Microsoft Rewards halts daily point earnings in Edge after killing the Xbox app in just a week — No more freebies!
It’s the worst nightmare for a freebie-loving Edge fan.
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What you need to know
Update 8 PM ET on 12/1/2023:A new report indicates that Microsoft has made major adjustments to how it awards points, dropping points for “other activities” from 10 to 2. Microsoft issued a statement indicating that the program is evolving, but there are no plans in play to discontinue the program indefinitely.Our full story.
If you’re an avid user of Microsoft’s services and products, you’re likely familiar withMicrosoft Rewards. If not, it’s essentially a reward scheme run by Microsoft that lets users earn loyalty points for using the company’s services like Bing for web searches and more.
But in a surprising turn of events, users might no longer be able to earn Microsoft Rewards loyalty points for using Microsoft Edge, according to a spot byIdle Sloth on X(formerly Twitter). The change started taking effect earlier this week when multiple users began flagging the issue across various social media platforms. Users could get up to 12 Microsoft Rewards loyalty points daily for using Microsoft Edge to browse the web.
(FYI) Microsoft has now removed the ability to earn daily points for using the Edge browser, which was 12 points per day in the UK & Ireland 🇬🇧🇮🇪Has it happened in your country?Today Yesterday pic.twitter.com/RTL1VQ4QFZNovember 29, 2023
This news comes exactly a week after it was reported thatMicrosoft is pulling the plug on its Xbox Rewards app, ultimately ending the weekly challenges and player streaks. Idle Sloth first pointed out that the issue had impacted users based in the UK and Ireland. However, it now seems the issue is widespread as more users from different regions also cite a similar issue.
Strangely enough, this isn’t the only Microsoft Rewards-related issue affecting users. According to a spot byTrue Achievements, users now have to wait up to 6 seconds between searches for them to be tallied as part of their daily search points.
In hindsight, the points would ordinarily be reflected in your daily search total almost instantly. While I could not replicate the same results, there might be an issue with the program, like an unintended bug.
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Impacting the Edge user base
Over the years, Microsoft has pusheda ton of features as well as updatesto its Chromium-based browserEdge. While most users appreciate these neat additions, some simply view it as bloatware. As pointed out by several users expressing their frustrations over the changes, the reward scheme was the driving force pushing them to use the browser.
But it now seems that users might gradually transition to other browsers, significantly impacting Microsoft Edge’s user base.
Are you still earning Microsoft Rewards points for using Edge? Let us know in the comments.
Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.
