why do they die (red ring) so often?

K

knewbold

Guest
Hi

just recieved my new 360 yesterday and i really dont want it to die within a year


seriously - it sounds like loads of these are just dying

why?
overheating?

badly made?

or is it just a tiny proportion - but i cant see this being the case as some people have had more than 1!!!

also if yours dies and is repaired - do you get a 1 year warranty on top of the repair?
 
also if yours dies and is repaired - do you get a 1 year warranty on top of the repair?

Took mine back to Currys yesterday and they replaced it no problem and gave me a new 1 year warranty. No questions asked bought it in March this year.

Very unreliable machines - typical microsoft really:thumbsdow
 
I have had my 360 for a year now and had no problems at all, not one. I know a few people whom also own a 360 for at least 6 months and theres are fine too.

Alot of problems are from not placing the 360 correctly or not being careful when using it etc. There are a lot of genuine cases but compared to the number sold the numbers are still very low.

The AV forums are great but you have to remember that negative information and problems are what get posted the most.
 
The majority of people are still on their first machines, it's just that we don't post about it, so you don't hear about it. It seems that everyone wants to share with the world when their box dies, so it appears worse than it is.

Don't worry about it failing anyway, as the retailer is legally obliged to repair or replace faulty hardware, so just take it back there. Don't go to MS first to get it repaired - that's your back-up plan only.
 
I am on my launch day console , and i have had no faults and my 7 mates who have them are in the same boat.
As stated above you only really hear from people with problems, i have read that the return stats of the 360 are in keeping with electrical goods (2-4%) but what we have to remember is that when you sell millions of something then 2-4% is alot of faulty units so there will be many annoyed customers who will express themselves,However that is why we have consumer protection so buy with confidence and if it goes wrong just swap it where you bought it.
 
Still on my launch console here and never had a problem but to be on the safe side I have paid the £60 to extend the warranty until the end of 2008 because you never know but knowing my luck it will be fine for the rest of its life :rolleyes:
 
Launch console.

You have to wonder about the people who go through 2, 3 or more consoles. What on earth are they doing to them?
 
Was on my original launch console (manufactured October 2005) without any problems until the dash update started freezing the machine :mad:

Now don't really go on live too much as I dont fancy downloading a dodgy future update again (until all the known problems are fixed :rolleyes: )

I think the option should be there to not download the latest update but still connect to live ?
 
I dont think its "what people are doing to them ", i have owned just about every console you can think of since the old atari, the only one ive had trouble with is the 360, my launch console died 6 months after i bought it.
Yes it wasnt much of a problem because game just swopped it for a new one, the thing is im a bit of a gaming nerd and probably treat my equipment (ooeeeerrr) better than most people yet the 360 still died.
I even have my launch day ps2 that still works fine! :eek:
In all my time ive never heard so many stories of consoles going t*ts up.
Something is wrong somewhere :lesson:
 
I dont think its "what people are doing to them ", i have owned just about every console you can think of since the old atari, the only one ive had trouble with is the 360, my launch console died 6 months after i bought it.
Yes it wasnt much of a problem because game just swopped it for a new one, the thing is im a bit of a gaming nerd and probably treat my equipment (ooeeeerrr) better than most people yet the 360 still died.
I even have my launch day ps2 that still works fine! :eek:
In all my time ive never heard so many stories of consoles going t*ts up.
Something is wrong somewhere :lesson:

Agreed :smashin:
All my consoles are launch consoles (from sega master system to xbox 360) including playstation ,saturn, playstation 2 etc and all still work perfectly.
Only ever had a problem with xbox360 and that was the dash update. All my kit is extremely well looked after (my 360 still had the clear plastic over the infra red port!)
 
The majority of people are still on their first machines, it's just that we don't post about it, so you don't hear about it. It seems that everyone wants to share with the world when their box dies, so it appears worse than it is.

Don't worry about it failing anyway, as the retailer is legally obliged to repair or replace faulty hardware, so just take it back there. Don't go to MS first to get it repaired - that's your back-up plan only.

I cant agree with that, when mine died after 7 month I took it to comet to get a replacement, they said they didnt have to replace it after 28 days had passed but they could book it in for a repair but I would be better off contacting MS directly as their (comet) engineers wouldn't have a clue how to fix it and it would only delay the process.

I know game replace them without question up to 12 months old so guess it depends on where you buy it.
 
:( mine's finally gone just now. I've had it since midnight the 2nd dec05 & not a problem 'till tonight. Loaded up Rainbow along with the update & a couple of Live games into it the screen just went green with vertical bars. I've not had the red lights but every game I've loaded up since has displayed pixelized patterns or vertical bars on the screen. It's over basically, I'm on the phone to microsoft tomorrow for a replacement.

What's the best thing to do? Just inc. the console excluding the HD? :confused:
 
Yer I'm a bit paranoid about mine as well now after having to replace it within 1 week, and now its like everytime I go to switch it on I think I can hear the Jaws theme in my head, lol. I was gonna get a refund and wait a bit longer but after playing GOW, I just did'nt want to wait. If it dies within the first year, u should be able to get it replaced fairly easily. With the console u should get a leaflet about an additional 2 year warrenty from MS for £60, its an option too consider anyway, I'l be applying for mine early next year.
 
Agreed :smashin:
All my consoles are launch consoles (from sega master system to xbox 360) including playstation ,saturn, playstation 2 etc and all still work perfectly.
Only ever had a problem with xbox360 and that was the dash update. All my kit is extremely well looked after (my 360 still had the clear plastic over the infra red port!)

another agreement here. I've had quite a few new consoles & all have continued to work long past their usefulness. The 360 as of how is the first I've experienced to die on me & like the post above I look after my gear.
 
A friend had the same problem on his (flashed) 360. No warranty so he had to fix it himself. The web is full of info. on this and it's apparently due to poor solder (quality).

In order to fix it, after trying heat guns, wrapping it in a blanket, he resoldered all the contacts around the vga chip (30+ I think) and it's not missed a beat since.

The solder used is of poor quality so is susceptible to moisture (or contains moisture, I can't remember) but resoldering obviously negates this manufacturing oversight and does the job fine!

If you have warranty, obviously use that but if not, and you have soldering skills, then give it a whirl.
 
^^^ phew that would definately be the wrong move for me to make. I'm the frank spencer of DIY you see! :D still, just come off the phone to M$ support. No problem, UPS it back for a new replacement, sorted with any luck. :)
 
Mines fine, lucky me... or rather unlucky you, if it's gone wrong.

The 360 and it's peers in technology like LCD panels, projectors, PS3's are such advanced tech compared to the consoles of yesteryear. In my experience the move to BGA and the ability to squeeze more I/o (i.e. contacts) on chips has accellerated far beyond manufacturing's ability to mass produce the kit.

As has been shown by the Heatgun Fix, the difficulty is in making sure the pins in the middle of these chips are connected without frying the pins on the edges of the devices. That heat applied to the contact travels up into the device, heating up the incredibly fine wire from the pad to the silicon (inside the package), so judging how long you can "cook" it on the production line without screwing the chip but ensuring all 300 pads are connected, well, it's not easy.

I'm just amazed they work at all, bearing in mind all these manufacturing plants are in the middle of no where in China, staffed by people who are not even one generation removed from peasants - that's no insult, that's a comment at how fast China has been industrialised in the last ten years.
 
Never had a problem with any of my consoles, 360 and PS2 included.

I'm sure a fair few people do have problems, but as has been said, you don't hear from people having no problems as they have nothing to complain about. Failures are in line with most electrical goods of this kind iirc.
 
I was just like you two above, happily enjoying my 360 for the last year & 12 days when wham out of nowhere it goes last night. I hope yours continue as they are but it might reassure you that in one phone call of which I was connected to an advisor within seconds I'd settled the matter at no cost to me & arranged for the pick up & replacement/fix to be done in minutes. A good start to something I wasn't really looking forward to. Let's hope the rest of the job goes as smoothly.
 
Theres only so many "failing" as as soon as one goes wrong people feel the need to tell the whole world. Where as when there 360 is fine they don't. Funny that aint it?
 
Theres only so many "failing" as as soon as one goes wrong people feel the need to tell the whole world. Where as when there 360 is fine they don't. Funny that aint it?

People only want to inform forums like this so the procedure of what to do next is discussed & experiences shared. :rolleyes:
 
Mine failed last year from new after just 1 hour, at the time I was pi**ed as I got it on new years eve & after it broke it kinder put a downer on the rest of the day inc the night out, took it back next day got a refund, not got another one yet but I'm gonna buy one next week hopefully this 1 will be better, just waiting on the money from my Wii sale to go though ;)

I rang MS at the time & they claimed I was the only one with the red light prob, yeah right!
 
Theres only so many "failing" as as soon as one goes wrong people feel the need to tell the whole world. Where as when there 360 is fine they don't. Funny that aint it?

I thought the same until I got onto my 3rd 360 and noticed that every single person I know is on at least their 2nd too.

It may not be a huge failure rate, but it's certainly higher than other consoles.
 
With so many failings with peoples own 360s and so many other having other problems, people just want to know whats going on. In everyone of these threads u will always find these answers as well to try to balance out the thread

Launch console, no probs,
Everyone else they know including friends list never had a problem,
More people with dodgy consoles are more likely to make a thread,
What the hell are u doing to your machine?

Unfortunatly some of us havent been so lucky, its not like people want to make these threads. But gotta admit there seems to be an unusually high amont of problems. I remember the PS2 launch, the main problem seemed to be disc read errors, while the 360 has several different probs and its been out a year now.

So when u get MS to fix it, do they just send a courier, fix it and send it back at no extra charge to you apart from the price of a phone call?
Can someone please tell me which one is day and which is month on my manufacter date 2006 04 08, UK goes dd/mm and US mm/dd but this date just confuses by starting with the year.
 

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