Xbox One advert turning on customers' consoles without their permission

Advert featuring Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul features the console's voice activation features a little too well

Xbox One owners are complaining that a new TV advert showcasing the console’s voice activation features by using the phrase “Xbox On” has been switching on their consoles without their permission.

Users on Twitter and Reddit have reported that the advert – which features Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul – uses the phrase, triggering the Kinect’s voice sensor and turning on the console.

“That #XboxOne commercial with @aaronpaul_8, aka Jesse Pinkman, just turned on my damn Xbox when he said "xbox on,” said one user on Twitter.

Another advert showing Paul using voice commands to play the sci-fi shooter Titanfall has reportedly had similar effects. “Aaron Paul just launched Titanfall on my #XboxOne not cool bro,” writes Stephen Lucey.

This is not the first time that users have fallen afoul of Xbox One’s voice activation, with some players joining online matches with names such as ‘Xbox Turn Off’ or ‘Xbox Sign Out’ in order to purposefully aggravate other players until they mention them by name – with expected consequences.

Xbox One owners who want to avoid issuing or receiving these sorts of accidental commands can disable the Kinect sensor.

Microsoft announced this week at the E3 games conference that they would start selling the console without the Kinect for the first time - a move that allows the company to match the price of Sony’s rival PS4 console.

Although the American company has said that the motion and voice sensors of the Kinect are integral to the console's appeal, many fans have complained that they didn't want them. The new price for the console without the Kinect is $399 in the US and £350 in the UK.