UPDATE: The fun is over as another Reddit user has seemingly disproven the original photo. Another image from a different Redditor has shown a wire sticking out from the top of the Xbox Series X’s vents where a ping pong ball could be placed.
The image can be viewed below:
Additionally, other Xbox Series X owners have reported that the fan isn’t quite powerful enough to propel a ping pong ball into the air with their hardware. Even if this was a believable fake given the preposterousness of someone staging a relatively mundane quirk like this, it appears to be a fake nonetheless.
Xbox Series X owners are finding that the console’s fan vent can allegedly be used for an unorthodox purpose — ping pong balls can reportedly float above it.
The top of the Xbox Series X console features a vent to prevent the hardware from overheating, though one imaginative Redditor has found a different use for its ventilation system. Placing a single ping pong ball atop the Xbox Series X while it’s turned on will allegedly cause it to float above the system, giving early XSX adopters something to do when they’re not checking out the console’s library of Game Pass games.
“Now I know what the Xbox Series X is used for”
The discovery was shared on Reddit’s r/gaming subreddit, attracting over 80,000 upvotes. Another user also edited the original orange ping pong ball to transform it into a green ball, mimicking the Xbox’s branding.
Now I know what Xbox Series X is used for
byu/SnowFlakesMilkHoney ingaming
Now that this alternative use for the Xbox Series X’s ventilation system has seemingly been discovered, other XSX owners will no doubt want to try it out for themselves. However, Microsoft inevitably advises against placing objects on an Xbox console, even if those objects float directly above it.
“Do not put other objects on, under, or right next to the console,” the company’s support page reads. While a ping pong ball presumably wouldn’t obstruct the hardware’s ventilation system, it’s still advisable that Xbox Series X owners don’t make the ball a permanent addition to their console’s setup.
Nonetheless, this discovery may take off now that it has been uncovered, so those without an Xbox Series X might expect to see plenty of images of the console blowing balls into the air using its high-powered fans.
When not floating ping pong balls on top of the console, early Xbox Series X owners have been struggling with slow download speeds with the hardware, along with experiencing difficulties with signing in to Xbox Live.
