Kotaku: RROD

Get Your 360 Fixed - Quickly - In Four Easy Steps

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:20:00 MDT

If you own a 360, odds are you've had to call Xbox support at least once. Maybe even more than once. And if you have, odds are also high you had a thoroughly unpleasant experience doing so. Next time you need to call them (or, for the lucky few, the first time), then, arm yourself with this quick and easy (and paraphrased) guide to getting shit done, courtesy of Consumerist reader Jason:

1. Call 1-800-4-MY-XBOX
2. Get a reference number for your problem as quickly as possible.
3. Hang up and call the escalated support number, 866-506-3826.
4. Talk to someone who knows what they're doing.

Easy, no?
How To: Quickly Contact Intelligent Life At XBOX Customer Service [Consumerist] [Pic]

Live GTA IV Player's Xbox 360 Goes RRoD

Mark Wilson — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:40:00 MDT

When you steal a game before release and broadcast its play over Justin TV for seven consecutive hours, sometimes, apparently, your console will RRoD. Is it karma? Sony sabotage? Or just shoddy Xbox 360 craftsmanship? We'll let the commenters sort that little life lesson out.

UPDATE: Oooh, apparently that Xbox looks mighty like this Xbox. Yeah, not looking so real now. But still very funny.

GTA IV: The Guy Gets 3 Red Rings of Death While Playing on Live Streaming Video [N4G]

Owen's Xbox: We Have a Winner!

ogood — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:40:00 MDT

"Guess the Date Owen's Xbox Returns" is officially over. Corey Goupil correctly guessed April 7, winning a Rock Band hoodie and some other great schwag. But really, there's only one winner here: Me. I got my Xbox back yesterday, delivered to my office.

As you can see, I have properly memorialized Corey and the four others to pick April 7: (I'm guessing at correct names here, from their email addresses): Mitchell Tai, Joe VanHoudt, Fred Collin and Donald Walen. Corey was randomly drawn from those five. All of their "autographs" now adorn my Xbox case. More than 160 of you entered, and that was just too many to write on my case, but I thank you all. Keep reading after the jump.

What I hope, is that when this thing dies (it will) and I send it back to Mesquite, some tech craps his jumper when he mindlessly swabs it with alcohol and smears Corey's name — complete with bogus 62/100 notation to make it look like a piece of rare memorabilia — then realizes he's just created another PR disaster and commits seppuku. OK, joking about seppuku. But I'm not going to file any kind of info if I have to send this back, just return it, and see what happens. Maybe we can get Microsoft to fly the five to San Mateo to sign a new case.

Because I bet Microsoft has finally gotten the message about this and is tired of being taken publicly to the cleaners for Halo gear and backstage passes to wrestling events.

Oh, it's a factory refurb (no HDMI on it, drat) which is why it got back lightning fast. Hey, if anyone's ever had serial 900497680905 before, I have your 360. Seriously, tell me if that sounds familiar. This could be like the Where's George of gaming consoles.

Thanks to everyone who entered. I think the five on my box should be part of a fake development team. How about "Desert Bus 2K8"

Pretty Sure This Violates the Warranty

ogood — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:00:00 MDT

From reader Michael Hurt comes this: a watercooled Xbox 360. As casemods go, this one looks like someone locked the A-Team in a barn, Murdoch and B.A. improvised with some aquarium tank hose and an aerator, and the gang saved the day. I love it when a plan comes together.

My first instinct was to call b.s., on this, but then I don't know what the hell I am talking about, either in the realm of casemods or electrical engineering. And, clearly, there are holes in the top of the console where he's routed the cooling tubes. So it looks like he gave his 360 a cochlear implant. (Seriously, you ever seen an old geezer with one of those? Looks like Lobot from Star Wars.)

The guy who made this also laid a better heatsink on the power supply. Check the link for pics of that, and more. Now I'm wondering if I can get his phone number.

Watercooled Xbox 360 {Thanks to Michael Hurt]

How To Get Around Microsoft's Shitty DRM

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:30:00 MDT

It's a safe assumption: many of you will have been jerked around by Microsoft's bum digital rights management setup for the 360. You've bought content, lost a console, and now can't play arcade games or use DLC unless you're online. Chin up, eh? Courtesy of Consumerist reader James, there's a way around it! James called up Microsoft support and hassled them about transferring the license from his old console to his new, replacement one. Voilà! The content was tagged to his new 360 instead of the old one, and James can play with the stuff he paid for whenever and wherever he likes. As should always have been the case. Only downside? There's two: it took 32 days for Microsoft to transfer the license, and there's no way of confirming whether this was due to some new Microsoft policy or the fact James is an expert at complaining.
Microsoft May Slowly Be Fixing Their Broken XBOX DRM [Consumerist] [Pic]

More Details On The 360's "16%" Failure Rate

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:30:00 MST

360 warranty issuers SquareTrade are still at it. Fresh off claims that they'd "nailed" the 360's failure rate at 16%, and a subsequent "who are you?" from Microsoft, they're now showing off the details of their study into the console's failure rates, and claiming that the final figure is probably even higher. Apparently they got their 16% figure from a sample group of 1040 consoles sold between April and July 2007, of which 171 consoles died. Interestingly, they claim only 102 of those were due to red rings: the other 40% were done over by things like video card failures, HDD freezes and my personal favourite, disc read errors. SquareTrade also say that because their sample numbers don't include customers who returned their consoles to Microsoft, the actual failure rate is probably higher than 16%. Which it probably is! If we ever find out the actual numbers, and they're not in the 30-40% range, then I'll wolf down humble pie til my sides split.
New Info on 360 Death Rate Study [IGN]

Microsoft Lights Up GDC With Red Ring of Death

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:00:10 MST

Microsoft kicked off GDC with red! Here, the BBC spotted this Xbox 360 demo kiosk that has been RRoD'd. No way to know if this console was made before things were "bad" or after things got "good." But think about it this way: All those other GDC Xbox 360s are working fine! So now all that there's left for you to do is go check your Xbox 360, make sure it still works and pray.

Red ring of death returns [BBC via N4G.com Thanks, Michael!]

16% Failure Rate Is News To Microsoft

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:30:00 MST

Over the past few days, stories have been circling around the place that the failure rate for the 360 had been "nailed" at 16%. This figure was taken from SquareTrade, who claimed to have issued warranties for the cosole, and was based on a sample group of 1000 360s. Today, Microsoft have hit back at these claims, saying they've never heard of SquareTrade:

We have not seen the report, and are unfamiliar with the agency that filed it. Based on the enthusiast community's feedback yesterday, the methodology of this report is suspect.

Fair point, as when releasing the 16% figure, SquareTrade disclosed neither their methodology, nor the entirety of the report.
Microsoft Responds to Warranty Report [IGN]

Msoft: Don't Tell Bill Your 360 Problems

Brian Crecente — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:00:25 MST

It was a little stunning to learn last week that at least one disgruntled Xbox 360 owner had decided to skip the regular channels when dealing with a burnt out 360 and instead went straight to Bill Gates. Even more stunning, Gates apparently knocked some heads and got the guy sorted out in record time (24 hours).

While Consumerist reader, and Xbox 360 owner, Jon was delighted with the outcome, it seems Microsoft was not so much. Today they've dropped us a friendly note to remind everyone that Bill really isn't your go-to guy for Red Rings of Death:

Bill Gates or Microsoft executives are not an appropriate escalation point for customer service issues. Customers experiencing issues with their Xbox 360 console should contact Xbox Customer Service. Our customer service team is well equipped to ensure that the repair process goes smoothly.
That said, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience. We are continually improving the design and performance of the Xbox 360 consoles to decrease the likelihood that a customer will experience the three flashing red lights. In the event they do, they are covered for three years under our extended warranty.

Wow, can you imagine the tongue lashing the likely tsunami of angry emails spurred? Gates, I suspect, may be retired, but he's not THAT retired.

Emailing Bill Gates Results in New Xbox [Consumerist]

Emailing Bill Gates Results in New Xbox 360

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:00:58 MST

What sucks worse than getting the Red Ring of Death? Getting the console fixed. Sure, there are some success stories regarding Xbox customer support. But there are some real headaches as well. Over at The Consumerist, tipster Jon took matters into his own hands. When his launch Xbox 360 crapped out, he emailed Bill Gates and customer service VP Kathleen Hogan. Within 24 hours, he got a reply from the escalation department saying that a new console was on its way. Jon tells The Consumerist:

I was one of the first to get an Xbox 360 when they came out, paying way more than I should have. I had problems with the console right out of the box and after weeks of haggling with their normal customer service department, I was contacted by their escalation department. Within a week, my problems were solved and they sent me a bunch of free stuff (games & controllers). Fast forward two years, and I'm having the same problem. I emailed both Bill Gates and Kathleen Hogan(Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Customer Service, Support and Customer and Partner Experience) yesterday...
I was contacted within twenty-four hours from the escalation department and a new console is on its way.

In doing a little bit of research, I figured out the email addresses for both and am providing them for your loyal readers. The link I am including will also provide the entire corporate teams names and titles.

khoganATmicrosoft.com
billgATmicrosoft.com
Microsoft Executives and Images

That's nice and all. Though, we totally would've emailed someone else. Because when we want shit done, we want it done eXtreme.
Emailing Bill Gates [The Consumerist via M&C via Dtoid] [Pic]

The Truth Behind The Red Ring Of Death

Mike Fahey — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:20:35 MST

Jake Metcalf over at 8Bit Joystick.com has recently posted an interview with an "individual who has worked on the Xbox 360 project for many years", who goes into explicit detail about the extremely high failure rate of Xbox 360 consoles since the console's launch in 2005. While normally we take such anonymous interviews with a grain of salt, you may remember Metcalf as the man who broke the story on Bungie leaving Microsoft a week before any official word was released. His source details everything from the various reasons for failure, and how much Microsoft knew about the system's instability before the product was shipped. If there's truth behind this, it's downright disturbing.

The manufacturing test equipment had major gaps in test coverage and wasn't reliable or repeatable. Manufacturing processes at all levels of suppliers were immature and not in control. Initial end to end yields were in the mid 30%. Low yields always indicate serious design and manufacturing defects. Management chose to continue to ship anyways, and keep the lines running while trying to solve problems and bring the yields up. Whenever something failed and there was a question about whether the test result was false, they would remove that test, retest and ship, or see if the unit would boot a game and run briefly and then ship. 360 is too complex of a machine to get away with that.

Metcalf's source also cites the lack of a sufficiently staffed and skilled engineering team causing problems that could have been easily avoided had proper funding been given to the project.

Reasons for the failures vary, but the anonymous interviewee narrows it down to one main source - the GPU.

The main design flaw was the excessive heat on the GPU warping the mother board around it. This would stress the solder joints on the GPU and any bad joints would then fail in early life.

Hit the link below to read the whole story on what could possibly be one of the most ridiculous instances of big-business ineptitude in the history of the gaming industry.

Inside Source Reveal the Truth About Xbox 360 "Red Ring of Death" Failures [8Bit Joystick]

RRoD Is Truly Frightening

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 MDT

This, yes this, is what we've been waiting for: The Red Ring of Death jack-o'-lantern. According to reader Zhao:

Every gamer's worst nightmare... the center fell out and had to be taped *cries due to lack of skill*

It's like the mouth of Hell.

The Red Ring of Death T-Shirt

fdemarco — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 13:00:00 MDT

Are you one of the countless many who have suffered the indignity of those three red lights on your 360? Are you still waiting for your 360s triumphant return from the Microsoft repair center? Well, now you can wear your misery proudly on your chest with this Red Ring of death T-shirt until your 360 comes marching home again, a little worse for the wear but hopefully functioning normally.

Red Ring of Death T-Shirt [Casually Hardcore]

Halo 3 Disc Read Errors Rampant

Mike Fahey — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:30:19 MDT

A storm is brewing in both the Xbox and Bungie forums, where over a hundred posters have now verified that their copies of Halo 3 are causing disc read errors. lockups, and even the dreaded RRoD on their Xbox 360 consoles. From what I can glean from skimming through the 22 pages of replies to the original poster's problem, most of the people affected purchased the standard edition, though a few are reporting having the problem on both the standard and the LE version of the game. Some believe the discs are corrupting the data on the hard disc itself, as some have had their game discs replaced twice or more now with similar results, and removing the hard disc seems to keep the error from occurring with some posters. Some can load the game fine and play it for short bursts before the problem occurs, while others are finding the issue limited to certain game modes. Check out the forum threads for more info on the problems had, and hopefully some official response will be given about the issue soon.

Post here if u having the Disc Read Error [Xbox Forums]
"Cannot read Disk" [Bungie Forums - Thanks Corey]

Hey, Elites Crap Out Too

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:00:52 MDT

Just a reminder not to leave your Xbox 360 on all day in a plastic case. Not good for the machine! Rumors of better Elite performance aside, this must be the first conked Xbox 360 Elite I've seen. Bummer, because I quite like that sexy paint job. The platform's good fun, too. Shame about the quality.
Dead Elite [thesportsfix, Thanks Laird!]

Xbox 360 Falcon Chips Are Coming This Year

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 19:00:33 MDT

It's coming. Obviously. Later this year, Xbox 360s outfitted with 65-nm chips should be hitting store shelves according to The Xbox 360 Uncloaked author Dean Takahashi. Dubbed "Falcon," these chips are smaller than the current 90-nm processors and should use less energy. And that *should* lead to fewer Red Rings of Death. Well, theoretically! We won't know until these consoles are out in the wild, performing under real world conditions. However, Takahashi has confirmed that the chips are in the first batch of consoles currently being made, meaning that they could be there by fall. But Microsoft isn't going to disclose to customers which consoles have what. Takahashi points out:

But here's the problem for Microsoft. They have a lot of inventory of the older 90-nanometer machines. Many of these machines don't have the HDMI ports for sure. It has to sell these machines out before it starts selling the Falcon-based machines. That means that a lot of consumers are going to be buying machines that don't have the highest quality.

Meaning that if you want to make damn sure you don't buy old product, you're going to need to wait. But if everyone waits, then that's not exactly going to help flush these faulty 90-nm consoles from the marketplace. So if you're in the market for an Xbox 360, there's a chance you'll have a very red Christmas. What Microsoft's Falcon Project Means [Mercury News]

Bashcraft's 360 Finally Dies (How's Yours?)

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:48 MDT

The exciting and inevitable conclusion to the my-Xbox-360-starting-freezing post! On Saturday night, after playing the BioShock demo to death, I decided to fire up some Gears of War. I played for ten minutes and then it moved on from this world, leaving Red Rings of Death as a memento. To recap: I got the "checkerboard effect," and the next time I switched on a disc-based game, the box konked out. So Xbox Live Arcade games and free demos could be the answer to Microsoft's hardware woes! Or something.

Now, that my Xbox 360 has cashed in, that means that at least three of all Kotaku editors have reached RROD status. Yay! Mine was a Japan Launch 360 (which I waited in line for and purchased with my own money). What about you reader people? Time for a poll: What I want to know is whether you've had hardware problems or not. We've got a decent sized readership, so I'm keen to know stories out in the field. More importantly, I really want to know if you've had not problems. Not all Xbox 360s are heaps of junk. Some of them actually work! So, if you've got worker, let us know in the comments section.

Meanwhile, I gotta send this thing off to get it repaired.

Eds Note: I just called consumer support, and they said it was going to be 2 or 3 weeks before they could fix it. The rep I spoke with said things were "backed up."