Without one, Xbox Series X games would be unplayable. Each SSD has a limited storage space, which can be increased through an Expansion Card that Xbox sells separately.

Apparently, the SSD has been designed in such a way that it makes it impossible to repair a fault yourself if something goes awry. After several attempts to fix a fault in their SSD, The Coder listed several problems that prevented them from making a successful repair.

The first problem was a small hardware key containing data that cannot be read by normal means, and even if it could be read, it’s encrypted, meaning the data wouldn’t be accessible anyway. Another issue was the console would only work with its original SSD, meaning swapping it for a new one wouldn’t work. Finally, there’s the fear of damaging the faulty SSD further, which would brick the console entirely since it relies on an SSD to boot up properly.

All these problems mean self-repairs are essentially out of the question, with the only option being sending the entire console back to Microsoft for repairs or replacement, which is only possible provided it's within warranty.

It’s unclear if Microsoft is aware of these design flaws, and so far the company hasn’t responded to any of the concerns.