20 replies to this topic

[xboxrulz]

After numerous complaints with the infamous "Red Ring of Death" (consisting of the first 3 quadrant of light to light up with red LEDs), Microsoft has finally stepped up on the plate to offer its new warranty extension from last December's 1 year warranty. The original warranty was 90 days, but with the rise of the Ring of Death, Microsoft, in December bumped it to 1 year and now they bump it to 3 years. Microsoft predicts that it will cost the company US$1 billion to fix all the broken consoles this year.

Great news for gamers, bad news for Microsoft.

Now I don't really have to worry about my box crashing.

Source: Kwokinator.com

UPDATE: A Q&A with Peter Moore in the original article from GameSpot available in the link above.

xboxrulz

[Jimmy89]

Does anyone actually know what is causing all the problems? Cause I was thinking of getting a XBOX 360, but if there is all these 'Red Ring' problems, maybe i should wait till they have worked out what the problem is!

Though, I do have some friends who will be greatly relieved by this news! They have been getting rather worried that If their console crashes, they are out because its out of warranty.

Imagine how angry Microsoft is that they are going to have to fork out over $1 billion to fix the consoles!

[xboxrulz]

It's just only a prediction. I've had my X360 since June 2006 and still, there's no problems. People speculate that it's just an overheating issue where the heat bent the motherboard causing the chips to no longer attach to the motherboard. Another problem could be dust that gets into the machine and into the connection points of the processor and GPU. Lastly it could just be manufacturing faults in the system.

Generally, right now the failure rate ranges from 10 - 33% (only 1 or 2 sources claim 33%) of all boxes fail.

xboxrulz

[Jimmy89]

That must be a large amount of heat to actually bend the motherboard! Is that a design fault or is that because people have been using them in confined places, like under the tv with the dvd player etc. But for it to happen to somewhere between 10 and 33% of consoles, it must be come kind of hardware fault and not a issue of where it placed.

I think i'll just stick with the original XBOX till this is sorted out! Though, 3 years warranty is not bad!
-jimmy

[Jeigh]

I doubt it will be sorted out really, people are loving them for offering the extended warranty, no one will care that much if 1/10 systems eventually dies but is quickly replaced for free, etc. I imagine its cheaper for MS to just replace the ones that die then to design around the flaw. This is, of course, just speculation however.

[Unregistered 011]

That's good news, I've had a lot of friends who have got the ring of death, and had to pay over a hundred dollars to get it fixed my microsoft, I was thinking about buying a xbox 360 but I was worried I'd get the over heating issue. Most of my friends xboxs died after they had played halo for a whole night or a really long period of time, but the xbox should be able to handle that..

I found this video where this guy cooked an egg on his xbox with the ring of death Haha. click me

[xboxrulz]

lol, ya, I've seen that video. Actually, if your friends paid for their repairs, tell them to expect a cheque from Microsoft for the refund of the Ring of Death issue.

@Jimmy89, this issue won't be ever solved 100% thoroughly. The X360 can get really hot. Usually the boxes which died, usually are kept in hot places (aka cabinets) and not well ventilated. The area where I keep my box never peaks 25 degrees Celsius. Plus, I give the box 40cm clearance on all sides from anything.

xboxrulz

[HellFire121]

I've heard that the failure rate is on the rise, it could probably get worse as it goes on if it is a manufacturing fault. But if the consoles work properly for a decent period of time then it looks like it is most likely related to something the user can fix.
It's great work that MS has actually extended the warranty (But for a price i heard somewhere) and they know there could be a possible fault.

-HellFire

[xboxrulz]

They actually confirmed that they found most of the problems, but it's going to take a while to fix it all.

xboxrulz

[Grafitti]

Though I'm sure they have some hidden motive for doing this, even if it's just for good PR, it's nice to see Microsoft putting the customer first once in a while.

[Victim]

I am soo happy about this. I am going to get my $120 back! My XBox 360 had an overheating issue a while back and I had to send it in. I was for about 2 weeks with no XBox. It was horrible. I managed to get through it.

[xboxrulz]

lol, and I thought I was crazy-glued to my X360. Then again, now I have a Wii, so if anything happens to my X360, at least I have my Wii to play with while my X360 is at the "hospital".

xboxrulz

[Victim]

lol, and I thought I was crazy-glued to my X360. Then again, now I have a Wii, so if anything happens to my X360, at least I have my Wii to play with while my X360 is at the "hospital".

xboxrulz

I have a Wii too, don't like it very much. Maybe the game selection just isn't my taste. Theres no Gears Of War for Wii, anyway.

[xboxrulz]

Gears of War + Wii, that would be insane. Using the Wiimote and pressing A doing the chainsaw motion to chainsaw!!

Wait until later in the year. For me, I'm getting Simpsons the Game and Crash of the Titans for the Wii.

xboxrulz

[Victim]

Gears of War + Wii, that would be insane. Using the Wiimote and pressing A doing the chainsaw motion to chainsaw!!

Wait until later in the year. For me, I'm getting Simpsons the Game and Crash of the Titans for the Wii.

xboxrulz

I am a 1337 chains4w n00b! I will play with you on gears sometime. My headset broke and I don't know how soon I will be getting another one. Playing without a headset kinda sucks.

[xboxrulz]

Gears of War online doesn't work without headset. Actually, no online game work without communication.

xboxrulz

[Alegis]

Great news, heard a handful of stories from lads with the infamous Ring of Death, yet refused repairs from Microsoft. Some even wouldn't get a refund because they claimed the problem was overheating rather than Ring of Death. Oh we do hear a lot of bad stories, and it seems the failure rate is insanely high (estimate of 30%). If you haven't had repairs yet, cherish those boxes.

Grats to those that got their deserved repairs this way.

[xboxrulz]

I'm going to soon publish my own XBOX 360 Caring Guide on my website, so I'm hoping to see if people like it.

xboxrulz

[Victim]

Just make sure you don't look at some of my achievements...

There are certain ones, that I get made fun of for a lot...