Xbox 360 Repairs to Cost Microsoft Over $1B

Warranty extended to 3 years

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070706/ap_on_hi_te/microsoft_xbox_warranty;_ylt=Auc1AYcK_6rtfXgXi4ROBG_MWM0F
from WinCustomize Forums
The Xbox 360 has been making headlines lately, not about a cool upcoming game, but about it's failure rates and general hardware problems.  Some analysts have placed the failure rate of the 360 as high as 33%, but Microsoft will not confirm or disclose the actual numbers. In response Microsoft announced that they will extend the warranty for Xbox 360 owners to 3 years to cover for the hardware failures known as the "Red Ring of Death".

Microsoft has also made production changes that supposedly corrects the problems, although they will not state exactly what is causing all the hardware problems.  They will also reimburse anyone who has been charged for the repairs, and it's estimated this and the extended warranty coverage will cost up to $1.15 Billion.



4,599 views 13 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Bah, so its got high failure rates, with a 3 year full warrenty now who cares? Eat that Sony.

By the way, Ive had mine since January and it's working fine!
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Had ours since Christmas '06. No probs.
Fences - Organize your desktop icons today!
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I haven't had any problems either, but it's nice to know the warranty is extended.


Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I still have my original XboX, and it's working fine. However, I have noticed the high rates of failures of the 360 in this country [Oz] ...also noted is the very high number of 360's in second-hand shops and being sold thru classifieds etc.

Some of my friends rushed out and purchased the 360 the moment it was released here ...and of those friends, some have already had the red ring of death, and had to send it back. [And had to wait for repairs - very inconvenient, Microsoft]

Another friend just bought the PS3, and I'm now in two minds. Do I risk getting the 360 and get to network it with my Vista rig [and have to pay the annual sub to XboX live] ....or do I go the PS3, with no networking but free online content/no sub fees?

Damned decisions!   

  

Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
My kids have been playing theirs for 7 months.. 24 hours a day. no probs yet.   
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
wow that stinks my 360 runs amazing though not one problem most people dont know how to take care of their consoles though but o well just costs them money
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
My brother has his 360 for a year or so, but a few weeks ago it gave the right ring of Death (I wonder why it's not a blue ring of death, like the blue screen in Windows?)

However, we needed to send the 360 ourselves on costs of Microsoft, and it should get back in 15 work days.... Well, those days are far over, and still no 360 back home
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
il stick with my PC games .. its faster and more reliable .. and when im done playing..i can come here and BS without having to move
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I had my 360 for just about a year. The thing had been flaky from day one. About once in every 10 or so power ups I'd get some weird E74 error. Another 1 in 5 it wouldn't do anything at all. I simply powered it down/up and went on with my day. It contentedly hung during on-line play.

20 days before the warranty expired I got the "rings of death". And it was a death sentence for the unit. Microsoft support was very responsive in handling the problem. I went through the 3 or 4 simple steps that didn't resolve the issue and the replacement gears started moving. It was exactly 30 days from that day it died to the day I received the replacement unit.

So far the new unit is working okay. The REAL test will be this weekend when my 7 year old son and his friends beat the crap out of it.
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I've had mine for almost a year and it's still working, although it does freeze occasionally and has often fails to recognize certain discs. However I do know two people who got the red ring after the warranty expired, and I bet they contacted Microsoft as soon as they heard the news. This at least puts my mind to rest that it won't come out of my pocket if the thing fails in the next two years.

Erk, the PS3 may not network as a Media Center Extender but since the 1.80 update it is able to stream from certain media servers. TVersity seems to be the recommended one for that.
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I got mine on launch day and it worked perfectly for about 9 months, I care for my stuff well but I got the red ring of death. I talked to a very helpful and informed support guy and sent my xbox away for repairs. Only next week I had it back and it hasn't give me any other problems so far. I'm quite happy with the service in all respects. Although my original xbox is still going strong, they should have stuck with the big black box instead of trying to make it look more flashy. I've had little kids jumping on that machine(bastards) it's made tough.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Playstation HAS network support see here:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/06/06/ps3-goes-upscale/