Xbox Support Arrives for Reddit

There’s a lot of moving parts to a video game console and entertainment network like the Xbox One and Xbox Live. A new Reddit support account is how Microsoft hopes Xbox users will want to troubleshoot issues and fix problems that they notice with both.

Microsoft announced the new Xbox_Support profile in the r/XboxOne area this past Thursday. Reddit is one of the world’s largest community websites. There are thousands of different parts of Reddit, all focusing on different topics. The communities act essentially like forums, allowing members to quickly gauge issues, ask for advice and share their experiences. In short, it seems tailor-made for providing some kind of support for the Xbox One and Xbox 360.

According to an introductory post on r/XboxOne, the same people responsible for tracking down users with issues and responding to their concerns on Twitter will now lurk in the subreddit looking for ways to help Xbox One owners. The company is inviting users to include Xbox_Support username in their posts or comments on the service.

A post from Microsoft itself includes the other details on how Xbox One owners will get support in Reddit. The company’s support agents will operate Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm Pacific Standard Time. Because of those hours, any support questions on the weekend won’t get handled until the following Monday. Two agents will monitor the alias for users needing help. The company plans to officially kick off support on March 2nd, next Monday.

Microsoft deciding to treat Reddit as a legitimate support forum is the latest in a series of smart moves where the Xbox support is concerned. Xbox was one of the first products from Microsoft to offer access to support through Twitter, another high-profile social network.

While the company isn’t talking about how successful it is with support on Twitter, it has 567,000 followers and has tweeted over a million times. It holds the Guinness World Record for Most Responsive Brand on Twitter, according to its Twitter profile. Unlike Reddit Xbox Support, Xbox Twitter Support runs seven days a week. Monday through Friday it runs from 6AM to 12AM Pacific Time. On Saturday and Sunday Xbox Support on Twitter is available from 8am to 8pm.

These support areas are great for anyone who has a problem with their Xbox One, Xbox 360 or Xbox Live and simply doesn’t have the time to call in to Microsoft’s Xbox support line. At least on the Twitter, the company is pretty quick with an answer to users problems. It’s also good about alerting users when there are widespread programs with Xbox Live, something that the Xbox One nor the Xbox 360 are particularly good at yet.

Microsoft also offers dedicated support through its Xbox website. How To guides and documents there teach new Xbox One owners how to get the most of their console, which is key as the Xbox One in particular isn’t great about educating new users on how to take advantage of its many features. There’s error and status code searching for any who is getting those from their console, links for sending off Xbox Ones, Xbox 360s and related accessories off for repair too.

On Xbox.com users can also chat directly with other members of the Xbox community too. These volunteers are called Xbox Ambassadors. They don’t work directly from Microsoft, but they’re informed enough to get users off to a good start with their new Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Microsoft’s Xbox One console is on store shelves now for as little as $399 without a Kinect. The Xbox 360 costs $199. Microsoft hasn’t said if it plans to expand Reddit Xbox Support to cover the r/Xbox360 area too.