How to Fix “Error Code: 0x87E11838” on Xbox?

A lot of Xbox users have encountered the Xbox error 0x87e11838 when trying to play any games on their console. This error occurs when people are trying to launch a game, then an error code appears on there telling them that the action is not possible. This error is only encountered on Xbox One and Xbox Series S and X consoles. 

Showing you how to fix the Xbox error 0x87e11838

Since many players have reported this issue online asking for help, we have decided to take a closer look at this problem to see what causes it. Here’s a list of all the possible reasons:

  • Ongoing server issues – The most common cause that the users have reported is the servers being under some problems that were making them unplayable. This can be also caused by the server being under maintenance. All you can do is to search online for the Xbox live server status to see if the servers are working properly. You can also check if there are reports online about this problem to see if there are other players that are encountering the issue at the same time.
  • Xbox account inconsistency – As it turns out, this particular issue can occur due to remnant data left behind by the login cookie that both Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles are using. In order to fix this issue, all you need to do is log out, then log back into your Xbox account. 
  • Corrupted cached data – Cache data accumulation can also be an underlying issue that might indirectly cause this kind of scenario. If you haven’t tried clearing your Xbox console’s cache data until now, you can do this by essentially power-cycling your device with a series of button combinations. 
  • Corrupted files – Another cause for the Xbox error 0x87e11838 could be some corrupted files that randomly became harmful. This can be toxic for your Xbox because is not letting it work properly, meaning that it can cause many other problems. To fix this, you need to clear the cache data of your PC, and you can also remove the locally saved data of the game you want to play.

Now that you are aware of all the causes of this Xbox Error 0x87e11838, here is a list that contains all the methods that the affected users have used in order to fix it:

1. Verify the Xbox server status

The first thing you need to do is to check the Xbox server status to see if there are any problems that are occurring at that moment. The server could be going through some issues and it could be under maintenance, resulting in the apparition of this error. 

The first place you need to look at is the official Xbox support site where you can see the live server status. Once you are inside this site, you will be able to see a list of all the Xbox services. The icon associated with services should be green if the services are working properly. If the icons are yellow or red, that means the servers are Limited or Major outages. That means the servers are not working properly.

Verifying the status of the Xbox server on their official site

If the icon is not the green one, that means you are encountering the Xbox error 0x87e11838 because of the server. In that case, the only thing to do is to wait until the developers fix this issue because you can’t do anything about it.

Additionally, you can also look on sites like Downdetector to see if other people are reporting problems with the Xbox servers at the same time as you. The site is provided with a graph that shows you all the reports that were made in the last 24 hours. You can also comment and ask questions if you want to.

Checking if there were reports made in the last 24 hours

In case you have found out that other users are going through problems at the same time as you, all you can do is wait until new updates come up.

If you are sure that the Xbox servers are working properly and this is not the cause of your problem, go to the next method below.

2. Clear the cache data

The next thing that people recommend you to try is to clear the cache data that is being stored in your Xbox console. This can be helpful because some of the temporary data could be corrupted, causing the Xbox error 0x87e11838 to appear.

All you have to do is to press and hold the Xbox button for about 10 seconds, then disconnect the console from the plug to make sure that all the data is cleared. Fortunately, the guide below is available for the Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and X because the system is the same for all of them.

Here is a guide with all the steps that you need to follow in order to complete this method:

  1. The first thing you need to do is to make sure your console is fully switched on.
  2. Now you need to press and hold the Xbox power button located on the console. Hold it for about 10 seconds until you notice the front LED starting to flash intermittently
    Power cycling your Xbox console
  3. After that, you have to wait for about one minute to give your Xbox machine enough time to clean itself completely of cache data.
  4. Once the time minute has passed, you need to disconnect the power cord of the Xbox console from the socket.
  5. Now you need to plug the power cord back inside the socket and start the console.
  6. When the Xbox console boots back completely, launch the game that you couldn’t play before and test it to see if the Xbox error 0x87e11838 still appears.

In case this error is still present even after clearing the cache data of your console, go to the next method below.

3. Log out then log back into your Xbox account

Another thing that turned out to be helpful in some users’ cases is to log out of their Xbox account directly from their console. When they sign in back into their account, the problem seems to disappear. This method should be available for the Xbox One, as well as the Xbox Series S and X.

The Xbox error 0x87e11838 could disappear when you log out and log back because this error is caused by a server issue. When you log back into the account, your Xbox console reconnects to the servers and works without more problems.

In case you don’t know how to do this, here are the steps you need to follow:

  1. You need to start by opening the Guide menu. To do this, you have to press the Xbox button on your computer.
    Opening the guide menu by pressing the Xbox button
  2. Once the guide menu appears on your screen, you have to use your controller to navigate to the profile section.
  3. After that, you need to select the Sign out button to log out of your Xbox account.
    Signing out of your Xbox account
  4. Once have successfully signed out, log back and wait until you are inside your Xbox account.
  5. After you see the Xbox menu appearing on your screen, launch any game to see if the error still occurs.

In case the Xbox error 0x87e11838 still appears, go try the next possible fix.

4. Restart your console

Some other Xbox users recommend you to restart your Xbox console in case the methods before didn’t help. This is an easy process to do that turned out to be efficient for some of the players that have tried it.

This method could be helpful because when you are restarting the console, all the processes restart as well. Your Xbox console can make the connection again, and that could be enough to make the error not appear again.

All you have to do is to reset your Xbox console. You can do this in a few ways, one of them being that you can simply close the console by pressing the Xbox button on the machine, then after a few seconds launch the console again the same way.

Restarting the Xbox console using the button on the console

Another method you can press and hold the Xbox button located on the controller until the What do you want to do? menu appears on your screen. When you see it, navigate to the Restart console button and select it to start the process.

Restarting your Xbox console directly from the menu

In case you have tried both ways a few times and the Xbox error 0x87e11838 still occurs the same as before, go check the last possible method below.

5. Delete your local saved data

The last possible fix that users have used and recommend trying is to delete all the local saved data that your Xbox console stores. This can be a useful thing to do because the saved data that your console has could have become corrupted, which being able to cause different problems to the Xbox like the error 0x87e11838.

All you have to do is to go to My library and choose to manage the saves of the game you want to play, then delete the saves that are stored on the console (local saves).

Note: Before going straight to the steps, you need to make sure that you have good saves on the cloud to not delete all your progress in that game.

Here is a guide with the step-by-step instructions on how to delete the locally saved data on your Xbox console:

  1. The first thing you need to do is to open the My games & apps menu. To do this, press on the Xbox button on your controller to open the guide menu.
    Pressing the Xbox button to open the guide menu
  2. After that, navigate to the My games & apps section and select the See all button.
    Expanding the My games & apps section
  3. Now that you are inside the My games & apps section, search through the list of games the one that you want to play, and highlight it. Then press the More options button to expand the little menu (Menu button).
    Pressing the Menu button to expand the options list
  4. Once you have done that, scroll down to select the Manage game & add-ons section.
    Selecting the Manage game & add-ons section
  5. After you are done with that, use the left-side menu to go to the Saved data section and press on Delete all to delete all the local saved data.
    Deleting all the saves that your Xbox console stores
  6. After the saved data is deleted, you can try to launch the game to see if it will work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kamil Anwar


Kamil is a certified MCITP, CCNA (W), CCNA (S) and a former British Computer Society Member with over 9 years of experience Configuring, Deploying and Managing Switches, Firewalls and Domain Controllers also an old-school still active on FreeNode.