I really like my Xbox Series X. It’s a nice-looking, quiet console that puts hundreds of games at my fingertips thanks to Xbox Game Pass. But every time I turn my Xbox on, I scramble to turn down the volume so that the console’s startup sound doesn’t alert everyone in a 50-mile radius that I want to play some Fortnite.
Thankfully, Microsoft is testing an Xbox software update that will let you mute the console’s startup sound, so I hopefully won’t have to worry about the sound sometime soon. The new preview update will be rolled out to Alpha ring members of the Xbox Insider program beginning on Wednesday. If you have the preview, you can mute the startup sounds by going to Settings > General > Volume & audio output > Additional options.
While I might seem like a hater, I really do like the Series X’s boot sound. I think it’s cool, futuristic, and weirdly calming. But almost every time I turn the console on, the sound blasts at high volume through my Sonos Beam, much to the surprise of anyone else in the room with me. I don’t actually need to hear it to know that my console is ready to go — the light in the power button is enough for me.
I’m not an Xbox Insider, so I can’t test the new feature just yet. But things often show up in these previews right before they’re rolled out publicly, so hopefully I won’t have to wait very long to finally be able to turn on my Xbox without fear.