Epic Fail: Xbox 360 Failure Rate is 54.2%

[hiryu]

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/101/1014486p1.html

Interestingly, the failure rate for the 360 was found to be at around 33% about a year ago, and around 15% before that. I can only imagine that as time goes on, more 360s will continue to die. Every person I know that owns a 360 has had at least one unit die (not an exaggeration). This is why I have no desire to purchase a 360, and I personally think it's sickening that consumers are basically saying that it is okay to sell faulty hardware to them.

Your thoughts?

EDIT: Changed the link to IGN because it displays more info.

[one of them]

My thoughts are that your thoughts are that you wish to start a console war.
But that's just my thoughts.

54% is a pretty surprising number though.

[SlainPwner666]

Both me and my bro's 360's are still working just fine.

[hiryu]

My thoughts are that your thoughts are that you wish to start a console war.
But that's just my thoughts.

54% is a pretty surprising number though.

Not my intention at all. It's not like I have a vested interest in any of the three consoles (that's just silly). It merely caught my attention. A 54% failure rate is horrendous by any standard, and to me it is quite surprising and alarming that people continue to purchase new units when their old ones break down. You'd think that people would be upset about this and that Microsoft would actually do something to address the hardware design flaws.

Quite the opposite of what you think, I'd rather this thread not turn into a console war.

[Kentucket]

That's saddening, and even though my xbox had red ringed twice. I still keep going back do to it's fun multiplayer, and great collection of games. (I can say the same thing about my PC too, but I keep both do to there different library of games, and personal preference.)

[one of them]

You'd think that people would be upset about this and that Microsoft would actually do something to address the hardware design flaws.


You can send it in and get it repaired for free. If it RROD's twice, then I can see people giving it up for good. But I doubt that many people ever PAY for another one.

My regular 360 RROD'd and I sent it into BestBuy. They sent me my money back, PLUS 100$ which I used to buy an Xbox 360 Elite.

[BlackCat]

How come everything Microsoft does has a "[color][object] of Death"? RROD BSOD... wtf? xD

[one of them]

How come everything Microsoft does has a "[color][object] of Death"? RROD BSOD... wtf? xD
Money scheme.

[Kentucket]

How come everything Microsoft does has a "[color][object] of Death"? RROD BSOD... wtf? xD

Color coded objects make people feel slightly better when their shit breaks?

[BlackCat]

Money scheme.

They aren't called M$ for nothing.. =P Of course, BSOD isn't exactly fatal... but still!

[Montr]

Mine works fine. I've had it for 4 years.

[hiryu]

You can send it in and get it repaired for free. If it RROD's twice, then I can see people giving it up for good. But I doubt that many people ever PAY for another one.
This is true, but that only applies to the three red lights error, and after three years, you're SOL (launch units are now out of warranty).

I've actually seen many times on various forums where people were so fed up with MS's return procedure that they went and purchased an Arcade as a sort of "backup" unit. It's actually a bit of a running joke that the 360's sales numbers are inflated from repeat consumers. Certainly Internet sites aren't a perfect barometer for the rest of the population, but I can't imagine that it would be too different.

Come to think of it, I recall from my time working at GameStop where people would purchase used 360s as backups. I've talked to a few people that have gone through as many as six units.

My point is that it's almost insulting that they have not addressed the design issue but merely extended the warranty and throw in a few more heatsinks. Mind you, the die shrinks on the chips are a good step, but that still doesn't address the faulty design. It's amazing that people are able to look past this because of the strong software lineup. I only hope that MS learned from this mistake and can come up with a competent hardware design for the 720 (or whatever they decide to call it).

[InstantDeath]

I think it has to partially due with heating conditions. My friend had an xbox for 1 year and it RROD'd 5 times. Seriously! But.. he had it inside an extremely cramped area that would be extremely warm after an hour of play. He also played his console like 6 hours per day.

Ive had mine for 6 months and I haven't experienced any problems yet. Here's hoping for it to stay that way.

Still, 54% is quite an astonishing number.

[Turles]

Mine works fine. I've had it for 4 years.
I've had mine for about that long to and I've never had any problems. I also have one of those fans you can buy for it as well.

[ThoughtThinking]

Ive had mine for 2 years and its only got the RROD once.
Quite good yes?

[black671]

mine died after a year and a half. although i kept it kinda cramped and played the living shit out of it. got a new one a week later tho for free. as long as its free to replace and fast enough getting replaced, its fine by me

[Zorgy]

My first broke about 2 years after launch, MS sent a replacement whitch broke twice the last time two months ago then a week later my brothers broke too. Both waranties were void/ran out.
I fucking hate MS

[Crack5800]

Yeah..it is sad that this problem hasn't been fixed before....it's been out for years now.

However i sense later on this thread is going to be another battleground....flame wars approach once more upon the plains of L4D411..

[Jub8Jub]

My first Xbox 360 died a week after my warranty. Then my second one died within my extended warranty. My third one died a couple of days ago, but I gave it some CPR and right now it works. I don't know if it still is in warranty but if it is I’m going to try and play it more to get the RROD and send it back in for free.

[SickDaza]

My first Xbox 360 died a week after my warranty. Then my second one died within my extended warranty. My third one died a couple of days ago, but I gave it some CPR and right now it works. I don't know if it still is in warranty but if it is I’m going to try and play it more to get the RROD and send it back in for free.

Did you open it up when you gave it CPR, because that would have made the warranty void.

[hunterhunter]

still have my 1st 360.....works fine......

EDIT:also out of that 54% I'm sure 42% play 360 NON-STOP then when it stops working they get all pissed off

[EClaris]

I think the problem is that they refurbish 360s instead of handing out new one with the improved hardware.
But yeah that is pretty pathetic but by the same warrant its completely avoidable. Mine only RRoD'd once and that's when I feel asleep with it on while watching a movie so it was on all night. I waited lik 30 minutes and havent had a problem since. People just need to be mindful of how their 360 is placed and whats surrounding it

[Bloodshed269]

I don't think MS(I'm not a conformist, so I won't call them M$) has came up with any good ideas to counter people who play Halo 3, CoD 4, Gears 1 & 2, hours upon hours a day. PS3 doesn't have this because there are no games that people would like to play that long, like the 360. Have you seen 360 CoD 4 leaderboards? 146 DAYS?!!?!? I mean, c'mon!!

[Boojangels]

I don't think MS(I'm not a conformist, so I won't call them M$) has came up with any good ideas to counter people who play Halo 3, CoD 4, Gears 1 & 2, hours upon hours a day. PS3 doesn't have this because there are no games that people would like to play that long, like the 360. Have you seen 360 CoD 4 leaderboards? 146 DAYS?!!?!? I mean, c'mon!!

Or... It could be that the 360 has a cheap design doomed for failure.

[Bloodshed269]

Or... It could be that the 360 has a cheap design doomed for failure.

Just trying to see the other side of things.

[Unspoken Damnation]

i guarantee that half of that 54% were caused by poor usage. Everyone i know that has gotten the RRoD has kept their 360 in a cabinate or some other closed off area, and it over heats quickly. Ive had mine since launch, and kept it in a cool open area, and it still runs like i bought it yesterday.

[CrAnKeDHigH]

Yeah I havent had a problem with mine yet and I have had it for over two years. I think Bloodshed might be on to something. I keep mine in an open space and keep the room its in pretty cool in the summer time and not too hot in the winter. Even though it should be designed to work under harsh conditions knowing that gamers play for long periods of time. You shouldnt pay that kind of money for anything only to have it blow up on you in such a short period of time. I also think EClaris has a point as well, if they were giving out newer ones when people get the RROD, instead of refurn ones, that might help in the long run. We all know that wont happen with M$ though.

[hunterhunter]

I keep mine on a table w/the vent pointed AWAY from the wall

[bedcommando]

What specifically over heats? Some nvidia laptops with the 8 series mobile gpu had problems but that was because manufacturers didn't compensate properly for the heat created by the gpu.
From some quick checking around, is it just a solder joint that over heats? M$ must be really cheap or lazy if they're still ignoring it.

[Elite]

You guys should have listened to this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV9wmZ44phE&feature=channel

[Raydude4115]

sooo...not to be consoleist (lol consoleist) but the PS3 has no fail rate that high and it may suk alot more but its no fail >:3

OT: that is 1 crappy percent of fail....

[Boojangels]

Not to say one console is better than the other, but I must say the PS3 has a slim failure rate. While it does not have the best exclusives, it may be worth a future investment.

MUCH better.

[Tyr]

Microsoft doesn't fix the RRoD issues because it's expected. People get the RRoD and they're like "Damn, well it had to happen sometime," and have to fuck around getting a replacement.

There are people who get annoyed by the RRoD but people just get their replacements so no-one complains. It probably makes more financial sense for Microsoft to keep repairing and replacing the failed consoles instead of actually researching into what the problem is and how to fix it so they can alter their product so shit like that doesn't happen.

[Easton Dark]

Microsoft doesn't fix the RRoD issues because it's expected. People get the RRoD and they're like "Damn, well it had to happen sometime," and have to fuck around getting a replacement.

There are people who get annoyed by the RRoD but people just get their replacements so no-one complains. It probably makes more financial sense for Microsoft to keep repairing and replacing the failed consoles instead of actually researching into what the problem is and how to fix it so they can alter their product so shit like that doesn't happen.

Not to mention, well the Xbox is away, the Live subscription is used up.

[Boojangels]

Not to mention, well the Xbox is away, the Live subscription is used up.

You get a free month actually.

[Infest0125]

Okay, I am on my third one.

I can say, unless you have the warranty, getting the RROD is INCREDIBLY stressful. The first time I had a warranty, no problem, ship and fix. The second time around, a couple of months ago actually, warranty was up, no free fix, no return from Best Buy. I had to pay for a brand new unit.

If your warranty is up, you better take good care of that thing. Treat it like your child, and make sure you drop it a hell of a lot less times too.

Otherwise, have some money on reserve.

[Skypn1333]

I've never had problems with my xbox until recently. Around 2 weeks ago I got one red ring in the bottom right corner with the error message E73. I looked it up and it's a problem with the ethernet. But my warranty expired in June. So after about 2 days of play time I have to put tooth picks in the back to stop the fan to overheat it. Then I can play it again. But I have to do this quite often.

But luckily (kind of) I recently started college and they don't allow online gaming so it's not that much of a problem.

[CrAnKeDHigH]

I thought that if your warranty was up it just cost $100 to fix it? Seems better than buying a new one.

[Keptron]

The percentage is sick o_O Well, anyway I was going for PS3

[Claudia]

Mine is still fine and dandy :D

I don't play it like I don't have a life though... ( not that I have one anyway)

Just gotta keep track of where you put it and stuff.