Microsoft not repairing 360's anymore...only sending refurb replacement units... [Archive]

heybtbm

09-06-2007, 09:53 AM

You better pray your 360 doesn't get the 3 Red Rings of Death.

This is not news to people who have been following the issue for the past month on various gaming message boards. It seems Microsoft has stopped repairing 360's with the RRoD (by adding an additional heatsink and "reattaching" the GPU). They currently are just taking your broken 360 and sending you a refurbished unit. Several people are reporting that these refurb units are breaking after just a few days.

http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=132168

http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/q307xbox-360-red-light-of-doom-problem/

Let's say someone sent in their broken 360 to MS service. This unit was owned by some idiot teenager and was dropped, scratched, and soda was spilled all over it. MS "fixes" it. In MS's eyes, it is "refurbished" and good to go. The original problem was fixed, but the 100 other issues that didn't require immediate repair (from not taking care of the 360 in the first place) still linger. They send out the dirty, yellowed, refurbished 360 to somebody else and they cycle continues. This is complete BS.

Worst of all, they are stamping these dirty refurbished units as manufactured in "XX August 2007". A good way to tell that these are actually old 360's is the fact that none of them have HDMI ports, yet say they're manufactured in August/September.

Hwj_Chim

09-06-2007, 10:07 AM

Good thing I have a large Backlog of PS2 Games, because it looks like I won't be going next gen any time soon:frustrated::-/:bullshit:

SaturnFan

09-06-2007, 10:19 AM

Luckly the one I got back was new looking and/or adult owned....phew

omnedon

09-06-2007, 10:33 AM

I've never seen them repair anybody's XB360 EVER. They always send a replacement, since a year ago, when the problem was just getting started.

s1lence

09-06-2007, 10:36 AM

Mine was a replacement, wasn't referbished either.

koster

09-06-2007, 10:48 AM

It's good to see that Microsoft is finally putting customer service ahead of the bottom line. :roll:

You can't help but feel for the guy - he waits weeks to get back a replacement unit only to have it crap out after 20 minutes of playing demos.

Thanks, Microsoft. I'm so looking forward to having a similar Xbox 360 experience... NOT! :)

gepeto

09-06-2007, 11:51 AM

Mines was refurbed and although the case looked clean. I took a flashlight and saw dust on the fan blades. Mine was mint. Orginally I was pissed but then I get the 3yr warranty so hopefully by then new versions will be out.

evil_genius

09-06-2007, 12:09 PM

I don't understand why people are pissed. If your xbox was broken and they send you a working one for free what is the problem?

heybtbm

09-06-2007, 12:11 PM

I've never seen them repair anybody's XB360 EVER. They always send a replacement, since a year ago, when the problem was just getting started.

The reason this is news is because prior to August 2007, the Texas repair center usually replaced the motherboard/GPU/CPU unit inside (with a 2nd heatsink) and sent you the same 360 you sent them. Now they just put yours in a pile and send back a refurbished 360. Some get nice 360's that were taken care of and some get yellowed cracked half-broken units.

I don't understand why people are pissed. If your xbox was broken and they send you a working one for free what is the problem?

If you purchased your original 360 a year or more ago, your warranty is expired for everything except the RRoD (which is 3 years). If MS sends a refurbished 360 with a shitty disc drive or gimpy fan, you're out of luck. You have to pay out of pocket for them to repair their own used, shitty 360 that they sent you. The customer looses anyway you look at it.

evil_genius

09-06-2007, 12:15 PM

Ohhhh so basically it's not free unless you have the Three Red Lights.

ProgrammingAce

09-06-2007, 12:34 PM

Darren870

09-06-2007, 12:41 PM

The reason this is news is because prior to August 2007, the Texas repair center usually replaced the motherboard/GPU/CPU unit inside (with a 2nd heatsink) and sent you the same 360 you sent them. Now they just put yours in a pile and send back a refurbished 360. Some get nice 360's that were taken care of and some get yellowed cracked half-broken units.

Never heard of this...everyone i knew got a new/refurb back...including me.

Sources seem wrong..

sabre2922

09-06-2007, 09:00 PM

I
Good thing I have a large Backlog of PS2 Games, because it looks like I won't be going next gen any time soon:frustrated::-/:bullshit:

Still collecting and playing my PS2 and very happy with it thank you:ass: and I havent had to invest around $500.00 to continue playing some of the best games that were released THIS YEAR.

Also Ive decided to get a Wii once I can freaking find one!

I KNOW Nintendo makes SOLID HARDWARE.

geneshifter

09-06-2007, 10:46 PM

If you purchased your original 360 a year or more ago, your warranty is expired for everything except the RRoD (which is 3 years). If MS sends a refurbished 360 with a shitty disc drive or gimpy fan, you're out of luck. You have to pay out of pocket for them to repair their own used, shitty 360 that they sent you. The customer looses anyway you look at it.

Man, i have just flat out lost interest in this generation except for the Wii. I just sold my 360 elite because it was starting to freeze occasionally so it was just a matter of time.

MS knows, just like the RRoD, that their DVD drives also suck yet if it fails you are screwed. Mine did the loud clank noise thing and made grooves in 2 of my game discs. I have had it with MS. I'm just glad that I got almost full price back for my elite thanks to a local buyer.

mezrabad

09-06-2007, 11:16 PM

If you can't see an easy way around this problem, then there's nothing i can do for you...

What's the easy way around the problem?

AMG

09-07-2007, 01:18 AM

This is exactly why I'm waiting for all the lemons to sell through the retail channels before buying an Xbox 360. I'm a patient man, and I don't mind waiting.

geneshifter

09-07-2007, 01:23 AM

This is exactly why I'm waiting for all the lemons to sell through the retail channels before buying an Xbox 360. I'm a patient man, and I don't mind waiting.

Well, you're only missing certain games. Most of what I played before I sold mine I can play just fine on my PC. Even my beloved UNO is coming soon to my PC. I will miss Crackdown and table tennis but that's about it for me.

dairugger

09-07-2007, 03:02 AM

What's the easy way around the problem?

i would imagine wrapping it in a towel until you get the rrod..?

theMot

09-07-2007, 03:02 AM

I

I KNOW Nintendo makes SOLID HARDWARE.

Not true, the Wii is known to have it's fair share of problems too.

Also you say you own a PS2, which is probably the most unreliable of it's generation. On the other hand the PS3 is the most robust of the current lot.

So there you go.

swlovinist

09-07-2007, 03:21 AM

Not true, the Wii is known to have it's fair share of problems too.

Also you say you own a PS2, which is probably the most unreliable of it's generation. On the other hand the PS3 is the most robust of the current lot.

So there you go.

The only reason the PS3 is not making headlines with faulty hardware is that way fewer people are playing it :)

The wii has issues, but not nearly as bad as the 360. The RRoD is out of control. MS just replacing poor hardware with other poor hardware is not going to fix the big issue. They need an OFFICIAL GOSH DARN HARDWARE REVISION!

I have a day -3 Xbox 360(I won it in the Mt Dew Contest). I hope that Halo 3 does not crap out my system.

sabre2922

09-07-2007, 11:00 AM

Not true, the Wii is known to have it's fair share of problems too.

Also you say you own a PS2, which is probably the most unreliable of it's generation. On the other hand the PS3 is the most robust of the current lot.

So there you go.

Sooo what exactly are you defending? the POS build of the Xbox360 hardware? :puke: yea thats going to go over REAL easy

The Nintendo Wii is only about 98% or MORE reliable than ANY Xbox360 sold before say Aug '07 when the slightly "updated" 360s with the new heatsink were shipped to retailers.

BTW I have two PS2s one that is over 5 years old and its still works great even after having coffee and beer spilt on it and IN it even though I do have to clean it about twice a year now.

The slimline PS2 that I picked up new about a year and half ago works perfect to this day how many 360s have made it over 1 year SO FAR?:hmm:

heybtbm

09-07-2007, 12:11 PM

Nintendo Gamer

09-07-2007, 07:18 PM

.....

theMot

09-07-2007, 08:34 PM

Sooo what exactly are you defending? the POS build of the Xbox360 hardware? :puke: yea thats going to go over REAL easy

The Nintendo Wii is only about 98% or MORE reliable than ANY Xbox360 sold before say Aug '07 when the slightly "updated" 360s with the new heatsink were shipped to retailers.

BTW I have two PS2s one that is over 5 years old and its still works great even after having coffee and beer spilt on it and IN it even though I do have to clean it about twice a year now.

The slimline PS2 that I picked up new about a year and half ago works perfect to this day how many 360s have made it over 1 year SO FAR?:hmm:

Im not defending anything.

It's nice that your PS2 hasnt died on you but it doesnt change the fact that they are known to be of poor quality. Then again, it's sold over 120 million so your bound to have a few bad apples in there.

I dont understand how these 360's are dying. I have had mine for about 6 months now without an issue. I have friends who had them since launch with no problem either. It's like anything i suppose you only ever hear the bad not the good.

SaturnFan

09-07-2007, 08:37 PM

Im not defending anything.
I dont understand how these 360's are dying. I have had mine for about 6 months now without and issue, i have friends who had them since launch with no problem either. It's like anything i suppose you only ever hear the bad not the good.

6 months? Yours is close to kicking the bucket.

bangtango

09-07-2007, 09:22 PM

6 months? Yours is close to kicking the bucket.

Possibly but you can't say for sure. I do know I've read a bunch of threads on this message board and others where people boasted that they've had their 360 for 3 months, 8 months, etc. without a problem yet and then a few days later, they start a thread or post in a thread saying they got the RROD and their 360 is on the way to be repaired.

So maybe boasting online in a forum about how your 360 is working perfectly is a good way to have it die on you in a couple weeks.

Other than the PS1 and NES, I can't say I've ever had a system just crap out on me so short in its life. Granted, I don't own a 360 but I have the Cube, the "fat" PS2, XBox and Dreamcast. They all run better than sex. I just know that if I ever buy a 360, ain't no way in hell I'm buying a used one which was the case with my PS2, XBox and the Cube.

heybtbm

09-07-2007, 10:16 PM

I dont understand how these 360's are dying. I have had mine for about 6 months now without an issue.

Congratulations. You just jinxed yourself.

I see three red lights in your future.

Magnum

09-07-2007, 10:33 PM

I've had mine for 18 months with no problems. How's that for a jinx?

theMot

09-07-2007, 11:46 PM

settle down children.

Im loaded anyway, if it dies i'll go out and buy 10,000 360's just for fun! :D

Shit, shouldnt have said that! I just jinxed my net worth. Now im destined to die in poverty with only a game gear to my name mwahaahahah

ProgrammingAce

09-07-2007, 11:54 PM

Microsoft is getting in so many 360s for "4 red lights" that they're discussing removing the error light for the video cable...

smork

09-08-2007, 06:33 AM

I've never seen them repair anybody's XB360 EVER. They always send a replacement, since a year ago, when the problem was just getting started.

Mine's repaired -- it's got the same S/N. They obviously put a new fan in it as it runs alot louder than before and the fan runs for a bit after the system shuts down.

boatofcar

09-08-2007, 07:51 AM

Do you think the disc spinning directly relates to overheating? I use my 360 almost exclusively for XBLA, and I was wondering if it might last longer because of it.

Mianrtcv

09-25-2007, 11:59 PM

Microsoft needs to send a unit over to the braoadway mall in Long Island NY. Target to be specific. Theirs caught the red rings...

UniHamachi

09-26-2007, 02:34 AM

Not true, the Wii is known to have it's fair share of problems too.
Wow. I don't think you understand the extent of RRoD.

Compared to the handful of bricking Wii's (which was a firmware related issue that hasn't cropped up since launch), what is happening to the 360 is completely off the scale:

"Despite Microsoft's reticence, some retailers have reported abnormally high failure rates, with one retailer reporting a failure rate between 25–33% and another a failure rate between 30–33%" -- Wikipedia

That's 2-3 million consoles dying worldwide. I don't even know how MS had kept this from the mainstream press. And that's not all: there's an entire Wikipedia page cataloging all the technical problems with the 360:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_technical_problems

I know that this is rehash for most posters on this board, but to compare the RRoD problems with a couple of bricked Wii's is ignorance or blind fanboyism.

The bottom line is that MS should apply the 3 year warranty to all refurbed units even if it isn't RRoD since the consumer is getting a pig in a poke with the replacement. If these myriad of problems come to light in the mainstrem media during the holiday season, MS is going to be in a world of hurt.

"Don't buy the Xbox -- it breaks."

Bluteg

09-26-2007, 03:09 AM

Well I'm fucked. I'm been battling with the assholes for going on two months.

Bluteg

09-26-2007, 03:12 AM

The bottom line is that MS should apply the 3 year warranty to all refurbed units even if it isn't RRoD since the consumer is getting a pig in a poke with the replacement. If these myriad of problems come to light in the mainstrem media during the holiday season, MS is going to be in a world of hurt.

"Don't buy the Xbox -- it breaks."

Too bad its the 360 that is the only REAL console online.

Sorry for the double post!

heybtbm

09-26-2007, 09:32 AM

Let's say someone sent in their broken 360 to MS service. This unit was owned by some idiot teenager and was dropped, scratched, and soda was spilled all over it. MS "fixes" it. In MS's eyes, it is "refurbished" and good to go. The original problem was fixed, but the 100 other issues that didn't require immediate repair (from not taking care of the 360 in the first place) still linger. They send out the dirty, yellowed, refurbished 360 to somebody else and they cycle continues. This is complete BS.

UPDATE:

I received my refurbished unit two weeks ago and (as predicted) it has a "manufactured date" of 16 August 2007. They do give you a 1 year warranty on the 360 (just as if you bought it brand new). This eliminates my initial fear (see above) that you could get a broke-ass 360 from the repair center and have to pay for the repairs yourself.

All's well that ends well, I guess.