If the time played data is not updating in the achievements tab of the games you play on your Xbox One console, keep on reading this guide to learn more about this issue.
We’ll list a few potential solutions to fix Xbox not tracking time played, and we’ll also explore what Microsoft said about this problem as well as other interesting rumors.
Granted, this is a major issue for passionate hardcore gamers who invest tens of hours into playing their favorite games on a weekly basis. Just image playing your favorite game(s) a few hours a day every day for weeks on end. But when you check your stats, it says no hours — although you’ve got hundreds of hours of gameplay under your belt.
How to Fix Xbox Not Updating Time Played
Fix 1 – Exist the game and power cycle your console
Many gamers said that playtime is only added after you close the game and power cycle your Xbox console.
Basically, you need to press and hold the power button of your console for 10 or 15 seconds until the device turns off. Wait 30 seconds and then hold down the power button again to turn your console back on.
For more details, see How to restart or power cycle your Xbox One console.
Fix 2 – Remove and add back your account
If that did not work, you can force the Xbox to refresh the information related to your account by removing your account from your Xbox and then add it back again.
Steps to remove your account from an Xbox One console:
- Press the Xbox button on your controller
- Go to Profile & system → Settings → Account
- Select Remove accounts and then select the account that you want to remove and confirm your choice
- Select Close when you’re done and restart your console.
For more information, see How to add or remove a Microsoft account on Xbox One.
Add the account back again. Then, launch the problematic game again and wait a few minutes without playing. Close the game and check if the playtime has gone up.
Microsoft is Officially Investigating the Issue
Microsoft acknowledged this issue and started a thread to gather as much data as possible on this problem. Unfortunately, there’s no EAT yet.
No ETA as of yet, unfortunately! We are investigating the issue, and once we do have some updates to share, we will make a post in the latest tech thread to let everyone know.
As of writing, it seems the problem has been solved for some users. If some of you are still experiencing this problem, just have a little patience. Most likely, the fix is being gradually deployed. Just make sure to check for Xbox updates.
What Rumors Say
There are also rumors suggesting that Xbox stopped updating time played, custom profile pictures, and dropped other minor features the company does not consider entirely necessary to optimize server performance.
Keep in mind this is only a rumor, a pure hypothesis and there is no official confirmation about such a decision whatsoever.
If you think about it, there’s a logic behind this rumor. In recent months, ever since the world started spending more time indoor due to health safety reasons, there has been a tremendous stress on the Xbox servers.
So, indeed, Microsoft might have taken this decision in order to let the servers breathe a bit, so to speak. By not tracking or updating non-crucial elements such as time played stats or profile pics, server resources can be directed towards improving gaming performance and hosting the increasing number of players.
⇒ Over to you now: Let us know if you managed to fix this problem with the help of the two solutions listed in this guide.
Share your thoughts on this matter and tell us how it has affected you as a gamer.