Microsoft has advised players not to blow vape smoke into the distinctive vent at the top of their Xbox Series X. This practice is just one of many ill-advised behaviors that customers are undertaking with their new machines. Some images have surfaced online which apparently display the console's fan as being strong enough to levitate ping pong balls, but these images are unconfirmed and likely fake.
The launch of the Xbox Series X has been tumultuous for a lot of reasons. A new console release is always going to be hectic, but in the midst of a pandemic, the chaos is brought to new levels. For instance, soon after the new consoles arrived, players were so eager to give them a try that they brought down Xbox Live, tragically locking many fans out of a lot of the next-gen console they'd been waiting for for months. Some other fans have had to wait even longer than that, though; it's been reported that some pre-ordered consoles might not arrive until sometime next month.
Apparently the fans lucky enough to get their hands on an Xbox Series X on day one have already begun testing the limits of their new console in strange and unexpected ways. A Tweet from the official Xbox Twitter account emphasizes this by warning players not to blow vape smoke into the Series X. The console's visual appearance is somewhat defined by the distinctive vent on top, likely included to ventilate the console and prevent it from overheating. Apparently this large, glowing vent makes for a very tempting vape target. One can only imagine the technical difficulties that might arise from customers vaping directly into such a vital ventilation component. Hopefully Xbox's warning will preserve at least a few new systems. For everyone else, Xbox has helpfully included a link to its support page, "For any non-vape related support questions."
Support and maintenance concerns are a common presence with any piece of hardware, from a simple USB computer mouse to a brand new next-gen console. The Series X in particular bears this fact out; already some players are reporting strange, loud noises coming from their new machines. A console that stops working the day after it's set up reflects horribly on the company that made it, which explains Microsoft's eagerness to plug its support systems and get any issues resolved before they get worse.
That being said, there's no accounting for user error. Blowing vape smoke into one's new console is the sort of idea that should be readily identified as a bad one, and it's hard for even a a major company like Microsoft to design a console for the people who don't come to that conclusion. One can only hope that anyone who's already vaped into their Xbox Series X hasn't suffered too terribly for their hubris.
Source: Xbox