Thanks for comfirming that for me Josh. As this update does not fix the saves stuck in the “cleaning up” phase, but instead prevents the issue from occuring again, there is a chance that this is a side effect of the hotfix. I am waiting to hear back from the team on this and will let you know what they say as soon as I can.
Hi Clare,
thanks for asking the team. It would be very nice if there would be a solution for that because otherwise I would have to start from the beginning 
Hi Jared0499, this hotfix prevents the issue triggering when items are dumped / lost at sea or lost through the ground. Unfortunately it cannot fix saves already affected but will prevent this trigger from occuring. The team are still investigating other triggers as not every player reported lost items or having dumped items in the sea. At the moment this appears to affect only single player saves so the safest thing at the moment may be to play in private solo multiplayer. However save types cannot be converted and there is the catch the multiplayer does not have the labelmaker function. - I hope this helps to answer your question 
UPDATE 2021/12/09
PlayStation approved the hotfix yesterday and many of you have already seen it appear on your systems.
Xbox has now approved their version of the hotfix and Xbox players will start to see it rolling out today.
@OIF1ADVET - sorry for the delay in getting back to you on this. Thank you for the extra confirmation and those additional details. I’ve created a unique report on your experience for the team to look into. As this has happened more than once for your current save, if it is still playable using your workarounds would it be possible for the team to get a copy of it? I feel like this may help them investigate other triggers. If you’re happy to share your save, the instructions can be found here: [Save File Request]
With regards to leaving the wildlife on passive, I too am wondering if this would prevent a freeze or if it’s the changing of the setting rather than the setting itself that’s having an impact. But I’m not a dev so I’ll leave it up to them to figure out this mystery! If you do try other methods though, please let me know and I’ll update the report on this - as always your information has been very helpful. Thank you
@Don802117 - I’m sorry to hear this affected your save too. Had you just traveled to a new island or lost anything through the ground / in the ocean? If you do try OIF1ADVET’s workaround, please let me know if it works for you.
@quintennyson - Thank you for reporting these details. Generally the items in the toolbelt relate to the inventory and toolbelt wipe issue. Did you experience both this and a hang in the “Cleaning Up” phase in the same save and around the same time?
@josh - to follow up with this, I have discussed it with the team and have submitted a full report so they can investigate it. If you haven’t started a new save in the same slot yet, does the data for the original save still exist on your console even if the game cannot access it? Please also confirm for me if you see a “Continue” option or just “New Game” when you load in.
Hey Clare,
it seems that the data still exists. Here are two pictures (sorry its in german)
First I see “Day 40” but when I try to access it I have to choose the main settings. I don’t remember but I think there was the option “continue” and now after the update it’s not there anymore.
Hi Josh, thank you for sharing those screenshots, I will pass this onto the the team also. Would it be possible to get a copy of this save data? While the team cannot fix and return saves, it may help them to investigate what is causing this to happen as a side effect of the update and hopefully ensure it doesn’t happen to other saves.
It is my understanding that because the issue happens while saving and affects save files, files caught in the “Cleaning Up” phase cannot be restored. However if this info from the team changes, I will of course inform the community.
If you’re happy to send a copy of your save for the team to look at, you can find the instructions here: [Save File Request]
Hey Clare,
sure I will send you the save data.
But for me it looks bad to have my saved game back right?
Thank you Josh, and yes unfortunately if it was stuck in the “Cleaning Up” phase I’m afraid this save cannot be restored. I am sorry that this is the case and I completely understand how disheartening this is for players…
Hi @Clare does that mean we should technically be able to load a new save on play on single player without hitting the ‘cleaning up’ glitch now on xbox series X ? Been doing a private multiple save at the mo and everything has been ok so far on day 55
I’ve been reading back for months on this issue and it’s apparent they don’ t know whats going on. Clare keeps saying she is trying to fix the problems with the devs but nothing gets fixed. Get my save game back or refund my money now.
Has anybody tried reporting this problem to Microsoft?
Get my save back or refund my money, NOW!!!
Hi again,
I saw that the game was updated, now I have version 2079 and I tried starting a new game, found a crate and dumped it in the deep ocean, and saved after to see if the bug is still there and… IT WORKS!!! if I will encounter this bug again I will sure post here to report it.
Thanks for fixing it, even if the saves are gone for good
@guest - I am sorry this issue has affected your save. Please see the top post for the latest information. We do not have access to player accounts and payment information on our end, please contact Xbox support if you wish to request a refund as all refunds must be processed through the online store where the game was purchased.
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@SpliffSix - Thank you for sharing those screenshots also, I will pass these onto the team as well to show it’s consistent for players whose saves were in the “Cleaning Up” phase.
@AdriaNova3742 - Thank you so much for confirming that the fix has worked for you. This is great to hear and I’ll be sure to pass it onto the team. Please do keep me updated if the issue occurs for you again but I hope it does not and I’m glad to hear you can dump items in the ocean as you please