Microsoft's Xbox Live service facing numerous issues, Phantom Squad claims responsibility

At around 9:26PM GMT (1:26PM PST), reports began to surface of issues with the Xbox Live service - posts on the official Xbox Forums ranged from issues with signing in, to launching games and purchasing content.
Several users are receiving the '0x87de0017' error code when attempting actions on their Xbox One and Xbox 360 game consoles - Z0riL, on the Xbox Forums, reported that this error is being received when attempting to launch a game or app on the console. He also seemed to suggest that not all consoles are affected.

Oddly enough, My brother also has an xbox one that's not in preview and his is working fine whereas I get the 0x87de0017 error opening any games or apps. I did try iron brigade earlier and all was ok.

A message that was later posted on the Xbox Live Status Page confirmed that there are issues with the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and other devices using Xbox services.
According to the Status Page, the following services are experiencing issues:
Xbox Live Core

• Signing in
• Creating, managing or recovering an account
• Search capabilities

Purchase and Content Usage

• Buying items
• Redeeming codes
• Downloading purchases (including games and apps)

A brief statement informed users that they are working on the issues:

We are aware of these issues and are working to get it fixed ASAP! Thank you for being patient while we work. We’ll post another update when more information becomes available

These issues come shortly after an announcement by a hacking group called Phantom Squad, that threatened to attack Microsoft and Sony's online gaming networks this Christmas. Whilst unlikely to be related, it does reiterate the importance of being able to ensure that the offered services can withstand such issues.
Update: 23:15 GMT - Phantom Squad has sent out a Tweet on their official Twitter account in relation to the ongoing Xbox Live issues.
Whilst this tweet neither confirms nor denies Phantom Squad's involvement with the service outage - it does lead to suspicion that they may well be behind the issues.
23:17 GMT - A further tweet sent out by Phantom Squad has all but confirmed that they are claiming to be involved with the outage.
Source: Xbox Live Status | Image: Xbox

Microsoft's Xbox Live service facing numerous issues, Phantom Squad claims responsibility

At around 9:26PM GMT (1:26PM PST), reports began to surface of issues with the Xbox Live service - posts on the official Xbox Forums ranged from issues with signing in, to launching games and purchasing content.
Several users are receiving the '0x87de0017' error code when attempting actions on their Xbox One and Xbox 360 game consoles - Z0riL, on the Xbox Forums, reported that this error is being received when attempting to launch a game or app on the console. He also seemed to suggest that not all consoles are affected.

Oddly enough, My brother also has an xbox one that's not in preview and his is working fine whereas I get the 0x87de0017 error opening any games or apps. I did try iron brigade earlier and all was ok.

A message that was later posted on the Xbox Live Status Page confirmed that there are issues with the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and other devices using Xbox services.
According to the Status Page, the following services are experiencing issues:
Xbox Live Core

• Signing in
• Creating, managing or recovering an account
• Search capabilities

Purchase and Content Usage

• Buying items
• Redeeming codes
• Downloading purchases (including games and apps)

A brief statement informed users that they are working on the issues:

We are aware of these issues and are working to get it fixed ASAP! Thank you for being patient while we work. We’ll post another update when more information becomes available

These issues come shortly after an announcement by a hacking group called Phantom Squad, that threatened to attack Microsoft and Sony's online gaming networks this Christmas. Whilst unlikely to be related, it does reiterate the importance of being able to ensure that the offered services can withstand such issues.
Update: 23:15 GMT - Phantom Squad has sent out a Tweet on their official Twitter account in relation to the ongoing Xbox Live issues.
Whilst this tweet neither confirms nor denies Phantom Squad's involvement with the service outage - it does lead to suspicion that they may well be behind the issues.
23:17 GMT - A further tweet sent out by Phantom Squad has all but confirmed that they are claiming to be involved with the outage.
Source: Xbox Live Status | Image: Xbox

Microsoft Band falls to just $49.99 in the UK, with free extra charging cable worth $16.99

Now that Microsoft's Band 2 is on sale, the company and its partners have been working to clear inventory of its first-gen health- and fitness-focused wearable device in recent weeks.

The original Band first went on sale in the UK earlier this year, priced at $169.99, but has recently been available from Microsoft for as little as $69.99 (including a free screen protector) and, just a few days ago, for only $54.99 from Amazon.

Today, you can buy the Band for just $49.99 at the Microsoft Store, and the company will sweeten the deal further by including an additional charging cable worth $16.99 with your purchase.

The first Band was far from perfect, but it had plenty to offer - including compatibility not only with Windows Phones, but also iPhones and Android handsets - and at this price, it might also prove to be a decent Christmas stocking-stuffer. Don't wait too long though - this latest deal is scheduled to end on November 30.

Source: Microsoft Store

Microsoft Band 2 gets buggy update with on-screen music controls

A feature update for the Microsoft Band 2 brings on-screen music controls and activity reminders. It did not take long to get first bug reports about that update.
The addition of music controls is Microsoft answer to one of the most requested features. While the touchscreen displays the song title, you can now pause and play, skip forward and back, and turn the volume up and down.
However, according to Rod Trent on WinSuperSite.com,

"if you use a Bluetooth headset to connect to your smartphone the Band will not connect".

it’s not just affecting headphones but "any second Bluetooth device you want to connect to your smartphone." Usually this should just work out fine as the Bluetooth 4.0 specification allows multiple, shared Bluetooth instances.
Trent also reports that the new feature of "custom names or categories for Exercise activities has syncing problems with the Dashboard.

"When I kicked off my morning weight workout I chose the new "weightlifting" category, but when the Band synched with the Dashboard the activity is registered just as "My exercise"."

Other feature upgrades

Apart from the above minor problems, there are more feature improvements which seem to work just fine.
Activity reminders will remind you to get up and move when you've been still for too long. You can choose time intervals and days you want to be reminded and also set a period of time when you don’t want to receive reminders, like when you’re sleeping or driving.


According to Microsoft the exercise tile also has been improved and makes it "easier to track your duration, calorie burn, and heart rate for your favorite exercises." You can select custom or popular options, like yoga or weightlifting. "Exercise sessions can be reviewed in the Microsoft Health app or Web Dashboard. Summaries and observations will be grouped by exercise type for better insights into your performance", Microsoft adds in the release description.
A new 'What's New' Tile will automatically appear on your band when new updates are available.

Google could remove SMS/MMS capabilities in future update to Hangouts

Google has been trying hard to push the Hangouts app as a complete solution for instant messaging, voice calls and SMS. However, a rumour has now indicated that the company might be looking to remove the app's SMS and MMS capabilities.

Phandroid has revealed that Google is testing a build of Hangouts sans SMS support. Since the discontinuation of Google Talk earlier this year, Hangouts has been the company's go-to app for all types of communication. Google has failed to make the app as popular as Talk, which might have urged the company to rethink its current strategy.

According to the report, the company wants to focus on instant messaging with Hangouts and utilize the Messenger app for SMS / MMS. For those curious, Google Voice and Project Fi capabilities will still remain as part of the app. It is worth noting that the company also has a separate Hangouts Dialer application which provides internet based calling functionality in some parts of the world, in case it plans to drop Voice from Hangouts.

Source: Phandroid | Image via Google