Comments on: Xbox repair process leaves gamers in a fix

Some customers who send their consoles in for warranty repair are unhappy with long return times, inadequate fixes and poor customer service.

[greengold]

Does this issue effect new Xbox's???

I do not own an Xbox but was considering purchasing the new Xbox 360 Elite edition. Does this problem affect the new boxes or are these problems contained to the original Xbox 360's. Thanks

[fred dunn]

YES, the core issue still exists...

They are just extending the warranty. So for the new price of $350 with a three year warranty that comes out to $116.67/year lifetime excluding postage to MS and the warranty turn around time.

No, they have not redesigned the cooling system which is the issue. It is an excellent console when it works though.

[killav]

repairs?

still run the black box(modded)!

[swiggins]

Two since day One, No Problems

I bought 2 360's on launch day. The one in my home is used every
day , the one at work, not as much. Overall I am very happy. I am
NOT a MS fanboy either, I DO NOT like or use windows, I have been
using Macs for 9 years, exclusivly. But, I love my 360's.

[swiggins]

One more thing . . .

I should mention that I have also had a PS3 since launch. I like it
for blu-ray movies, but that's it. I have been having an issue
keeping my sixaxis controller connected, as well as my BD
remote. It's something with the blutooth connection. I called
Sony, In the mean time I bought a logitech usb controller, no
problems, but I don't have motion controll on it. I downloaded
Crash Bandicoot a psone game, and I have been having
problems with it crashing. Sony said that they will be fixing it
sometime in the future.There is a few games coming out that I
want, but 98% of the games that I want are from the 360.
Whatever, . . over all, my Wii has been the ONLY one with out
ANY issues. hmmm, . waddia know

[PhillyBoy919]

My 360 Just Died...

My 360 was acting strangely, then I got the infamous 3 red rings of death. Other attempts yielded either the three rings or the console just froze after a couple minutes. I called the support center, they pulled up my information from the serial number, updated it to my new address, and told me I'd be receiving a box and instructions in a few days. My fingers are crossed and with Madden coming out next week, the timing couldn't be worse. I'll update with notes from my experience.

[robertslater]

Sony and MS consoles break, they just do

I am a 31 year old school, hard core gamer. I don't even watch TV (except via netflix) anymore. Instead, I spend about 10-15 hours a week gaming on all the major consoles and PC gaming as well. My wife, 31, also plays with me. Drawing on nearly two decades of console and PC gaming (four decades between us), here's what I can say about reliability of the various manufacturer's consoles. Sony and Microsoft products break, and barring excessive physical abuse, Nintendo's products do not (so far, although I am leery of my Wii). Here's the run down: I play almost any style of game, with a decided slant towards platformers and RPGs, and very few racing, FPS, or sports games. That said, I've logged more time on my PS2s (yes, plural) than any other console I have ever had, except possibly my original NES. It would be tough to say if that eclipses my PC gaming, overall, or not. I always have all the consoles and any major new "required" PC video card within a few months of launch. I have had:

3 PS1s. One broke (well, the laser got out of alignment and I wasn't willing to fix it), one starting having hangs/glitches (so I gave it to a friend ho had no PS2) so I gave it away as well when I got my first PS2. The 2 that went bad both saw at least a year of use, so figure a minimum of 500 hours of hard, extended play time before they gave up the ghost.

2 PS2s. The first one died with a laser misalignment similar to my PS1 after about a year of use and 500 or so hours of gaming, and again I wasn't willing to deal with, so I gave it to a friend who wanted to disassemble it for parts. My second PS2 didn't get a chance to die on me, since a little more than a year after we got it, my wife fell in love with the "cute little slim line PS2" so we bought that one, although we didn't need to, and donated our old PS2 to our local library. Last I checked, it was still working fine (although, it admittedly gets very little use anymore).

2 xboxes. My first one had one of the "bad" disc drives, and I just traded it in at a used gaming store (yes, they took it even though I told them of the problem!) for a few games. I then bought one of the limited edition HALO xboxes, and it ran until I upgraded to my 360. My first xbox only logged about 20 hours of game time before it started acting up.

2 xbox 360s, soon to be 3! My first 360 only lasted a few months. I only played one game (oblivion) all the way through on it, and tried a few other games here and there. It had seen maybe 50 hours of use before I got the ring of death. My current 360 showed the ring of death once, but later it went away. It is still working, but hangs from time to time (at least once per gaming session) so I know it is not long for this world. I have logged maybe 40 hours on it. Thus I know I'll need a new one before long.

Of all my Nintendo products, the original NES, the Super Nintendo, the Nintendo 64, and the Wii, I have, so far, never had to replace it before the next Nintendo system was out. These system had the most physical abuse (including being dropped, and in one case thrown across a room!) but the least hours logged per system. So, they seem sturdier, but the comparison isn't totally fair since, except for my original NES, I have never come close to logging as many hours on a Nintendo system as a MS or Sony system.

My experiences with the various consoles has lead me to one conclusion: if you are going to buy a MS or Sony product, and you are anything more than a casual gamer, expect your system to die before you are done using it (meaning moving on to the next version of that manufacturers console). My experience with mail-in repair service has always been to expect 6-10 weeks from the time I log a complaint, and I am pleasantly surprised when it takes less, regardless of customer service assurances. Because of this, I strongly advise everyone I know not to rely on the manufacturers warranty for any MS or Sony console. Instead, find a major electronics retailer that offers their own in store warranty. The major retailer I go to offers a 3 years no question asked, bring it in broken walk out with a new one warranty for $40-$60, depending on which system you are talking about (note: originally my first 360 had a $40 3 year warranty. When I returned it broken and bought a new one, with warranty, the cost had gone up to $50, which should tell you something). For my time and frustration level, the cost of these warranties was well worth it. I expect to go through at least 2 more 360s and 1 more ps3 before the next xbox and PS console are available. That said, I do not purchase in store warranties on my Nintendo products. They have proven to be more reliable, and generally so infrequently used, that I can?t justify the cost of an in-store warranty. I know Consumer Reports rants and raves that in store warranties are usually a rip-off, but on this one subject, gaming consoles, they are woefully misinformed and doing a disservice to their readers to advise against in-store warranty extensions for consoles, especially if you would consider going without your console of choice for up to ten weeks unacceptable (as I do).

[rob21i]

Xbox (Brokebox)

I purchased my Xbox 360 with Call of Duty and Gears of War. Went home and plugged every thing in and saw a beautiful picture on My 70inch LCD Tv and two seconds later saw the beautiful red ring on my Xbox did even get to play my system. I returned it and decided to stick with my PS2

[degenerazn]

70inch LCD..LOL

Are you just a fanboy trolling? I'd like to see a pic of your 70in LCD

[t182]

My Xbox RROD solution

COSTCO! bring it in, they replace it. They even let me keep my old hard drive. No questions asked.

[hounddoglgs]

the MS business process in action...

What did you really expect from Microsoft? Quality? Customer service? HA! Wake up and smell the coffee. It goes something like this:

1. Find a new market to bully into.
2. Make a grandiose promises.
3. Kinda sorta come up with a plan.
4. Keep the costs down, don't worry about quality or testing.
5. If there is a problem, blindly throw money at it.
6. Don't worry about the customer, we already have their money.

[fred dunn]

Excellent Article on Thermal Design of XBox

An excellent article on the thermal problem with the XBox 360.

Fragile Part of Xbox 360? Thermal Design Expert Investigates:

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20070801/137224/

[oTH3oB3ASTo]

That's nice...

But what happens when you crack open a system to fix it and you can't? What about that warranty huh, or the $399 you spent that is now trash because you voided the warranty? People do not listen to this guy! He may be smart enough to fix his own console but not smart enough to see the repercussions if he fails at his attempt to do so.

[oTH3oB3ASTo]

Lame post Dork! (LOL My PS# works fine)

I own a PS3 and have for over 8 months. That thing sucks! Yeah I said sucks. How often do new games come out for the PS3? Maybe your system can't over heat because there just isn't enough games out for the PS3 that would make you play it long enough for the thing to get hot! PS3 Sucks! I repeat PS3 sucks!

The only reason I am even playing mine now is because I am waiting on my 360 t be repaired and I can't stay interested for longer than 1 hour a day -if that. My 360 on the other hand I can play all day long and NEVER get tired.

You hold on tight to that dream about the PS3 is a better system. One day when you are tired of playing COD 3 reality or RFOM reality will sink in and you get a real next generation console.

Just for kicks let's talk graphics. I know you would like to think that your PS3 has better graphics but the last time I checked Spider Man 3 only shows up to 720p for the PS3. Care to know how high it is for the 360. I'll give you a hint. It's FULL 1080p.

[anmath2]

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dude no offense but ***, ur gonnna buy a third one!!!!! Buy a PS3 ******* it1!!! y spend money on the same thing 3 times!!!!!!!

[C_G_K]

News Flash. M$ does not care about you

They only care about their own "needs". They have demonstrated this over and over and over again. Example, look how they stopped selling the original Xbox almost immediately after releasing the xbox360 (note you can still buy a PS/2 or GC if you want to as Sony and Nintendo are not in the business of shafting their customers). They could care less about the millions of customers who purchased the original systems and games, they just wanted to force everybody to buy a 360. If your original system broke, too bad, buy a 360, even though it won't play all your original games that you spent a pile of money on. They think they can get away with the same belligerent tactics they use with their O/S where they have a monopoly.

I will never buy that piece of crap system as long as I live. I have learned my lesson about how M$ operates.

[j_a_s_p_e_r]

C-Net has lost its way

I originally joined the CNet newsletter and website back in 95ish (when there were only a couple thou subscribers). I say originally because I think at some point I had to recreate a login.

Back then CNet was all about new technology with interesting articles for the computer pro. Now every article on this site seems to be geared to end consumers instead of the pros. Articles are dated, boring or bashing.

They are trying to get a reaction, thats all

[Ocixelac]

Ps3 repair rates are worst.

There was a recent picture of a UPS trucks dropping off hundreds of ps3s because of repair issues. these 2 consoles will both break, but the 360 will break much less often than the Ps3, and people need to realize that most of the 360 breaking reports are just ps3 fanboys trying to get reactions such as this ignorant "Talkback".

[prymet1me]

you are kidding right

Either you are not informed or just that you are the real fanboy here. The 360 failure rate is higher than the wii and ps3 coombined multiplied times 10. LOL i really hope you were not serious, if it was not a big deal do you think MS would choke up 1 BILLION to try to correct the issue?

[bdepps]

Repairs

Thats funny I work for a repair shop and yes they both brake down however the xbox 360 is usually terminal and the ps3 is a burned up power supply. Its not just people bad mouthing xbox 360 they really do brake all the time and that is why microsoft extended the warranty on all units because it was a flaw in their design.

[NightmareRec0n]

THIS NIGHTMARE IS HAPPENING TO ME!!!!!

The 1st part is I received a broken "refurbished" replacement Xbox 360 that was DOA(Dead on Arrival) when I sent my Xbox 360 in to be repaired after it broke. I will mention that this is my 3 Xbox 360 to break by receiving the red lights of death.

When I received the replacement that was DOA, I called the customer support on August 3rd to set up a repair. I was told the turn around time would be 3-4 weeks. While I thought this was too long, I agreed because there was no other option. I was then told I would receive the box to ship my Xbox 360 back in 3-5 days. A week later on August 11th, I still had not received my box. So I called Customer Support and was connected to the extremely rude supervisor named Emma who told me the box hadn't even shipped yet and they had no clue when it would ship. I was then assured the only thing I could do was to wait...even for weeks. I then asked if I could have another box shipped to me, but I was told that was against procedure and I would have to wait. When I asked to be transferred to the next level in management, I was told "That is not going to happen" and my common sense was called a "pointless argument". I eventually gave up and decided to contact the BBB as I was left with no other options. I am waiting for a BBB response which I expect next week.

[WhatsUp227]

Xbox repair

We went throw it! Flashing lights and all. Seem to take forever to get the new one, like 6 weeks if i remember. the new one gets HOTTER than the one we sent in back now. Contacted them a week ago about this, still waiting to hear back from them.

I had to see what this Wii was all about and i have to tell you. I like it and the kids love it.

[rkinne01]

Fools Rush In

THIS is why you don't but new tech right away, always wait a year for the bugs to be worked out!

[cdtphilpot]

Someone's Full of It

I had a problem with my Xbox 360 about a month after I bought it.
I had the 3 red rings and I called Xbox Service. They overnighted
me a box and then overnighted me a new 360.