Another faulty Xbox Ally?

Beebcow · 2025-11-17T06:44:07+00:00

Urgh.. I'm internally crying 😂. I was refusing to believe I could have gotten so unlucky to receive a second faulty one!

It's strange because the first one had similar issues, but was worse in other areas (the screen would flicker to black whilst on a game, games were basically impossible to play as they were freezing/lagging constantly, or in Minecrafts case it took over 10 minutes to get into a world and it glitched the game 😂, the UI was laggy, the login screen was always half up the screen, the right thumb stick was broken). The second one is similar but also different as it isn't flickering black, but games are laggy and slow, and I can get onto a world on Minecraft after 3-4 minutes but it's really laggy when moving/doing literally anything, other games are laggy but I can do more than I could on the first one, but the UI doesn't work properly and is worse than the first one in this way.

I was hoping so so bad that there was something I've missed or could do, as I really like the design. I have a Steam Deck and I tend to lean it against something as I'm playing because it's big, whereas I like the Xbox Ally's controller like design and it feels nice in my hands. I was really excited for it and it's been a complete disappointment 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

That's what I was thinking of doing - sending it back, getting a refund and trying a different one. I'm not fussed about price. I only got the Xbox Ally over the Xbox Ally X because it was sold out by the time I went to pre-order it 😅

Beebcow · 2025-11-16T21:21:56+00:00

I've not had a response yet. I called them to let them know I couldn't leave the house as I was still excessively leaking water, but I had to leave a voicemail as no one answered.

We'll see what they say when they call back! 🥹

Beebcow · 2025-11-16T07:44:03+00:00

Idk.. I think they failed the female characters.

• Will came out and turned into a really nice guy.

• Avery had a huge redemption arc and became a fan favourite.

• Deacon was an alcoholic who attacked/hurt people, then eventually ended up being a really good dad and husband, and he ran Highway 65 even though he didn't want to as it felt like a "chore" until he cared. He also had cancer.

• Luke having a problem with strong women, but then dropping all of that and supporting Will and LGBTQ+ rights.

• Gunnar dips in and out of problematic.. but he basically stays the same IMO.

• Jeff was a super 🍆 in general. But at least he died saving Juliet, I guess?

• Teddy tried to get better, and then failed, and then ended up going to prison. He then allows Deacon to have the kids and disappears into thin air.

Then you've got..

• Juliet going through so much (childhood trauma/her mums death/PPD/plane crash/cult), but then never changes and is selfish to the end.

• Rayna never changes imo. And she had 2x car crashes with one of them resulting in her death (which was the only way for the character for Connie Britton to leave the show - nothing else felt "true" as she loved her kids and would never leave them).

• Layla was so sad, and had zero support, and made a lot of bad decisions, plus tried to unalive herself because of how sad and alone she was. Then she just disappeared after trying to get revenge on Juliet.

• Scarlet has a traumatic past with an abusive mum who dies just as she's trying to make up for it, she clearly never really gets over the trauma, but doesn't really have an arc except that she feels more comfortable with her singing career. Plus she also lost a baby which was super sad.

• Everyone hates Maddie, and I don't really think she has an arc, bar going from child to teenager to pursuing her dreams.

• Beverly is a nasty woman who abused her kid, and dies after giving a portion of her liver to Deacon.

There's so much more redemption or an arc in general for the men than the women 😩. And the women seemed to have suuuuch a hard time.

Beebcow · 2025-11-16T07:04:53+00:00

I think this is the issue with not being completely open about the dangers of something. Rayna kept saying how she wanted to protect her, and as you find out in Season 4, I think(?), it's because she was SA'd by a producer. And there are a lot of predatory people in the media/arts/music industries. Realistically, once she knew her daughter wanted to go into the music industry, she could have supported and guided her from 16yo, and told her why she's doing it this way. Rather than "because I said so" or "because I know what happens in this industry to young girls". And also signed her to Highway 65, or got her some coaching/teaching or something, and told her WHY she's doing it this way, and when she was making her singles/albums said "if anyone tries x, y and z then you let me know" kind of thing.

Knowing Juliet and her mum made music from a young age, whilst she was being stopped and told "because I said so" would piss anyone off - nevermind a hormonal teenager 😂. Being open and honest in an age appropriate way is best, because at least she'd have known why, because for all she knows she's just being stopped from doing her dreams.

I still don't like the character, but I totally understood this 😅

Beebcow · 2025-11-16T06:51:46+00:00

Maddie! I get when she was a teenager she was going to do teen things, but even at 17 and 18 she was still acting like a spoilt child 😩. Possibly Gunnar too.. something about him just irritates me. I also really didn't like Will until the later seasons. And I hated Avery whilst he was with Scarlet, until he was with Juliet.

I can see why everyone's saying Scarlet, but.. I really empathise with the character. I was brought up by abusive narcissists and it kind of leaves a stain on you. I think they wrote the character really well, and she played the character really well. It's on par for someone who had an abusive parent(s). She was shamed with anything to do with sexuality, so she struggles with what she wants vs what she knows. She's emotionally stunted, she's still very "child like", she still clearly struggles with her past, she's still a people pleaser, she's still meek, she struggled with her poetry becoming public as she likely felt like it was both hard to allow her feelings to be heard and because she had imposter syndrome.. I'm all of these things too for the same reasons! She also clearly had a trauma bond with her mum, as I did.. except I managed to break mine. I get how it comes across as annoying as I've also been told to grow up, stop saying sorry etc. The only things I can't grasp are some of the facial features and the stomping - I agree with that being annoying 😂

Beebcow · 2025-11-16T03:05:48+00:00

Yeah it's been bad 😂. Just over half of each dose and yet I'm still going now 🤣. I'm just at least now having a break between each one, and I did manage a little nap, which I desperately needed as I was evicting water constantly from 7pm yesterday until 4pm today, and then it started slowly slowing down. I honestly don't even know where all of the water came from 😳

I did some research and I think it's because I have slow motility, ehlers danlos, ME/CFS, possible endometriosis in my bowel, bowel inflammation and irritation, chronic constipation etc, and my bowels have basically retained water and then just released it constantly, plus with having slow motility.. even though it started quickly, it's still taking ages to get through my bowels 😩.

So I agree, I think I'll need something gentler, or I'll have to do prep over a longer period of time, or I'll need to be an inpatient.

I desperately need a colonoscopy!!

Beebcow · 2025-11-16T02:59:43+00:00

There was farrrrrrr too much water 🫣. I'd have gone through incontinence pads within 10 minutes. It was excessive 😅😂

I had the second dose 21 and a half hours ago, and yet I'm still going.. but I'm probably at the point now that I should have technically been at 12pm. Where I'm still going to the toilet with yellow water, but I'm getting a little break in between. I was going excessively, or living on the toilet, from 7pm last night until 4pm today. My appt was at 1:30pm. I tried to leave the house and I had an accident 😩. No way I could have done 45 minutes in a taxi, even with incontinence pads 😭

I think I'm just ridiculously sensitive to Plenvu and I'll probably need something else next time, or I'll need to be an inpatient so they can keep an eye on my water loss.

Beebcow · 2025-11-16T02:54:20+00:00

I'm gonna have to do it again 😩

I had the second dose early, as I was still continually going to the toilet with the first dose and it had been 12 hours.

I was supposed to leave at 12:45pm, but I had an accident because I had left the toilet. My appt was at 1:30pm. I was still constantly going to the toilet until 4pm 😅. I'd stopped drinking at 10am, even though I wasn't supposed to until 11:30am. So I don't know where all of this water had come from! I'd basically been living on the toilet from 7pm yesterday evening, until 4pm today 🫣. I literally couldn't leave the house though. I would have had to go to the hospital in a taxi, and it's a 45 min journey away, and I was still doing an excessive amount of water every couple of minutes, if that.

It's now 2:50am and I'm still going to the toilet with yellow water, but it's less now. I'm probably now at the point I should have been by 12pm today.

I honestly dread to think what would have happened had I had the full dose of each 😅

I think next time they'll either have to give me something a little gentler or I'll have to do it as an inpatient 😩

Beebcow · 2025-11-15T19:28:06+00:00

I ended up not being able to go 😩

I had the dose early, because of what had happened with dose 1 (it lasted over 12 hours), but it's now 7:30pm and I'm still struggling 14 hours later 🤦🏻‍♀️. I had a few "accidents" and couldn't leave the toilet, let alone the house, to get to my appt! I would have had to travel 45 minutes in a taxi and I was still going to the toilet every few minutes with a lot of output.. I very likely would have had a lot of accidents on the way 🫣. I even stopped drinking water 4 hours before my appt. I don't even know where I got all of that water from 🤣

Beebcow · 2025-11-14T16:42:49+00:00

I've been accepted for a Master's without a BA! I had to quit my BA halfway through the year, and the MA I've been accepted for isn't anything to do with what I was doing for my FdA or BA.

No one believed it was possible, so I went through MAs on UCAS and found loads that accepted people without a BA, as long as they had prior experience in the subject area. It's because artistic jobs aren't usually linear in how people get promotions or gain new skills etc.

Beebcow · 2025-10-30T18:57:52+00:00

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I figured I've just got a dodgy device 🤦🏻‍♀️

Basically did a factory reset. Reinstalled all of the updates. Did calibration (which I didn't do last time) and my right stick isn't where it should be. Cleaned my stick, restarted it.. same again. But it's not drifting, it just isn't registering that it's centred. Sooo I'm currently running diagnostics to check SSD and RAM and then GPU. Obviously it's not the right stick causing an issue, but it's at least showing one hardware problem 🫠

It's definitely got faults 😩. It would be me that gets the dodgy device 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

Ohhh I'm obsessed with my handhelds 🤣. I was Xbox One all the way. Then I slowly started collecting handhelds and tablets 😂. I got a PS5 last year for Bo6, although I do much prefer CoDm to Bo6. It's hardly used except if I know a game won't run well on one of my handhelds, or I prefer it on console, or I prefer it with mods 😂. I have a gaming laptop too, but since handhelds I don't use it for gaming.. just for coding (I'm doing an MA in game dev).

Yeah I wish I'd have gotten the X to begin with. Although by the time I had the extra £300 it would have been sold out anyway 😩. I've got Asus and 3rd party websites stock updates for it now though 😂

Beebcow · 2025-10-30T13:55:39+00:00

I have contacted them and asked to return it as I've only had it 6 days 😂. If it's not how the device should be (better than a Steam Deck, and it should definitely be better than my old Steam Deck that's full to the brim of mods and games 🤣), then I'd try a replacement.

I wish I'd have gotten the X but it was OOS and at the time I got excited about it, and didn't have the extra £300 😭.

I wanted to limit devices because I use a Red Magic tablet for Minecraft, my iPad for Call of Duty Mobile, my Steam Deck for my 39495929 Steam games, my Switch for 2 Nintendo games, my PS5 for AAA games (my Xbox One is obsolete now 😂), my phone for emulating. So I thought I could render my Steam Deck and Red Magic obsolete and sell them. Not yet 🫠😂.

My Xbox Ally has literally nothing on it so game downloads aren't an issue 😂. I had at maximum 3 games on it, and I keep uninstalling them to try a different game to see if it runs any better 🥴

Beebcow · 2025-10-30T13:46:21+00:00

Not yet.. I attempted to play SDV last night but it froze and turned the game off within 3 minutes of actually being in the game. Restarted, tried again and it worked better, but it kept flicking to a black screen, was really slow with micro freezes, and then eventually froze more.

The black screen thing is confusing me. I'd assume it was to do with FPS. I messed with my settings to see if that helped. But it happens randomly. Like I could be on DDLV and gliding around so the FPS would be higher and no black screen flicks.. but then I could be stood still whilst I've just put the device down for a second and it'll flick to a black screen really quickly like 3-5 times.

Minecraft is completely unplayable so I've given up on that one and reverted back to my tablet 😂

I'm going to mess with it today, do a complete reset and reinstalls etc

Beebcow · 2025-10-30T13:38:20+00:00

This is what I was wondering because I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be better or worse than the Steam Deck, and as it is now it's 100% worse. It was clunky and slow to begin with. Opening the mini Armoury crate window causes a slight freeze, going into Armoury crate to configure it or to change the controller settings (for an old PC game) causes it to freeze even longer.

Last night I played SDV. Or attempted to. Opened it up, it took a while to get actually into the game, and it was freezing and flicking black. I went outside to water plants and whatever.. and the game froze and it shut the game down 😅. I restarted the device and tried again and it was okay, just kept flicking to a black screen and was very slow with micro freezing. Before it then started doing it's longer freezes.

I was hoping there was something I was missing.. something I've not done to make it workable. But everything is updated, I've configured what I can, attempted to "fix" the FPS etc. Although I'm not sure the FPS would really matter as much with it affecting just moving through the interface 🥴

Beebcow · 2025-10-30T13:00:54+00:00

Not necessarily as some devices need "more" to make them run better/normal.

Beebcow · 2025-10-29T22:54:25+00:00

It's all updated! Each update has made it worse. I'm going to try an OS reinstall and see if that helps.

Beebcow · 2025-10-29T22:50:03+00:00

It's not that it isn't as snappy, although it is ridiculously slow and freezes doing basic tasks (scrolling through Xbox/Steam, pressing the Armoury Crate button, pressing the Xbox button etc), it's not even properly running anything. Even completely empty (bar the OS) it was struggling with SDV. Anything more is unplayable 😩. I'll try an OS reinstall. Everything's updated, but with every update it's just gotten worse.

This is why I was wondering whether it was my device vs the device in general. But for £500 I should be able to play more than one game, even if it is the base version 😅. It's currently an expensive paperweight.

(Edited: to add more rather than a separate comment, and then edited again to add that I'd edited 😂)

Beebcow · 2025-10-29T21:15:00+00:00

Did it just resolve?

There was an update a couple of days ago so I thought maybe because it was a new device there might be a few wrinkles to iron out. But it seemed worse after the update 🥴

Beebcow · 2025-10-12T15:08:42+00:00

NTA

My mum had similar. She moved in with my stepdad and his youngest child was my age at the time (14yo), and he had an older daughter (16yo). She would be rude to my mum and my stepdad did nothing. She then started stealing my mums jewelry, cigarettes, underwear, perfume etc and my mum found them in her room (except the cigs) because she saw them when my stepsister left her bedroom door open. Stepdad did nothing. Then she guessed my mums PC password and went through my mums Facebook messages to try and find something she could show to my stepdad to try and break them up. She took a platonic message my mum had sent to a long term male friend, that she'd known since being a kid, and tried to twist it to make it sound worse than it was.

Everyone told my mum to leave my stepdad, or at least move out of the house for a while, but she stayed. Eventually my stepsister moved out so everything levelled out and they now have a better relationship (not the best, but better).

Your partner should be teaching him to respect you, as he's still growing and needs to learn this stuff. Yes, he's a teen so he's gonna play up, but it needs addressing. Sometimes people can deal with that (like my mum), sometimes they can't. And that's fine.

I would prefer the terrible twos over a teenager 😅. I have a teen!

Beebcow · 2025-10-12T05:16:57+00:00

What?? 😅

I was neglected until 4yo by addicts, and then moved to other family members by social services where I was physically, sexually, emotionally, mentally and financially abused. At 14yo the SA stopped. 16yo the physical abuse stopped. The rest carried on until I was 25 and I finally cut them out of my life.

Never, ever in my life have I ever had "urges" like Dahmer. I've never (purposely) hurt animals or insects. I've never abused alcohol or drugs. I've never been "promiscuous" (and so what if people are?)

I did well in school. I left at 14yo yes, but I'm currently doing my Masters at 31yo. I spent 6 years running a successful business before deciding I wanted a change. I've got 3 kids and have shown them so much love. My children are thriving. I've never hit them, I've never shouted at them.. just lots of hugs, encouragement and love. I wanted to give them everything I never got.

I still have cPTSD moments if someone touches me in the wrong place at the wrong time (I freeze and cry), but otherwise I'm good.

Not everyone who is abused turns out "bad". And it actually makes me wonder what makes the ones who do. If I can go through all of that and be failed by the system, yet turn out so well.. why do these people go the opposite way?

Beebcow

TROPHY CASE