Skip to main content

Aaron Paul’s Xbox One ad accidentally powers on people’s gaming consoles

breaking bad alum aaron paul will star in hulus the way xbox one
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Aaron Paul is a real turn on — for gaming consoles, that is.

It turns out that a new Xbox One commercial featuring the Breaking Bad star is inadvertently powering up people’s Xbox machines without their permission.

In the ad, Paul sits on a couch and issues the voice command “Xbox on” to power up his console and play a video game.  But just as the Xbox in the commercial is actively listening for his voice command, so are all the other Xbox Ones sitting in people’s living rooms.

So when the commercial plays on TV, at-home gamers may notice their own Xbox perking up as well.

Many Xbox One owners have taken to Reddit and Twitter to complain about the fluke, with some claiming the ad even causes games like Titanfall to launch on their machines.

But according to Business Insider, there is an easy fix.  Users can always disconnect their Xbox One’s Kinect motion sensor, which is responsible for actively listening for voice commands.  Or people can just mute their TVs during commercial breaks, if they’re really that committed to keeping their Xbox off.

Now the real question is: Was this just some unintended consequence of the commercial or part of Microsoft’s master plan to subtly encourage gamers to play their Xbox One as much as possible?

Editors' Recommendations

Loren Grush
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Loren Grush is a science and health writer living in New York City, having written for Fox News Health, Fox News SciTech and…
One of the year’s biggest sleeper hits is now on Xbox Game Pass
Three characters shoot at a boss in Remnant 2.

We've learned about which games are coming to Xbox Game Pass between now and December 15, and it's an awesome batch. Some titles are hitting Microsoft's subscription service the day they launch over the next couple of weeks, but the biggest standout in this group of games is one of 2023's biggest sleeper hits: Remnant 2 from Gunfire Games and Gearbox Entertainment. The best part is that it hit the service today.

Remnant II is a multiversal Soulslike shooter that was released on PC and consoles in July. Although it flew under the radar before release, Remnant II was a surprise hit, selling 2 million copies within two months of launch. In particular, we praised the game's compelling boss design as well as its first DLC pack for going bigger and bolder in scope. It's also a looter shooter with rougelite elements, so if you're looking for a new game that will keep you engaged for dozens of hours during the holidays, this sleeper hit is a great choice. Its predecessor, 2019's Remnant: From the Ashes, is also available via Xbox Game Pass now if you want to see where this series began.

Read more
Best Xbox Series X deals: consoles, games, and accessories
Xbox Series X on a table.

The Xbox Series X, Microsoft's flagship video game console that's competing against Sony's PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch, offers phenomenal performance with an extremely efficient cooling structure that allows it to remain surprisingly quiet while pushing out 12 teraflops of processing power. The Xbox Series X works amazing with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, which grants access to a massive library of titles that you can play as long as your membership remains active. If you're interested in Xbox Series X deals for the console, as well as its games and accessories, we've rounded up the top offers below, but since we're not sure how long they'll remain online, it's highly recommended that you make your purchases quickly.
Best Xbox Series X deals

If you don't own the Xbox Series X yet, you're missing out on a powerful console. Discounts don't happen often, so the offers that we've rounded up here aren't expected to last long. Whether you just want the console, or you prefer getting it with a bundled game or an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you're going to get great value, especially if you're able to pocket the savings from below.

Read more
One of the best games of the year is finally coming to Xbox next month
Minthara in Baldur's Gate 3.

Larian Studios confirmed that the Xbox version of Baldur's Gate 3 will still be coming out this year by announcing its December release window.

"Xbox players, we hear you’re looking for more news on Baldur’s Gate 3. The game is on track for a December release," Larian Studios stated on X (formerly Twitter). There's no specific release date yet, but Larian's tweet reveals when we'll learn more. "We’ll see you at The Game Awards for the World Premiere of the exact release date," the developer teased. Geoff Keighley's video game award show takes place every December and is always full of announcements in addition to awards. The show is shaping up to be a big one for Baldur's Gate 3, as it's nominated in nine categories -- including Game of the Year and Best RPG -- and will have its December release date revealed there.

Read more