The past two weeks have seen a number of changes to the Xbox One platform. The March update improved social features, yesterday brought Twitch streaming, and new accessories allow users more flexibility with regard to personal audio. Unfortunately, there are reports of issues with the latter.

Users are reporting distorted audio, primarily with chat. Skype and Upload Studio voiceovers seem to be unaffected.

The issue seems to be related to the chat adapter, as multiple models of legacy headsets are affected. This includes models from Astro, Turtle Beach, and Polk. Users suggest that testing with other devices results in normal, problem-free performance.

“We've heard about a small number of users experiencing intermittent issues,” a Microsoft representative told us via email. “We’re actively investigating and are working on a resolution."

We’ll update with more information on a fix or workaround should one become available. For now, it would be worth checking with the manufacturer of your headset to determine if they have a remedy.

[Source: Xbox Forums, Astro Gaming Forums]

Our Take

It’s unfortunate that the chat adapter, which is designed to reintroduce user choice for personal audio, seems to be malfunctioning with older headsets. However, given the ability to update the controller firmware, a fix could be pushed out via a small update. If so, you’ll need to go through the patch process again, but as we previously shared, it isn’t that cumbersome.