Here is an extensive list of the official Microsoft Flight Simulator bugs and known issues regularly updated by the Xbox Game Studios. The developers have also mentioned various workarounds to address the issues until a patch is released. This is one of the most popular games by the studio, but as big of a game it is, it is not free from bugs.
It has been several months since the full launch of the Microsoft Flight Simulator, but this list of known bugs have unfortunately only grown longer over the time. There are some major issues like the DLC packs not showing up inside the game, they have been covered separately as they require longer workarounds.
Microsoft Flight Simulator Bugs and Known Issues
Here is an official list of all the Microsoft Flight Simulator known issues, revealed by Microsoft Games and Xbox Game Studios, as of updated on September 20, 2021:
INSTALLATION
- The Microsoft Store doesn’t have the mandatory update
- Workaround:
- Install the Xbox App.
- Workaround:
- Leaving the title while downloading content for 10+ minutes causes the download to restart in Content Manager.
- Workaround:
- Restart downloads if title is suspended during content download
- Workaround:
- Your installation loops and crashes.
- Workaround:
- If you have Process Lasso, MSI, or any GPU/CPU apps open, close out of them and try again.
- Workaround:
MARKETPLACE/PREORDER
- We have received reports that with Sim Update V, crashes may occur if you have FlyByWire’s A32NX free mod installed from the Marketplace. While we work with FlyByWire to get this updated, we have briefly de-listed this item.
- Workaround:
- If you currently own the mod and are experiencing CTDs, please do the following: Go to your Profile > Content Manager > Search for FlyByWire’s A32NX in the search bar. Once found, click it and press ‘Delete’ to uninstall it. It will now show up as Uninstalled in your Content Manager.
- Workaround:
MENU
- Unable to navigate through some of the menus due to freezing or the cursor jumps around and does not interact with menu elements.
- Workaround:
- Stop or pause any downloading content, restarting the game, connecting a USB mouse, and even opening the Xbox Guide and closing it again
- Workaround:
- When uninstalling content in the Content Manager, after clicking “Delete” and “Yes” there is no indication of what happens next and the sim seems to freeze.
- Workaround:
- Wait for your content to uninstall and then the menu will be clickable again. There is no visual to indicate it is uninstalling at this time.
- Workaround:
CTDs
- Sim may crash when flying with AI traffic
- Workaround:
- Set AI Traffic settings off by going to General > Traffic > Aircraft Traffic Type > OFF
- Workaround:
- Downloading ~25 GB of content and entering a flight durations of 2+ hours may cause a crash or service disconnection issue
- Workaround:
- On Xbox: press the Xbox (jewel) button on the console face once, which places the console into connected standby mode. Then, press it again to wake it back up.
- Workaround:
- Sim crashes when returning to default profile for Mouse from a custom one
- Workaround:
- Users who are unable to manipulate the aircraft instrument panels due to using a custom profile for the Mouse and are unable to switch to the default profile for this bug can work around this by switching to the Legacy interaction model.
- Workaround:
MULTIPLAYER/ONLINE SERVICES
- Xbox Live Friends will not appear on in-game leaderboards unless a friend request has also been sent and accepted within the sim
- Workaround:
- If users do not see leaderboards propagating as expected, ensure that friends are added within the sim
- Workaround:
- The marketplace is greyed out
- Workaround:
- You may have run into an authentication issue and have been switched to offline unintentionally. You can manually change it by going to Options > General > Data > Online Functionality to ON
- Workaround:
- At the end of an activity, the result screen endlessly loads with nothing to interact with.
- Workaround:
- Close out and restart.
- Workaround:
PERIPHERALS/CONTROLS
- Syncing customized controller mappings from a PC build to console may cause the controller to become unresponsive other than the B button.
- Workaround:
- Select the Default controller profile in your PC settings and sync the updated settings to the Console. Go to Manage Game > Saved Date > Delete Your Profile
- Use an external mouse attached directly to the console to update to the Default controller profile and then customize as needed.
- Workaround:
- User can get stuck in the Freelook view and be unable to bring the cursor back up
- Workarounds:
- Restart the flight, this will set the Cockpit Camera Type back to Fixed Look.
- Use a mouse and press the scroll wheel in, this will change Camera Type back to Fixed Look.
- Go to Options > General > Camera > Cockpit Camera > Toggle Home cockpit mode “OFF”.
- Workarounds:
- Xbox players using the Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS One: Mappings on the Controls screen does not match the labeling of the buttons and axes on the peripheral.
- Workaround:
- Though what you see on the screen is incorrect, if you make an assignment through scanning it will be accurate. Do not use the drop-down to create your mapping.
- Elevator trim is too sensitive when changed using the mouse wheel, cannot be properly adjusted on aircraft that have electric trim switches, and Elevator Trim Axis is currently not using the full range (-100 to 100%).
- The team is working on this issue.
- Workaround:
SCENERY
- Night lighting disappearing or floating lights
- Workaround: Set Render Scale to ‘100’.
- Photogrammetry and Bing Maps Data are not loading for certain users
- We are currently investigating
- Textures in Free Flight do not properly render nearing both the North and South Poles
- Workaround: Select another location for Free Flight
- Groups in Free-Flight causes TIN Data to fail to continually load in during Multiplayer
- Workaround:
- Leave the group
- Re-enter gameplay with open MP Settings
- Workaround:
AIRCRAFT/AVIONICS
- Plane altitude is different than expected
- No known workaround
- COM radio unexpectedly goes off frequency shortly after departure on IFR flight plan
- Workaround:
- To recover, the user can tune back to the previous frequency.
- Workaround:
- Pilot informs ATC they are descending to their assigned altitude even though they’re still below it
- No known workaround
- Fuel information not saving in flight (FLT) files so user starts off with no fuel
- Workaround:
- Refuel after flight loads
- Workaround:
FLIGHT PLANNING
- User will not be able to launch a saved flight plan using a deleted aircraft. The FLY button in the loading screen will be disabled with no messaging.
- Workaround:
- Re-install missing aircraft used in saved flight plan
- Create new flight plan with valid aircraft installed
- Workaround:
- User may see incorrect duplicate waypoints in their flight plan
- Workaround:
- Click on the destination and press “insert before” to enter your waypoints in the correct order
- Workaround:
- On VFR flight plan aircraft automatically under Flight Following without having request it
- Workarounds: Depending on whether the flight departed a controlled or uncontrolled airport the steps to cancel Flight Following will differ:
- Uncontrolled Airport
- After taking off and when the option becomes available, tune to Departure and cancel Flight Following.
- Controlled Airport
- Take-off and exit the airport’s airspace.
- Tune to the tower of a nearby controlled airport (may be the one that you just took off from).
- Request permission to land.
- After given your landing clearance cancel your landing intentions.
- Tune to Departure.
- Cancel Flight Following.
- Uncontrolled Airport
- Workarounds: Depending on whether the flight departed a controlled or uncontrolled airport the steps to cancel Flight Following will differ:
As always, we’ll be providing you with complete information about the patch notes for Microsoft Flight Simulator as soon as they are released with the above fixes. You can also join the official forums to report problems. Are you facing an issue other than the ones mentioned above? Let us know in the comments down below!
Microsoft Flight Simulator is now out for the PC on Steam, Windows 10 Store and on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S platforms. If you want to learn more about game news and patch notes, make sure to check out our Patch Notes section.
