This is actually old news my friends...I have had my system repaired back in february and they used the same layout to find my information and my Serial...they are just advising us to use this now because there are 3 times the amount of people sending in there units now =)

Cheers!

SK

They're really going the right way about this. Even if your console breaks, it is easy to get it fixed. Now I await the endless stream of jokes about RROD. Everyone thinks their so smart and witty with them.

Yes! Now I can buy a red ringed 360 off of eBay and get it fixed!!!

360's breakdown rate is 30% or more.
This means it's worse than cars made in Soviet Union. Less-heat CPUs come within a year?

In the next firmware update, they should get rid of the RROD. I know they can't actually fix the problem, but just don't have the problem displayed via the red rings. Just to shut people up.

@setuzoku:

The less heat CPU (Falcon) is already released and some stores already got stock of the new ones

This sounds great. I hope if it proves to be a success we'll get a European version.

@LORDofDANCE: Already happened. Props to the genius up there.

I'm still waiting until the Falcon has landed.

I had my console since launch and yesterday it finally got the 3 red rings. I called the 1-800 number and the guy did everything. Sending me a box and it'll take 4-6 weeks to get it back. He registered my 360 for me. Pretty efficient, even though it took a while to get an actual human representative instead of the recordings. Bad part, I wont be able to play Bioshock.

@شاه:

I have no problem with people being mad that their broken. I understand that it's something that shouldn't happen. But the jokes! They are just annoying now. It's like when there's a PS3 post and everyone says something like: wow, too bad sony doesn't have games for the ps3. Quit it, already!

The funny thing with the 360 is that no one seems to remember that the PS2 was just as bad if not worse of a machine (and they were also sued over it). I know a lot of people who's 360's have gone belly up but I know a lot more people who had 3-4 PS2's. At least Microsoft owned up to their problem and is fixing it. Sony still denies there was ever anything wrong with the PS2.

@mx5:

You wouldn't happen to know if any pictures are posted would you? I'd like to see what one of these looks on the inside to see if they fixed some glaring problems, or if they added HDMI.

@skullivan: Poor kid Sony even sent me an email to send the defective adapter and I never had any problem with it, and for the laser lens problem Sony repaired it in 3 days, and send it back to me, and after that I never had any problem with it, not like the RROD. I kind of like the 360 for the games you have on the console but I dont like the problems that comes with it, maybe in one year.

@skullivan: Well the thing is the PS2 had problems, but the actual design itself wasn't flawed like the 360 so its impossible to compare the two. Everyone has had problems with ALL consoles, regardless of how good they were for other people, the fact of the matter is the 360 was designed in a terrible way to release it within the time frame; At least they're doing the job and solving the problems.

Gimme the FALCON, then we'll talk.

@Veltis:

People that call others kid on the internet, with no provocation, usually are the kids themselves. I'm not saying that I disagree with what you have to say, but choose your words wisely. And use some more periods.

@mx5: The less heat CPU (Falcon) is already released and some stores already got stock of the new ones

Source?

If you live in the US you most likely get a refurnish system back and not your original system, and Canada you get a brand new system back. - Different counties different policies

Been over three weeks.... still waiting for mine to get back......

@skullivan:They even put a web site for those who had the AC adapter problem but its down now because unlike another company they solved the problem : www.PS2ac.com

@LORDofDANCE: Its probably because im so old now that I call everyone kid ^^. sorry

@Bladeneo: Who cares about the technicalities? I bought my PS2 two years after the launch and it completely stopped reading discs a month after that. It was unusable and I had to exchange it. My second worked fine.

umm, that repair site has been available at least for 4 weeks now.

also, it's somewhat shady. i registered a device over the phone, but it never showed up through the site. needs a lot of work. just like the 360 itself. a very low peformance division altogether if you ask me.

@Kokuryukai:
Actually they changed it in the US so you'll most likely get your old console back now, or at least what XBOX Live and your old arcade games think is your old console.

This horse has been beaten to death.

@phalanges: I also have a console from laund and it conked out on me last Thursday. Hope I get it back in time for COD4 Beta.

@skullivan: Well that is the advantage of more people having access to the internet.

People in the know were well aware of the disc read problems of the PS2, that ravaged the console for a number of years. I have several frinds who have purchsed 3-4 of them and now have the slimline version of the console. Hell even the PS1 had problems where the owner had to flip the console upside down to get it working.

My Xbox 360 is 8 months old. No problems. :)

HEADS UP! I am remided of my conversation with 360 tech support and the guy said your can purchase warranty extensions (pre-expiration) for about $25 a year...above and beyond your in-place warranty. Not a bad propisition considering the problems

They'e waited until NOW to set this up? Oh well, what did you expect from Microsoft...

@skullivan:

uh, but it wasn't as expensive....

@SAKY:

Look, if the 360 didn't cost $400, I'm sure people wouldn't complain as much as they are...

@Super_Smash_Master:

Yeah!! It would have made more $ense to $et it up at launch! Damn M$! (note to $elf, u$e more word$ with $ ... thi$ i$ fun people... try it out =)

What would be even cooler is if the site worked... I tried to submit an issue with mine, and got site errors :)

@Strider_Seven:

Yeah. The sites been live for quite awhile now. I don't see how this is blog worthy at this point.

The site also isn't that informative about the repair of your console. All it will tell you is that they received it at the repair center. It's not as if you can get up to date reports or anything.

I just received my replacement console yesterday. Took less than a couple of weeks. I was hoping they'd send me my original console back to me repaired, but they didn't. At least this one was manufactured a year after my first one (January of this year) and I think it might be brand new (no installed extra heatsink installed like been reported in refurbished units).

I might invest in that newer version nyko intercooler or whatever its called to help the overheating that may occur again. That and play shorter gaming sessions. ;)

@baberg:

Look for it and you will find it. About how to find a Falcon. Look at the box - if the box says lot 0728 or later - it is a Falcon. Also the manifacturing date is 07/2007 or later. You can see the manifacturing date on the back of the X360. The manifacturing date is also encoded in the last 5 digits of the serial number (the first digit of the last five is the year (7 is 2007) and the next two are the week in the year). You can see either by lifting a flap on the back of the box (so you don't have to unpack the box in the store)

ALL the X360 manifactured 07/2007 already have the new Falcon (65nm) chips and the new GPU heatsink. ALL of them. Microsoft doesn't manifacture non Falcon ones anymore.

This is new consoles only. The refurbs/repairs still get the old 90nm chips but at least they get the new GPU heatsink.

@phalanges: I think they either changed what they do with the 360 (how they repair them), or they're really backlogged. When I sent in my launch 360 in February, I got the thing back in about 7 business days (after the box got here in 2 days after the call).

The one I got red-ringed in July and I sent it in on the 23rd; I called yesterday, and they don't see it shipping out until Aug. 8th, earliest.

I hope this one keeps on working through the holidays.. I'd be super pissed if I couldn't play this holiday line-up.

What I want to know is why people don't demand compensation for a defective product. I don't care if it is just for entertainment purposes. Just setting a bad president for consumer electronics is reason enough to dislike this whole fiasco.

@SAKY:

Statements like that trouble me especially. I guess this new generation is willing to bend over and take it. Nothing against the poster personally, however do I find the entire trend disturbing when so many echo his thoughts. You shouldn't have to buy protection money for a defective product.

@okenny_unbanned:

Don't do that... you're making us PS3 owners look bad...

@Mongoosekun:

You don't have to. Once your Xbox 360 dies, you get a free three year warranty.

F'ing alarmist.

@skullivan: The PS2 never had the amount of problems the 360 had. The problems with the PS2 were actually isolated to specific model runs. After the problematic batches sony offered repairs and even at the time they gave free games. They did get a class action lawsuit over it.

The 360's problems though are highly documented and have been occurring since launch day. This topic comes up and you get a ton of people who have had to deal with defective 360's, but defective PS2? not as much.

@SAKY: The internet was alive and well during the PS2 days. Did you miss the massive Dreamcast Vs. PS2 fanboy wars back then?

Interesting, I just had one "repaired" within a week & a half, I tracked it using UPS.com and I got constant updates through e-mail about the status of it. I guess I will use this is one of my 2 working 360s go down.

great a US site now what about panama and latin america?

When I got mine sent in, they sent me a brand new console. I'm in Canada.

@mx5: Pics or it didn't happen!

(Google searching hasn't found a confirmation so far, just people sourcing rumors. Not that it isn't there, just can't find anything concrete)

@Karttikeya:

Just for one of the defects. I'm not going to debate the issue of the build quality, since even the company that makes the product will tell you it's horrible. The rub here is the design is flawed on top of any other issue. I'll leave you some questions to think about.

What if they do this again with the next console?

Is this OK for other businesses to follow suit?

Shouldn't you be compensated for going weeks without the defective product?

I'm not going to debate the ethics either. These are just things to think about when you defend a corporation that's giving you a raw deal.

I wish this was known a couple weeks ago. Having had to call MS twice, its so freaking irritating to have to listen to that stupid recorded message on checking your system out, which then lets you go on hold. I was on hold for 40 minutes last time and after some commercials, they put on some euro trance shit music on, ugh. Wish I had access to this site then.

@vonfaustus: What exactly do you expect in the way of up-to-date reports? For them to tell you the minutiae of the repairs or something?

MS: We've successfully opened the casing of your Xbox 360. In three minutes we should be at the Core...

@Mongoosekun:

One of the defects? It's either 3-Rings, or disc scratching, which you should find out before the end of your free one year warranty. You have no idea what you are talking about.

@mx5: I did a Google News Search for "Microsoft Falcon 360" and got exactly zero sources (much less reputable sources) saying that the chips are in retail markets right now. The only date I found was a vague date of "this Fall" from Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury News.

So again I ask you for your source.

@Enigma_20XX:

$orry :( I didn't mean to make anyone look bad :( ...not even m$ or SONY PLAYSTATION 3 : Play Beyond!