Time to Vent: Xbox 360

[Sluggo]

So I fired up my xbox this evening and what do I get? The RRoD (Red Ring of Death). I would not be so mad if this was my first RRoD, but this is my 3rd...yes my 3rd.

Why do they keep refurbushing hardware when there is a (known by design) hardware fault? Is there not an implied warranty that a product will work?

Oh yeah, and the best part...now I am out of warranty so I get to pay for it...any idea how much that costs (seriously I would like to know)

 

[Koss]

I've never gotten it, but I have a later design (Halo edition)

I guess there can be a price to pay when you are an early adopter

AFAIK later generations of the console fixed hardware issues.

 

[nodns]

Contact MS and complain. There is an unofficial warranty on that particular issue, but be ready when you call. If you get 0 satisfaction, let me know.

 

[Nadir M]

So I fired up my xbox this evening and what do I get? The RRoD (Red Ring of Death). I would not be so mad if this was my first RRoD, but this is my 3rd...yes my 3rd.

Why do they keep refurbushing hardware when there is a (known by design) hardware fault? Is there not an implied warranty that a product will work?

Oh yeah, and the best part...now I am out of warranty so I get to pay for it...any idea how much that costs (seriously I would like to know)

Sluggo, I'm sorry to hear about your xbox 360 getting RRoD. I've had lots of experience with this in the past, trust me. I'm on my 5th xbox believe it or not! This one (knock on wood) has lasted the longest. I am pretty sure that they extended the warranty even further than the initial three years. I swear I read that somewhere recently...If it's not the case, I believe it costs $99 to send it to Microsoft and have it swapped or repaired. I certainly hope I'm right about the warranty. Good luck. -Nick

 

[Sluggo]

Contact MS and complain. There is an unofficial warranty on that particular issue, but be ready when you call. If you get 0 satisfaction, let me know.

Are you associated with MS?

 

[nodns]

No, but I have a casual acquaintance with an XBox mvp (as well as a sql mvp, but that would be of less help). I might be able to get something from them.

 

[gollum83]

Sluggo, you have my sympathies. How old was your system anyway? I thought the later generation 360's were supposed to be relatively RRoD-free.

 

[The Fish]

I believe that Microsoft did amend their warranty coverage because the RRoD was such a widespread problem. Call them up, I'm pretty sure they will still fix it for free.

 

[negncic]

I also suffered the RROD multiple times. I finally made the switch to the PS3 and could not be happier. Amazing Blu-ray player, Free online, and most importantly no more RROD>

 

[burnwood]

Yay Wii!!!! Sorry for your losses Sluggo.

 

[chfair]

also went through 3 xbox360's the last one i did not buy the game stop replacement plan at $80. i called MS it was about a year of ownership longest lived one i had, they would fix some RRoD under an extended plan but not mine. graphics chip went out and they wanted i think it was $99 to fix plus shipping both ways. i will not own another xbox360 for these reasons.

3 strikes you are out in my book.

 

[Zhukov]

That sucks. My son's had the RROD, but no problems since.

For reference: he's had it since it came out, and has been playing the ever-living crap out of that console since then. When you look at the hours he's spent on it, I would say it's put up with a lot of use.

 

[Kratos]

This is all too common. Yet another reason I stuck with Sony. Also why I never buy a system until a year out or so, when the issues start cropping up. I'm sorry to hear that this is your 3rd, but considering how Microsoft does business, not all that surprising. Patches for everyone!

 

[gollum83]

That sucks. My son's had the RROD, but no problems since.

For reference: he's had it since it came out, and has been playing the ever-living crap out of that console since then. When you look at the hours he's spent on it, I would say it's put up with a lot of use.

He sounds a lot like my younger brother then.

 

[FLTiger]

Yay Wii!!!! Sorry for your losses Sluggo.

What I was going to say. +1

 

[ClubmanRob]

An external fan (or two) is key to avoiding it in the future. The newer versions are better than the first gen 360's, but the red ring of death is not unheard of with the current gens.

 

[thatguy1807]

Wow, the same thing happened to me today as well. I bought Halo Wars popped it in the crapbox, it booted fine but when the actual gameplay started I got alot of little black squares on my screen, so I played alittle more hoping thay would go away but they didn't. I then turned off my 360 and turned it on again and what do ya know, a freakin' e74 error message. And on top of it all I modded my xbox by putting it in a lian li case, so a voided warranty and no free trip to Microsoft, CRAP. Well I guess its off to Newegg to buy a new one

 

[Anocer]

Gents, I've worked in quality assurance for nearly a decade (& I started off @ Microsoft on the original Xbox)...

If there is one thing I learned:

Never, ever, ever purchase the first round of distribution for a new piece of hardware - it is an unofficial vetting period for problematic components.

Always wait until the 2nd or 3rd round of manufacturing -at least-

For instance, I waited until the production run of Metal Gear Solid PS3s to purchase the console (more than 6 months after initial release)... as a rather market specific niche of high end users those PS3s were almost guaranteed to be high quality products. I never had a single failure in my 6 months of operating (for someone who purposefully causes catastrophic failures in at least one console per week @ work).

Additionally, for reference... there were well over 20 unofficial versions of the original Xbox that I tested. That is, 20 seperate and distinct hardware configurations. In the FIRST run of the Xbox.

 

[LexusAussie]

Microshaft hardware = Epic Fail

 

[Anocer]

Microshaft hardware = Epic Fail

Any hardware first-run = Epic Fail

Folks who purchased a 2nd or 3rd run of Xbox360 have a significantly lower rate of RRoD than those who purchased 1st runs.