I don’t know if this happens on all consoles but I know it happens on xbox. Sometimes when you do the challenge rift after the season starts you can’t claim the challenge rift cache. I’ve had it happens a couple of times. What I do now is close the game before the season starts, then start the game after the season starts. Since I started doing that I’ve always been able to claim the challenge rift cache.
Start game. Create seasonal character. I like to get to clvl 2 to get impale (DH, you can use the same strategy for skills for other classes). I then go and kill Zoltun Kulle. I then exit the game, go into the appropriate game mode and do the challenge rift. I’ve never had an issue with being unable to claim the challenge rift cache.
Most people simply do the CR first, prior to creating their seasonal character imho. And that is where the problem is. There’s an easy enough check to prove this - log on with a non-seasonal character and see if you can claim the CR cache.
There may be a bug with XBOX port, I don’t know. I don’t have an XBOX, so can’t comment on it directly or accurately. I’d say I’d never seen a PS4 users reporting that they were unable to claim the CR cache when they had created a seasonal character PRIOR to doing the CR. And I’ve inhabited these forums since 2016.
I don’t think you need to close the game anymore. The way the xbox use to work was when you turned off the xbox it actually just went into sleep mode. So when you turned it back on the game was still running and you could quickly get back into the game. If you didn’t close the game before season start and then start it after season start you might not be able to claim the challenge rift cache. Now when you turn off the xbox it completely shuts it off so when you turn it back on the game is already closed. Since I started closing before season start and starting the game after season start I’ve always been to claim the challenge rift cache.
I always make and log into a seasonal character before I do the challenge rift. The times I was unable to claim the challenge rift cache. I started the game before the season started. After the season started I made a seasonal character. I logged into the seasonal character and went and got the kanai’s cube by then I was usually about level 12. Then I did the challenge rift. I logged back into my seasonal character but I couldn’t claim the cache.
So if you turn on your xbox to play the new season you shouldn’t need to close the game because it should already be closed. However you still shouldn’t start the game until after the season starts.
that’s just a really stupid way of XBOX doing things. Glad I have a PlayStation.