360 broke.

[Brand0nCausey]

No idea how it even happened i was playing THP8 the previous night and i went to turn it on the next day three red lights just flashed, i trouble shot all that i could. Anyone else having this problem? and if so where do you send it in to get fixed? Also i need an answer should i sell it broken, sell it after it gets fixed or keep it and keep on being a nerd. Thanks

[C-Kwik]

Sorry to hear that man.

Microsoft extended the warranty for general hardware failures (3 rings of Death) to 3 years. Give them a call. I think it's 1-800-4MY-XBOX.

[Alfador]

FYI they will be douches about it. They may try to tell you its not covered (it is) and they may try to tell you that you have to include money for freight (you don't). You may have to pay on your end when you ship it out, but if you give them enough sass over the phone they have been known to agree to pay for that as well.

The General Hardware Failure (3 red lights) is a problem they've had with components in consoles (mostly those from the first year or so of production but not exclusively) due to eurpopean RoHS requirements (aka the ****tiest environmental protection law ever) and console heating. This weakens the solder that, due to the RoHs requirements, doesn't contain lead and is somewhat brittle in comparison.

[C-Kwik]

Is this from personal experience? I frequent a PS3 and an Xbox forum and I haven't heard of anyone having an issuie with MS service. Just curious.

[blue_specv]

alot of people are having this issue ...

you really dont get any issue sending them your xbox ... go to xboxlive.com ... and go to the warranty section fill out a questionare ... then youll send them your box and you get a new one ... 2-8 weeks to receive

good luck man ...

[Brand0nCausey]

thanks guys, i never have luck with these kind of things though :[. lol i hope all goes well, and when i get it back im gonna get some gamer tags and we'll play.

[Omegamerc]

If it makes you feel any better all xbx360s have this problem

Coming this fall they are releasing the smaller 65nm dies with the Xbox360 that should fix/solve the issue of overheating (ring of death).

[Alfador]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X...blems

normally wikipedia is a crappy place for reliable information but the majority of the claims here are fairly sourced. The keynote would be the fact that microsoft extended their warranty to cover the General Hardware Failure (3 red lights) due to an inherent flaw in the console. The RoHS issue as a reason is speculation on my part but working for a electronics company that draws about 30% of its revenue from europe I can tell you, rhos is a big problem. Brittle solder, whiskering, and corrosion are all problems that have increased greatly with almost every company that works with circuit boards since RoHS has gone into effect.

As for service, yes. I've had personal experience with Xbox service and MS service for other hardware and software (windows and a joystick) as well as with several other companies. The general doctrine for CS for most companies that market directly to end consumers is to get them to go away. Step 1 is usually telling the person to do something they won't bother with. "Unplug it for an hour and half then plug the things back in in precisely XYZ order" is a common one, and there are others. Step 2 is usually a lie about what they cover, step 3 is usually a lie about their authority to do it, it goes on from there.

[bmike818]

I sent my 360 w/ three rings of death....sent it..got it back in less than two weeks- got a brand spanking new one

MS customer service was excellent, just make sure you have your console's serial number and you are set!

goodluck...my new console does not freeze and seems to run a lot cooler than the one i sent in.

[Brand0nCausey]

^that post motivated me to call them again. Even though i waited for what seemed to be an hour(probably only 10 minutes)i was very pleased with the microsoft service person, she was very friendly. She asked me if i had it plugged into a strip or a straight wall outlet, i answered honestly(power strip) and a second later i realized it something could go wrong after saying that, but she just told me that caused problems and for future reference to plug it in to a wall outlet. She said it might take 3 - 4 weeks, and they're sending me a box in four to five days for it, im kinda mad about the wait but i guess it'll be worth it with halo 3, skate, and gta coming out very soon, i even get a month free of xbox live. so im happy, thanks guys

[C-Kwik]

As for service, yes. I've had personal experience with Xbox service and MS service for other hardware and software (windows and a joystick) as well as with several other companies. The general doctrine for CS for most companies that market directly to end consumers is to get them to go away. Step 1 is usually telling the person to do something they won't bother with. "Unplug it for an hour and half then plug the things back in in precisely XYZ order" is a common one, and there are others. Step 2 is usually a lie about what they cover, step 3 is usually a lie about their authority to do it, it goes on from there.

Your experience is not indicative of the overall service. I haven't seen any indication in gaming forums that suggests that the 360 warranty program is full of any ill-will. In fact, I see plenty of stories that suggest MS has really stepped up to the plate. Aside from consumer responses, consider that MS has dedicated over $1 billion to this issue. If they just wanted it to go away, they could have simply not extended the warranty at all...

[ceniack]

i don't buy microsofts "don't plug it into a power strip argument..."

just seems fishy to me

[bmike818]

i kind of believe it, I had on older 360 and recently upgraded to the Halo 3 360. The power supply on the new ones seem to be different-the old ones had a third prong in the plug for the ground...my Halo 3 just came with a regular plug with no thrid prong for the ground...this leads me to believe that they did something with the power supply...another diffrerence was the plug that goes to the back of the xbox...the older ones had two buttons on opposite sides to realese the cable when depressed...the new ones is just a straight plug

darn you bungie makin us wait three years to play Halo 3

[C-Kwik]

I agree...I have so much electronic crap in my room. Each of my 360's is running of daisy chained extention and power strips. I don't know how they can possibly expect you not to if you're running it alongside an enetertainment center or even off of a PC monitor (With PC also attached).

[98240]

my 360 recently had the 3 rings you speak of. I actually really good service they sent me a box and i recived it in 3 days and they paid for 3 day air return shipping. I got a brand new 360 back in about a month to a month and a half with a free one month xbox live gold membership card. Thought I would post my experience with microsoft.

[Brand0nCausey]

i got my xbox back today !!!!. im so happy, i got skate back from my friend rented juiced 2 and halo 3, block buster actually had copies.

[Morph]

i don't buy microsofts "don't plug it into a power strip argument..."

just seems fishy to me

I don't either, makes no sense. If i have a power surge i want the surge protector to blow not the 360. Surge protectors are some what cheap, but shelling out another 400 plus for another 360 just because ms says that a surge protector causes red rings. LOL omg thats just great.