I just used xbox.com

I never had to meddle with silly humans to fix my xbox.

lol.
is that your finger luke?

Classic!

the fact that you have to do this is pathetic. it should be fixed by now. there's no excuse for still keeping this problem. knowing microsoft with their windows products, it's no surprise. oh well, this was the reason i didnt get a 360 and went with a ps3. well, one of the main ones. socom and my love for other playstation franchises was the next. im not investing $300+ on something that is faulty. Hope those that have the problem get it fixed as fast as they can. it would suck to have ur console broken. especially with the launch of gta.

isnt the wii the one getting the finger since the xbox is dead?

But Luke my question is, is there an equivalent contact number for us Aussies? :(

You should use the escalation principle on ALL telephone support, not just Xbox. They are the only people in most businesses that can really help you or cut you a deal.

@jun581: Actually, based off of the title, "RROD Finger", I'm going to go out on a limb and guess it's Robert Rodriguez's finger.

Wish I had known this information when my red-ringed, but that's in the past. Thankfully, my experience wasn't that bad. But, this is good to know for the future, since I know it'll give out again.

@jun581: No, not mine, pic link's included. Mine broke on the first day of the Halo 3 beta, so there were no fingers, just salty tears.

Muahahaha, and my XBox from January 06 is doing spectacular! Never had a problem with it, even living without air conditioning for a while during the summer in a Texas apartment and leaving it on all night and it still works fine.

Excuse me, I have to go find some wood to knock on.

@jun581: [www.thebitbag.com] Failure.

@Albanian_Killa:

Dude you need to learn to breathe a little bit. Why do you have to attack like that over a simple article about tech support? God knows I'm not a lover of the 360 but damn boy, chill. A tip on how to get your system fixed faster is not an excuse for you to just go flaming on a console like that.

Could be worse...

My 360 broke and my 2 year old daughter thought our Wii was a piggy bank... = two systems out @ the same time.

@Dauragon C. Mikado: Same here. It's very easy to do this online and you can track the status at the same place where you submit the request. Not sure why anyone does this by phone. Repair and return took about 2 and a half weeks.

[service.xbox.com]

@Albanian_Killa: That still doesn't answer the important question: Which is worse? A PS3 game crashing or RROD?

Don't forget to buy another PS3 this weekend to justify your love becuase if you don't then your words mean nothing.

It probably won't take long before Microsoft starts locking down escalated support so that they will not even talk to you unless there are comments on your account proving that you actually talked to someone and did not hang up on someone.

Seeing as how this has no doubt been plastered all over the Interwebs, I give this another week or two of actually being effective.

btw, about the guy in the pic. Putting your Wii on your 360 will KILL the 360. It happened to me, and its the only RRoD i got was because the Wii was on (and it gets BLAZING HOT) and the 360 was off, so the 360 was baking and no ventilation. Stupid brother and his mates decided to "tidy up" the area and stacked them on before a game of Wii Sports...

So thats prolly why his 360 fried...

As for this reference number, what if they tell you to call regular support when you call "executive" support after seeing you didn't really do anything with them?

@okenny :):Lets see a choice between 1 game crashing or your entire system not paying any games and being nothing more than a large paperweight which do you pick?

Mine fried for the first time (got it in Jan 06), and it justh appen to do it a week before GTA 4 :( Getting it back within the next few days, turn around time was 13 days total (sent the box out hte moment I got it).

@Albanian_Killa: I would love to see one thread about a particular system (Wii, PS3, 360) where a new commenter doesn't feel the need to inject useless, irrelevant fanboyism into the thread.

This is a really useful post, especially for people that haven't worked in customer service. As lionkitten posted, it's a relevant principle for all service issues.

the pic doesnt look like it was a good idea to have that wii on there. there is a port on the top and having something on it can block or add heat to a system.

I got my first 360 for Christmas, and I am cringing the inevitable destiny that my system most likely has.

@Absent Blue: Same here only mine is from Dec. 06 however I do have the luxury of a.c.

@male roof blower (CFB): true! The Agents put notes on the reference number if the customer hung up, isn't registered, or just plain ass.. the reference number is futile if there's no customer details in it.

Mine no breaky. Great times

I hope that guy is flipping off the Wii.

@Albanian_Killa: Funny you should mention choosing a PS3 over a 360 for reliability's sake.

My beloved, properly ventilated, and impeccably cared for PS3 flat out died a week ago, on the eve of GTA IV no less, in an attack of the "Yellow Light of Death." (Hit Youtube for numerous examples)

Since I was four months out of warranty, Sony support flatly refused to fix it without me first coughing up 189 Canadian dollars, tax included.

They did, however, "apologize for my inconvenience" with startling, scripted insincerity.

@okenny :): What game crashing? First of all, I'm not being a fanboy here. I'm not justifying my PS3 purchase. I'm saying no gamer has to go through all this hassle. If you obviously think RROD is no problem, then you're the one with the problem.

About the game crashing. If you're talking about GTA, it's only frozen on me twice. Not starting to start a flame war, just don't see why Microsoft can't get off their asses and fix the problem. It's the only thing preventing me from getting a 360. So no, don't call me a fanboy, I got nothing against the 360. What I hate is how the creator has screwed the consumer over a lot.

I'm laughing at that picture as I can completely relate. That and my Wii is also on top of my 360 in a similar place (a bit more to the left as to not cover the holes though).

@dsmx: I'm not sure... how much does the paperweight way? Those things can be rather ornate but if they can't function as a paperweight then I rather have a tube (yes tube) of jelly with meat rockets.

I do spii that the Wii is on top *cough* *cough*

=D

@Albanian_Killa: Thank you your completely irrelevant enlightning comments.

As for the cs i think this isnt the way to go. They'll just send you back to the lower ranks

All I had to do was call 1-800-4MY-XBOX. Microsoft's customer service was quite helpful despite the fact that I moved between the first call and the return. This is more than I can say about Dell technical support.

@okenny :):

Darling, didn't Bully crash a lot on the 360 when it came out? It's Rockstars problem not Sonys.

@Albanian_Killa: read your comments again and drink coffee.

I can't wait to get my Xbox Crap60 back tomorrow! No sersly, I can't wait. CoD4 has been talking to me in my sleep.

@Albanian_Killa: I'm not trying to pick a fight with you <3 I just couldn't help but to praise the luv-luv attack you gave the PS3 and socom. I've never seen such an unabashed declaration of love and friendship to a woman even. I was just trying to put myself in your shoe to express empathy. I don't love my 360 that much but if I did, I would by at least 4 of them to show MS my support and to say thank you for the many hours of joy their hardware and Kameo have given me.

I read your comment as a love letter to the Playstation brand. The first comment about the choice was referencing a every tough question posed by one Owen Good who paid dearly for his comments at the hands of raving fanboys... oh man... you had to have been there... it was bloody.

I could of used that # when it took them 6 months to fix my drm issue.

when my first 360 died, i just called and, the xbox latin customer service (at least in mexico) was great, i didnt pay any for the shipping, the white box arrived in like 4 days, and a new 360 arrived in 2 weeks with a free month of xbl...

Every topic brings out the trolls and the shit flinging... *sigh*

@Sailorcancer: LOL.. who said you can't learn anything from Fox news. Nothing says "friend" like opening an statement with the word darling.

The comment about the PS3 and RROD was just referencing an earlier story but it was poor humor on my part to do so and aggravate you.

On the bully topic, I remember fixing it by uninstalling all my games, deleting my saves, reformatting my hard drive then disconnecting from xbox live. It worked fine after that as long as I played it with my GH3 player.

Just to show that there's no hard feelings here, Here's the recipe for a jelly tube with meat rockets if you don't like paperweights:

1) Jelly
2) 1 Tube (2 Tubes for higher elevations)
3) Meat
4) and yes, of course, rockets.

enjoy.

I've dealt with the 'escalation team'. They're just as soul crushingly useless as the plebs in Tech Support.

@okenny :): Never have I seen a more fitting profile picture.

I had mine red ring about a month ago. I had my Xbox back less than 2 weeks after it red ringed.

I came home, turned it on, discovered the red ring, went to their website and filled out my information to get my box. You don't have to deal with the support line.

Mine was sent in via in-store extended warranty, so the people at the store are dealing with it and should probably know how to get things done quicker.

Heh, who am I kidding. :(

I think now that this advice is circulating the blogosphere, microsoft will circumvent this shortcut soon.

It is step number 4 that could not be completed with all 3 failed 360s I have had...thus far.

Isn't it 2 easy steps now? I mean, you've already given us the escalated support phone number.

Wow,

I wonder why an Xbox 360 wedged between a dvr and a Wii would suddenly not work.

I mean, it's not like those things get really hot or anything...

And it's not like the only reason the 360's break is because the motherboard heats up and starts to bend...which moves components around and fucks shit up.

Nah...too crazy....Xboxs just break magically...

My 360 recently red ringed. The next day I called 1-800-4-MY-XBOX, got a service number. sent it off.

Believe it or not but from the day I it left (normal process) 9 days later it was back. Granted it was a obviously a new (perhaps different) 360. but still 9 DAYS!!!

Oh yeah, right before GTA4 too!

I thought the solution was:

1. Buy a PS3
2. Enjoy.

That's what I did, anyway. I hear step 2 doesn't work for everyone.

@The SmacK: Tell that to my two xboxes that sat completely alone on a flat surface.

@Kai_: You should head over to Sony Defence Force of some other fanboy site.

I live in Japan and I have had to hand over my 360 for repairs twice, but customer support has been swift and polite both times.

Well, I say swift, but it took around 3 weeks both times, which is admittedly what they SAID it would take, but still, it's not like a lot of people even HAVE an XBox over here...

Perhaps the dude in the picture shouldn't keep his Wii on top of his 360. The Wii puts out alot of heat, even when it is in standby.

@Kai_:

Step two works for me... as long as I am only using it to play blu-rays.

Nothing else I have done on my PS3 has managed to produce enjoyment as of yet.

What is with all these comments about the placement of this guys 360?

So I guess all bajilliondy of those xboxes that red ringed because people put them in the wrong place eh?

Is it really that weird that my 4MYXBOX experience wasnt like walking on hot coals while gargling broken glass?