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Microsoft Announces 3-Year 360 Warrenty Extension

xbox.com — Finally MS taking care of the 3 Red Ring Circus of a Console.

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  • unusualbob, on 10/11/2007, -24/+70Great attempt for a PR save.
    This solves the problem with people having to pay for repairs, but are they actually going to fix the cause of these problems? I'm sick of not having my system around when it breaks and im not going to dish out another 400 for a 'backup system'.
    • Octantis, on 10/11/2007, -9/+20They have already fixed the cause of the problem. If you call increased cooling a fix.

      http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/13691/Xbox-360-Pictures-of-the-New-GPU-Heatsink/
      • jacksons98, on 10/11/2007, -20/+5We don't know if the bigger heatsink actually fixes the issue or not. It's really just a band-aid. I'm personally not considering X360 until they get to the 65nm process and a complete revision on the hardware is done.
    • watership, on 10/11/2007, -3/+36Read the whole article. They have been making changes to the hardware to address the problems.
    • Shak, on 10/11/2007, -3/+28*****! I knew I shouldn't have opened up my 360 to inspect the problem myself. I did put the MS sticker back on as best as I could..
      • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10just send it in and try it. i highly doubt, after this news, that M$ is going to fight any warranty returns.
      • jonnyeh, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Keep in mind that an 'opened 360' = 'hacked 360' to Microsoft
        Try anyways, the worst that will happen is that they'll send it back untouched
        • Archon810, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1And you will lose the shipping fee.
    • mukamo, on 10/11/2007, -19/+0mirror spam

      http://www.mukamo.com/gallery/
    • cbuddha42, on 10/11/2007, -4/+3They are changing the fabrication process used in the manufacturing of the chips too. By reducing the size, they should be able to lower the power consumption and thus heat output.

      In other news, this is good for me because mine is nearing 1 year old, and even though I've only had to send it back once, I don't quite trust it to not break again.
    • falstaff, on 10/11/2007, -5/+9When my birthday came up a few months ago, and my wife asked if I wanted a Wii or a 360, the reliability issue was basically the deciding factor. If MS really gets the problems solved, I'd love to have one, but they've got a lot of work to do to fix the gaming public's perception right now.
      • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+16they are doing what they should be doing. their hardware has problems, they fix it and take care of the customer. what did sony do for everyone who bought the first playstations? nothing.
        • MWeather, on 10/11/2007, -10/+2What did Microsoft do for the first Windows Windows 95, windows 98, windows me, window 98 se, windows xp, and windows vista users? Nothing.
        • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1I'm pretty sure that the PS2 wasn't even approaching a 50% failure rate...
          • Abaddon1125, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Maybe not, but some estimates were around the 30-35% range. I mean, go to ebay and type in "disc read error" and see how many hits come up. It's usually quite a few.
      • iampoch, on 10/11/2007, -4/+0And how long did it take before MS fessed up? you're full of BS my friend.
      • mutedecho, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Dude, go for the 360. The Wii is a great party machine too though, but the 360 has awesome games. Get gears of war, you won't regret it.
        • falstaff, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1This was a few months ago, when MS was still trying to control the failure rate stats (even though everybody knew the 5% number was *****), and before the better support was announced. I'm still not getting one yet, because the risk of such a hassle just isn't worth it to me, but in another year or so if things start to look up, it's a system I'll be looking at. Until then, my Wii has been running flawlessly, and if Nintendo's track record is to be believed, it will continue to do so well through the next few console generations.
    • Nobi-Wan, on 10/11/2007, -7/+29This is freaking awesome and shows exactly how to handle pissed off customers. It's also very surprising because it's extremely rare for a company to do this and even admit fault on top of everything else. Now if they would only take down the ridiculous $60 price for games.

      If Sony suddenly decided to charge only $50 for their games it would make them save a lot of face and make the price difference for their console negligable because you make up the price very quickly with games.
      • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7M$ is actually an outstanding company to do business with for end-users. i wouldnt want to compete with them in a market, but being a paying customer they have always given me great products, service and value. $60 a game is a lot, but you dont have to buy them new either. just like movies, wait awhile if you can. if you cant, well, yeah $60 sucks.
        • TimDigg, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6obviously not a system admin......

          I will say that.....Microsoft, probably more than any other major company LISTENS TO CONSUMERS
      • bombledmonk, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2A voluntary warranty extension is much better for PR than the almost guarenteed future class action lawsuit and forced recall.
    • mikedmoon, on 10/11/2007, -5/+13**I'm sick of not having my system around when it breaks and im not going to dish out another 400 for a 'backup system'.**

      read a ***** book
      • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2+5 for condescension

        I love how people get all holier than thou when someone else complains that something they paid $$$ for doesn't work as advertised. *****.
  • bacardi151, on 10/11/2007, -6/+82"We have been following this issue closely, and with on-going testing have identified several factors that can cause a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. To address this issue, and as part of our ongoing work, we have already made certain improvements to the console."

    So for those of us with working 360's, should we send it in in order to have these improvements added to the 360 and not worry about it eventually dying?
    • mastercheif, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11Well, even if it is a launch console, you have another year and a few months to find out.
    • XxModestMousexX, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0I dont know about that Bacardi, I would just hang on to it until it dies then send it, I dont think they will take it and upgrade it unless its giving the 3 lights.
      • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -5/+0if i already had one, i would just send it in. if they are admitting that all xbox's are effected possibly, it doesnt make much sense to wait till it dies.
    • Jojoicb, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5If it dyed what color would it turn?
    • MrFisty, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13Depends on what colour you dyed it I suppose.
    • Electrosaurus, on 10/11/2007, -7/+0This is ridiculous. Its like saying I should take my one year old car in to be upgraded just because the manufacturer has released a new model. It a warranty, not a factory recall.
      • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Actually it's an admission of a problem in the manufacturing process. If this was a car they would be forced to recall the defective units.
      • damon5334, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Actually, they would just send you a card saying such and such part is screwed up and they would have you bring in the car and they would patch the issue. Had to do that with my Buick last year because something was wacky with that year's dome lights or headlights... I don't know, I didn't read the paper that closely.
  • ekleinunt, on 10/11/2007, -27/+25No one else has a three year warranty. Back off.
    • OhFrak, on 10/11/2007, -45/+13No one else NEEDS a three year warranty. ***** off.
      • theonlyvlad, on 10/11/2007, -4/+44true, but you can't spin this as a bad thing for the consumer who has a 360.
        • iampoch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3True, though in my opinion, this is still just damage control at the moment. It's still the right thing to do, however. I do hope the 65nm versions come out soon.
        • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I think anytime a customer pays for something that doesn't WORK as advertised that's a pad thing.
  • thejwac, on 10/11/2007, -15/+27Honestly, I'm glad that repairs will remain free for a 3 year period after purchase, but I wish they would do something on the turnaround time when the console fails. I have had 3 consoles die on me and each one took 2 weeks (from the time I dropped it off at a UPS store to the time it was back in my house) to get back. It would be nice if they provided overnight shipping.
    • byronm, on 10/11/2007, -2/+36Is two weeks all that bad for warranty repair? I know faster is always better, but good grief most manufactures state 6-8 weeks for warranty service!
      • blahtastic, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3When you pay for a subscription service for that item, it's not great. If you take a 50 dollar 1 year live subscription, figure out the cost per week, I'm out about 8 bucks on repair time...

        Actually I just had to pay to get mine fixed for the 4th time this last week. I'm thrilled right now :)
        • byronm, on 10/11/2007, -1/+58 bucks for two weeks repair time? How do you figure that?

          50/12 = 4.12 / month - devide that by 2 = $2.00.. woah.. break the bank.. you might be out a soda!
          • blahtastic, on 10/11/2007, -1/+72 dollars x 4 repairs = 8 bucks. I said I'm out 8 bucks, not everyone. Read my comment, don't just be a complete ass for the hell of it.
          • blahtastic, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3Actually, sorry for the ass thing. I did word that pretty stupidly. But still $2*4 repairs=8 bucks...
        • bluenullity, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Why not call in to CS and get credit for the days that your X360 is in service.
          • blahtastic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I did just this time, but it took some good complaining. I had to argue for like 2 hours...I'd like to think that my bitching somehow contributed in a small way to this announcement :D (still happy about it)
        • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0yeah and ill just tell my cable company they owe me for those two days my cable service was dead. good one.
          • diggrim, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2my cell provider reimbursed us for an outage a few years back...it makes sense to keep people from complaining
      • goodcow, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3When my MacBook Pro needed to be sent in for repair Apple sent DHL directly to me for a pickup. it was sent out priority overnight, they got it, repaired it, and sent it back out the next day priority overnight.

        3 day turn around is amazing, and can't be any faster, really.
        • jull1234, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2and when you're paying Apple prices.... yeah just kidding...sort of. A 3 day turn-around would be frickin' excellent on xbox repairs. Mine is scratching discs again (3rd console, 5th mailback to MS), and I finally finished playing though the last game I bought, so I'm considering sending it in.. I just hate not having it for watching HD-DVDs and such (cause its gone for like 2 weeks). I sent it in once before for this problem, but they didn't seem to do anything to fix it.
          • diggrim, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3the article made me think the 3yr extended-extended warranty only covers problems caused by the three red rings
          • jull1234, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Mine is still under the 1 year. I agree with your statement.
        • Pinionist, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Amazing :) But I don't think apple has to deal with so many Powerbooks as Microsoft with Xboxes..
    • cell00, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5It's been 6 weeks and counting for my 360 to return buddy. I pretty much expect it to come wrapped in a ribbon with a note saying "Sorry, but we upgraded your hardware!"
      • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -2/+16 weeks is too long. they better be chroming that thing out :D
    • spankaccount, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I had to wait about two weeks for the "coffin", but once I sent my xbox away a new one arrived about 4 days later. I've heard similar reports, so it might be that MS is starting to get serious about it's issues.
    • MurphyWonKenObi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1On my 3rd console myself, 1st dead in 8 weeks, 2nd died in six. 3rd one is hanging tough, for now.
    • Qumahlin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1REally two weeks? Mine have taken just about a week and a half each time, which is far faster then any other return service i've ever used. The only time i've had faster service is in the case of some companies where they will ship the replacement first...but they also pre-charge my credit card for xxx amount of dollars to be sure you don't just keep the item. Quite frankly i'm happy with 1.5 week return over having to put a charge on my card that I then have to make sure gets removed.
    • LogicBomB, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12 weeks? You were lucky. Mine took 1.5 months, another guy I know has cracked the 30 day mark. Quite frankly I'd be thanking MS for such speedy delivery.
  • Riseagainst1, on 10/11/2007, -5/+29Thank you lord! Those 5 hours bickering at Microsoft support finally pays off. mmm I can't wait for my check!
  • nextag82, on 10/11/2007, -21/+12ill buy one now
  • nextag82, on 10/11/2007, -23/+6ill buy one now
    • iampoch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2or just wait for the inevitable 65nm versions.
    • damon5334, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0I can only imagine what will happen when the 65nm versions are announced. I'm sure there'll be a ton of people that will try to kill their xbox to get the new chip.
  • ragnar0kk, on 10/11/2007, -19/+15this was a great move by M$ , i am very happy to hear this! even if it was late in coming out
    • logicalnoise, on 10/11/2007, -5/+24this was a great move by MS , i am very happy to hear this! even if it was late in coming out
      *fixed*
      • jsully, on 10/11/2007, -4/+5You're doing God's work.
      • EvilCan, on 02/26/2008, -2/+9Thank you very much logicalnoise. If I see Microsoft spelled as M$ one more time I think I'm going to have to kill some kind of baby animal.
        • Fartag, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1Know first why some people write M$ before you go out to kill things, and you'll see your anger is misplaced.

          Microsoft is a convicted anti-competitive monopoly. They've repeatedly sold out the entire computing field on various fronts in order to ensure cash flow at great expense to progress (embraced and needlessly altered standards with proprietary extensions for the purpose of destroying the original and future things, going out of way to prevent intercompatibility, vendor deals and closed APIs to force out competition, patent claim FUD, general mischief and many other things). That they would do this repeatedly in history is why a '$' in the name itself showing where their sole priorities are isn't off the mark.
          • logicalnoise, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2and you fight back by using a dollar sign?
          • iampoch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0@ logicalnoise:

            or, it's called freedom of expression more than backlash. anyway, I do agree that "M$" is getting old, and as much as I also hate the company, I do have to admit that they did some things right (XBOX360 is NOT included in that list, but the original XBOX is)
  • Octantis, on 10/11/2007, -18/+23I haven't had the problem with my Xbox 360 but I am glad Microsoft did something about the growing problem. If they play their cards right they can turn this into a lot of free publicity for themselves.

    I guess M$ is a little less evil today. But only a little
    • logicalnoise, on 10/11/2007, -4/+19I haven't had the problem with my Xbox 360 but I am glad Microsoft did something about the growing problem. If they play their cards right they can turn this into a lot of free publicity for themselves.

      I guess MS is a little less evil today. But only a little

      *fixed*
      • iampoch, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0wow, you weren't kidding when you said you have a problem with "M$". Let people express themselves.
  • briansearles, on 10/11/2007, -17/+15Better late then never... still doesn't fix the hardware issues, though.
  • GeekSwag, on 10/11/2007, -5/+71"Microsoft will take a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs under its current and enhanced Xbox 360 policies"

    Weren't they the ones saying it wasn't a big issue? I don't know about you, but I think $1.15bn, even to MS, is a HUGE issue.
    • byronm, on 10/11/2007, -5/+4They have been taking a "loss" for a while. Nothing new here. They've launched a new sku, continued to upgrade Live services and have there "must haves" being launched this year. They're also working on 65nm versions and the expectations is those will be in stores for Halo3/GTA et all
      • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0big issue, yes. but do people say 'wanna play playstation?' anymore? no. they say 'wanna play xbox?' or 'wanna play wii?" thats worth more then 1.15b actually....
    • shogusumi, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1$1.15 B pre-tax... well, that means less taxes, I suppose, so it's considerably less that $1.15 B out of pocket. Plus, their current market capitalization as of today is like $287 B... what's that, 0.4% of the company? I don't know that I would call that HUGE.

      I'll bet the money means less to them in this instance than the PR. And, as byronm mentions above, there is the whole AAA game parade coming soon. I'm sure they'll shrug it off.
  • OhFrak, on 10/11/2007, -24/+32What a fiasco!

    Microsoft was already bleeding cash at a faster rate compared to the 5 billion or so in losses for the first Xbox. And now they are adding on an additional 1.1 billion on top of the current losses. Holy *****.

    And the billion they are spending on the RRoD problem still leaves all the other hardware problems like disc scratching unfixed and something people have to pay for themselves. Microsoft being forced to spend a billion dollars on faulty hardware just a few days before E3 with the eyes of the entire gaming world focused on the three console companies. Bad timing.

    • mtrip, on 10/11/2007, -6/+4More voluntary than forced.
    • truspector, on 10/11/2007, -5/+13Disk scratching is a very minor issue compared to the RROD problem and I really don't understand why people feel the need to move their console while they are playing. Spin this however you want but in the end this is good for the consumer.
      • iampoch, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3no, some of the disc scratching problem weren't caused by the hardware being moved around. A lot of people got their game discs scratched even when their unit was stationary.
      • jull1234, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I'm no dumb ass.. I don't move my console around while its on, and yet my brand new discs come out with small marks on them. I send it in to MS (on my own dime, I might add) and what do they do? ***** Nothing. I get the same console back, with the same issue. I really want to love my 360, but wtf, MIcrosoft?
    • reed311, on 10/11/2007, -5/+10And to think, if they had just made the product reliable from the get-go; they could have avoided the nightmare they've put themselves into. I used to play my 360 every day.... until it broke and I'm still waiting for it to come back. Time is money, Microsoft.
      • SpanishBrowne, on 10/11/2007, -2/+3Not sure why people have dugg you down reed311 - but I totally agree. If they'd spent some time getting right, rather than worrying about being "first to market", maybe we could be enjoying the 1% failure rates of PS3/Wii (as opposed to the currently suggested 25-33%)
        • gwolf, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2So they can see into the future now. I doubt they intended to have hardware problems sucking up their profits on purpose.
          Remember just before the PS3 came out how it got fatter? That was Sony improving their cooling design at the last moment largely because of Microsoft's experience with the 360. Competition makes everything better.
          • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2MS knew they had problems very soon after release. They've basically swept those problems under the rug at the customers expense.
        • iampoch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Aslo, they needed to have the 360 out sooner than expected because they were no longer capable of producing new XBOXes due to their feud with NVIDIA. They cut a lot of corners in the testing and design phases and only had about 65 days to put the prototype into production. If not, their console division would've died along with the original XBOX. As much as I hate MS as a company, I don't want that to happen because competition is good for the consumers.
    • johnhummel, on 10/11/2007, -4/+6I'll digg you up, but I do disagree with your last statement that this announcement is bad timing. Actually, it's good timing - Microsoft is learning from Nintendo in this regard. You notice that last year, Nintendo announced their bad news a few weeks before E3, so that all that E3 would be about is good news.

      Now, if Microsoft happened to find people marching outside E3 with big signs showing pictures of the Red Ring of Death, *that* would be bad timing.
    • ninjasquirrel, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Dugg you down for being a Sony plant. (Check his past stories)

      No matter how you want to spin this, it's good for the consumer. I'm no fan of Microsoft; they've waited far too long to do this, but at least they did.
  • Sarawanan, on 10/11/2007, -4/+11I just bought a 360 off Ebay (should be coming soon :D) and I was just wondering what happens to the people that don't have the warrenty information of when they bought it and stuff. Since the XBOX 360 still hasn't been on the market for 3 years, could I send it in (if it breaks) to MS and get it fixed without any additional things like reciept of purchase?
    • nextag82, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2was thinking of the same thing.....I e-mail the xbox team about this....and they never responded......which is why i'm just gonna buy one from amazon
    • onlyclave, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3It means you have 0 (zero) warranty. Microsoft will warranty the unit to the original purchaser only.
    • ausfahrt, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6My experience with this stuff is that they just go off the part number on the equipment and fix it if it is still under warranty. Don't know if onlyclave is right but it may be different with xbox. I have experience with computer hardware and whatnot.
    • byronm, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8You should be alright.. keep your ebay receipt and note the manufacture date on your console.
    • sumiguchi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8I gave them my serial number and month of purchase - no receipt required (for me anyways)
    • uptown, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Each unit had a manufacture date printed on the back of the device itself, as well as the serial number in a few different places .... as long as that's within the 3 year window, and the serial numbers all match, I think you'd be okay....
    • dime, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I don't have experience with Microsoft, but I once had to send my Gamecube in for service.

      From the serial number alone, they knew the day I bought it and from what store. Kind of creepy Big Brotherish, but kind of cool, too ;p
    • spankaccount, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11You shoudl be fine. They will ask you for your serial number and MFG date which are located on the back of your box. If they ask you for anything more, just say it was a Christmas present - you wont have any trouble getting it fixed.
    • BobsYourUncle, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I'd call in when you get it and register the product with your personal info. Then if it breaks later, you've already dealt with it. I registered when I called for service, but I was the original purchaser. Might save yourself some grief and get warned if it'll be an issue.
    • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1as far as i could tell, the 3 year extension covers ALL xbox's made, period. they didnt even make it seem like you have to be the origonal purchaser. M$ is just going to look at the serial # and from there they can tell when it was made.
  • nextag82, on 10/11/2007, -11/+6i'll buy one now
  • decay, on 10/11/2007, -6/+14Great... Now we don't have to play out of warranty fees...

    This was a very smart move to make. The last thing you want is a class action lawsuit.

  • readme, on 10/11/2007, -17/+11Meaningless unless the root of the problem (the actual hardware failures) is fixed for good.
    • chris9902, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12read the story.
    • Sparke, on 10/11/2007, -9/+4It's essentially a $1.1 billion band-aid.
    • spankaccount, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4This is costing MS over 1b. Trust me - they are fixing the problem, they can't afford not to.
    • AmericansRevolt, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1bandaid? they could have taken the 'sony' way out and just said 'meh', and do nothing at all.
      • hightower77, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Yep, because Sony hasn't addressed problems/concerns with the PS3. I know they haven't fixed them all.

        You can't expect anything overnight generally.

        MS did get this right though. Big props.
        • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Ther NY Times estimated that 3.5 to 5 million X-boxes are defective. I'd MS is somewhere between 3 to 4 million sales too late to be applauded...
    • wilf_brim, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Won't happen until the units with the 65nm cores start shipping. That may happen this fall. Let's face it boys and girls. We know what the problem is. All together now:
      "Heat is bad for electronic components mmmmkay?" The damn thing cooks itself to death. Until they get the cooler running 65nm processors in they are going to continue to have this problem.
  • onlyclave, on 10/11/2007, -6/+33Hmmm, looks like a preemptive class-action settlement.
  • johnhummel, on 10/11/2007, -9/+15But notice that it *only* applies to the Red Ring of Death issue - if the hard drive died, the DVD drive doesn't work (a far more common affair according to some people I've talked to), or anything else, then you're still screwed.

    A step in the right direction, but this should be for *all* problems with the 360 to show their customers the same level of loyalty that they've shown to Microsoft. Either way, I'm still waiting another year before I pick up a 360 - just in case there's any other "gotchas" that show up by then.
    • spankaccount, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3The RRoD issue was far and away the largest issue with the 360. Heck, it's costing MS over 1b!!!
    • douglash2005, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Those issues probably fall into the legally "acceptable" range; what your suggesting would just be really stupid from a business standpoint.
    • g00ee, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3If its not RRoD related just cover the vents with duct tape and pop in forza 2 for a few hours ... problem solved!
    • mcduckov, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I've got one dead x-box in my closet (original Xbox). I've got a 2nd that is going strong...no issues.

      The lesson may be to never buy first-gen hardware (or software for that matter).
  • Mathewh, on 10/11/2007, -4/+11regardless of cost, this is a great move for 360 owners.
    • diggrim, on 10/11/2007, -4/+3what having to send a faulty piece of machinery in for repair...that's a great move? I'd prefer a well-designed machine over one that is faulty but has a good warranty. I'll wait for time to tell if all the bugs are worked out before buying one.
  • Vinadetta, on 10/11/2007, -7/+35You have to give them credit for listening to their customers. A three year warranty is incredible, and it does give me more confidence with my 360 unit. I've had it for 6 months and haven't had one problem, but if I do, I'm confident if I get the dreaded red lights, that I can still salvage my unit without having to fork over the big bucks!!!! This beats the hell out of buying the protection plan with Best Buy or Circuit City!!! WAY TO MS!!!!!
    • mt066, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Yeah this is pretty much the best solution you could hope for, given the situation. People should stop trying to spin this as something totally negative.
    • diggrim, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0wonder what about the people that did buy the protection plan from Best Buy because they were only offered a 1 yr warranty? I don't think BB or CC will refund those.
    • kentifer, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I've had mine for a year.
      It's never broke on me, but i'm screwed warranty wise anyways, seeing as how i modded it.
    • m1a2c2kali, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1the difference with the best buy warranty is that you get a brand new console and you don't have to send it in to microsoft and it covers pretty much everything
  • patch6, on 10/11/2007, -6/+5If their improvements don't involve a replacement of the x-clamps that focus a lot of pressure right under the GPU and CPU, which causes errors when heat expansion occurs, and some heatsinks on the top RAM chips that become hot enough to soften their solder connections, they will continue to fail.
  • reed311, on 10/11/2007, -4/+26If anyone is looking for a cheap xbox 360, buy one off of ebay or craigslist that is having the red light issue and just send it away for free repairs when you get it.
    • funknjunk, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1you'll probably need a reciept...
    • hadiz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Only problem with that is when you call them up they register your console to an address. So that console you bought would be registered to the person you bought it from and you would be out of luck. Unless they sell it because they are having the red light issue, in which case how can you verify they've never sent it in before?
  • BurntToast, on 10/11/2007, -7/+8Good move on any company's part (Nintendo, Sony, or whoever) to do something like that.

    I know that there are issues with consoles, I see them and speak with people very often that have issues. I'm sympathetic to it but deep down in the back of my mind, I wonder what these people are doing to their consoles.

    ... fortunately, my console (knock on wood) is a launch console and it's running fine. My twenty or so friends who have consoles, and also bought them at launch, and only two of them had issues... one wasn't even a three-ring issue. I know that I baby my console, even though I play it to death, I make sure that it's ventilated and I don't use an after-market cooler (Fan Stand is good, Intercooler BAD). It's nice to know though that if I do have an issue and it brings up the three-rings, that I'm still covered for another year and a half.

    Anyhow, good for them.
  • stung47000, on 10/11/2007, -8/+20Wow, listen to all the anti-MS fanboys try to spin this as bad news somehow.

    I guess it is bad news for people that dropped cash on an extended warranty. =P
    • Adgeman, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Not really; this only covers the Red Light issue. My extended warranty covers the lot so I'm happy to have the security for drive failures, HD issues etc...
      • THX1979, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Exactly; when mine started freezing after startup (with no red ring) I just grabbed a new one and took mine to the customer service counter. Out the door with a new rig in 5 minutes.
    • gwhardyiv, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3Oh sure. It's great news. Takes a lot of spin to make this one sound bad.
      $1.15 Billion write off?
      2-6 week repair time turnaround?
      As an investor, I couldn't ask for better news.

      MS needs to stay away from hardware.

      Thank god I've still got stock in Apple.
    • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2It's bad news for the millions of people who have been trying to get a working unit for the past 2 years.
  • punkrock4life, on 10/11/2007, -14/+6use the spell checker!!! also, this is total pr *****, they aren't going to actually redesign the system to prevent this problem from happening in the future, they are just looking to avoid a class action lawsuit. lame.
    • byronm, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8why is that lame? isn't that the purpose of changing policy? Its awesome news for those of us who like our 360s and the warranty service is far superior to many other products i use and have had issues with even when it was limited. As far as working on the issue, they have had several revs and they have the 65nm's coming out and the article (if you read it) stated the obvious.
      • Blitzenn, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1It's also a pretty childish argument to dismiss someone else's for a spelling error. When you start losing an argument with your sister, do you pull her hair? Do you start calling her names? I'll bet you do.
  • arok, on 10/11/2007, -8/+2So what about those of us that already had the console die and shelled out the money for a repair? Are they sending us a refund check? My guess is no.
    • byronm, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4If it was for the 3 rings of death, they will refund you. RTFA
    • echonull, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4"Q: Do I get a refund?
      A: Yes, we will reimburse any customer who was out of warranty and paid for repairs due issues indicated by the three flashing red lights error message. Customer should expect to receive a check in 10-12 weeks." [sic]
      RTFA.
    • Jordan777, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1RTA. It says it gives people who already paid to have their 360 repaired their money back.
  • PerfectVictim, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7Freakin' FINALLY!
  • DiggzDE, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Wait. It says that it covers previous purchases. So if I bought mine in December of 2005. I am still good until Dec of 2008, right? It was the second shipment of xbox 360s, so it was rather early in the production line. While I did receive the 3 red lights on two separate occassions, and left my xbox off for a few days to see what happened. My xbox continues to work now though, which surprised me. In my opinion it doesn't run as well as it used to, but I have held off trying to see if it needed fixing because of the lack of an extended warrantee. Maybe now is the time to check it out.
  • mjhstudios, on 10/11/2007, -3/+5I can't imagine how hard it must be for that large of a company to move forward with a plan like this. I guess it is essentially a "soft" recall. I would guess this one is going to sting a little bit.
    • diggrim, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1it's nothing like a recall...a recall would involve everyone sending in their machines to get them fixed because of poorly designed hardware. this announcement just means that if your one of the 33% that fail during three years, you'll get it fixed for free. If yours fails after three years (even though due to bad design), you're up a creek! After three years, you STILL have a 33% chance of failure every second of every day.
  • ajrizzo, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6Even last year, everyone knew 360s broke like crazy --- so I thought myself quite the savvy shopper when I bought MS's ~$90 2-year extended warranty last fall, to improve on the 30 day it came with. Genius!

    So what about us that already paid $45-90 for 1-2 year warranties that have become worthless?? Credit? SOL?
    • watership, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Actually yes, Credit. You get your money back.

      You can pick your jaw up off the floor now :)
    • spankaccount, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1And remember, never, ever buy an extended warranty.
    • endlessoul, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1You're SOL in terms of the RRoD. However, if anything else craps out during the warranty (which I got), then you're covered. Win-win.
      • gwolf, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Did you read the article, It specifically says if you have the RROD it's covered for 3 years from purchase.

        Very smart move Microsoft.
        • endlessoul, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1What I meant was that he's SOL in terms of buying a warranty which he now knows he didn't have to buy.

          Now it's free.

          Sorry for the confusion.
  • mburk, on 10/11/2007, -6/+32Wow, so many of you are bashing this already! M$ has made a completely honest attempt to address the issue as efficiently as possible and anyone who mentions that is getting dugg down? Peter Moore said in the letter that they have made improvements to the console, and now they've offered to fix any that break. It's not realistic for them to recall every unit and make upgrades. The first Playstation had several versions because of design issues, so why the hate in this case? This is downright excellent customer service.

    And I know I don't have a lot of comments, but I assure you I'm an avid digg reader. I'm not a plant, I promise.
    • BillDoE, on 10/11/2007, -6/+3"so why the hate in this case" Because they have been claiming it's not a big problem for that past year, thats why.
    • iceperson, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Ever heard of too little too late? People have been having problems since release. Finally it reached critical mass and MS was forced to do something to avoid the class action suits. If someone comes and breaks into your home and you have to call the cops you don't praise the guy for leaving when they walk him out in cuffs.
  • Sucat, on 10/11/2007, -6/+11I have wanted an Xbox 360 for a long time but all I heard was people's systems breaking. At least now I can take the risk of buying one and not have to worry about it breaking after a year. Props to MS. They really are standing behind their product and service to ensure everyone has a great gaming experience (too bad its costing them billions but hopefully for their shareholders they turn that around too)
    • diggrim, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1if you get one of the old batch, you'll still have a 33% chance of failure, every second of every day...even after the three years is up. Wait until you can buy one of the re-designed models. Check the manufacturing date, please.
  • byronm, on 10/11/2007, -4/+8I couldn't be happier with my xbox 360 and while i haven't had a single problem with my launch console, i'm happy to know they're finally getting some balls to stand behind their product.

    My 360 is used as a media center front end for MANY hours a day and the only times i got the 3rings is when i have a power outtage from a lightning storm, but hitting the power button and gracefully restarting it was fine.

    My 360 sits on top of my entertainment center and is plugged in through a UPS on the non battery circuit but a very "clean" circuit from spikes/surges/brownouts.

    The sky isn't falling
    • zeejay, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2MS isn't getting "balls to stand behind their product." It's more like they are waving the white flag in response to a widely publicized public outcry that would (and still could) result in a downturn in sales due to quality concerns.

      If the rumors of a 33% failure rate are even close to being true, a better warranty does not get them out of the woods. Warranty or not, people are leery of buying a product known to be of poor quality. Having to ship the unit back and be without it for weeks - possibly multiple times - still sucks. I also expect to use a console longer than 3 years.

      Even with the warranty, I probably won't buy one until they do the major redesign upon moving to a 65nm process. They surely must have one in the works - the status quo can't be financially viable.
      • diggrim, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0thank you! a warranty never makes up for a bad design...glad others realize that. I'll say MS is doing good when they announce that ANYONE with the old design can send his or her machine in for upgrading to the non-faulty design.
  • 3n7r0py, on 10/11/2007, -31/+4***** MICROSOFT! This doesn't do anything for the gamers who bought a 360, say, a few weeks ago or a month ago and has encountered the problem - this only helps new customers. ***** MICROSOFT, ***** FASCISM AND ***** ***** PUBLIC RELATION WHORES.
    • ripper365, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12Well, it's retroactive to all 360 consoles... plus you get all your money back if you paid to have it repaired out of warranty. So, it does help out gamers that already bought a 360.

      Take a quaalude.
    • Howtobefreaky, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11Yes it does. It covers ALL Xbox 360s. Every single one of them.

      So shut up.
    • Jordan777, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Yes it does you idiot. Read the article next time.
    • douglash2005, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3I think you mean "old customers" you ***** idiot
  • chrisc801, on 10/11/2007, -5/+7You're going to need it
  • eyefork, on 10/11/2007, -6/+4Maybe they can sell 2 360's for the price of one, save everyone some time.
  • Uranium118, on 10/11/2007, -6/+15Gonna duct tape the air vents to kill my launch Xbox 360 and get a new one. In a year.
  • Alucard010, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6And the peasants rejoiced!
  • sockrfreek4, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2I am very happy at the fact that they are implementing this new warranty that's gonna cover me for 3 years but my first x box only lasted 6 months, and if you read he says that the warranty is good for 3 years after the purchase date. I got a completely new xbox and what's to say that that one doesn't die in 6 months. Almost seems like a new hardware warranty should be instated on my new xbox because I'm already noticing minor problems with it and have only had it for about 2 and a half months.
  • sockrfreek4, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3I am very happy at the fact that they are implementing this new warranty that's gonna cover me for 3 years but my first x box only lasted 6 months, and if you read he says that the warranty is good for 3 years after the purchase date. I got a completely new xbox and what's to say that that one doesn't die in 6 months. Almost seems like a new hardware warranty should be instated on my new xbox because I'm already noticing minor problems with it and have only had it for about 2 and a half months.
  • cnefti, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7here's the major nelson podcast with peter moore talking about this news
    http://centracomm.cachefly.net/majornelson/2007/mnr-070507-233-PeterMooreXbox360Warranty-mp3.mp3
  • knuvue, on 12/05/2007, -4/+6I purchased the extended warranty (for 2 years i believe?) when I bought the console. Since then, they have given free warranty extentions of 1 and now 3 years. People that had previously paid repairs are being refunded, but what about people who purchased warranties? They took my money for an extended warranty but now it's free. Anyone know how this works?
    • byronm, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2MS didn't sell you the warranty, the store you purchased it from did. I never buy those warranties because you can stick that chunk of change in the bank and when it matures if you ever have problems it will pay for a new 360 or the 720 or whatever comes out next.
      • knuvue, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4No, it wasn't a store warranty, I would never buy that. It was an official microsoft paper that came inside of the xbox package with the console that I bought new from a store.
      • Thorlord, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1i bought the store warranty, they gave me a new one out of the box and not a refurb. i could have even upgraded to an elite model if they had it in stock (which they and everyone else dident) so hey, even though i bought warranty, im still relieved, this means that my console is covered til 2010 as i did that warranty thing about 2 weeks ago.
  • iamorlando, on 10/11/2007, -4/+10I feel like the abused house wife who defends her husband now matter what. Thank you Microsoft! I knew you would come through
    • Blitzenn, on 10/11/2007, -4/+1??? You are free to buy anything you want and not buy the things you don't. If you don't like it, don't buy it. You aren't married to it and it doesn't leave bruises (unless you are a pervert). So I don't get the reference, at the least it's pretty poor.

      I'm not defending MS, but your comment seems pretty lame.
      • douglash2005, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Jesus christ you're a ***** tool.
  • westcoasting, on 10/11/2007, -8/+4WARRENTY? Wtf is a warrenty?
    • inspecality, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1He's right, it is spelled warranty.
  • ChrisF79, on 10/11/2007, -4/+13Is "warranty" that tough of a word to spell?
  • bdiggitty, on 10/11/2007, -7/+9You know I really have to commend them for making such a bold move. I feel that all consumers should applaud this sort of behavior, and not find another reason to complain. If this decision works in MS's favor, it will send the right message to other companies. Its nice to know that MS is serious about trying to win this console war. Better late than never. Believe me. I spent an hour two weeks ago arguing with customer service about my 360 problems, because my warranty was expired by two months. They waived the fee and repaired and its on its way home. Its awesome how the online community is finally a motivated mobilized demographic that changes can be made by our actions. However, if the average online consumer eventually proves to 'never' be happy, believe it or not, but these companies will eventually ignore any sort of criticism coming from the online community. Give props where props is due. You don't have to love Microsoft.
    • SpanishBrowne, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2I'm not sure why people are giving them kudos for this... for christ - let's not pull any punches; they created a faulty product. They don't really have a choice, they have to fix the problem they created. It's not a "bold" move, they don't need "props", this isn't a pious or charitable move..... this is the very least they can do.
    • senatorpjt, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I have no reason to complain, my PS3 works just fine... wish there were some more games though..
  • rr525356, on 10/11/2007, -6/+13My DVD tray won't open, and the $99 wireless adapter died after 4 months. Pretty pathetic failure rate for a small piece of hardware that just sits there and gets used maybe 20 hours a month. Every Nintendo console seems to be able to take a decent amount of physical damage before any kind of hardware failure happens.
    • GeneralFailure0, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I remember reading in a magazine years ago about some kid who left his gameboy out in his yard and found it 2 weeks later, damaged by the rain and his dog, but still working.
  • motivatedguy, on 10/11/2007, -5/+4I've kept mine well ventilated and it has worked fine for the past 15 months I've had it. I've treated the console like what it is; A computer. I would never shove my computer in a poorly ventilated entertainment cabinet for hours on end and expect it to work properly. For my long gaming sessions I place a small (but powerful) fan behind the unit which keeps it VERY cool. As for the disc scratching issue, it has been found that it is caused by people moving their consoles from one position to another while it is running... Duh. I spoke with a manager of the local EB Games recently ( I was in line getting an iPhone) and I asked about the high failure rate. He told me that a good number of returns are people modding their 360 and having trouble with them as a result.

    Now, while I don't think microsoft made a very reliable product I do think this is a good move for them. But if my 360 dies, I'll be pissed if they send me some refurbished unit that will constantly break. Imagine bringing in your car for service and in return you get someone else's busted car.
    • knuvue, on 12/05/2007, -4/+2I took care of mine exactly as you've said, I also never moved it. One day I turned it on and bam, 3 red lights. I am now waiting for my console to come back...and just as you said, I'm definitely not looking forward to recieving this refurbished crap that will most likely fail as well.
    • spankaccount, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Clearly it's a design flaw with the hardware and not over heating issues. MS would NOT take a $1b hit if it was consumers that were causing the problems. Furthermore, the wii and the PS3 don't have the same, huge, failure rate. Are wii and PS3 players just easier on their hardware or are those machines just built better?
      • Schmidtopolis, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I'm not saying the PS3 will break like the 360's apparently do, but lets just wait until their out as long as the 360's have been. Who knows what the future will bring. I'm not saying anything will happen, but it's possible. As for the Wii... come on, no one's expecting that to break, as it's not putting strain on any of the hardware like the PS3 and the 360.
  • XxModestMousexX, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2This is great but I still have a 2 year warranty from Best Buy, if I took it to Best Buy and got a new box would they give me a new reciept so MS gives me another 3 years?
  • prleet, on 10/11/2007, -7/+0as we all knew then, XBOX sux.....and it will always suck...wait 6 year warranty next!!!! This makes the morons xbox fanboyism happy, doesn't it. But the truth is the system sucks. Admit it!
    • gwolf, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2All I know is My 360 gets used a hell of a lot more than my PS3. I wouldn't say it sucks at all. Its been great generally speaking. Take of the fan-boy glasses and get a look at the real world; product loyalty is about the stupidest thing 20th century advertising has done to us.
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