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View Full Version : 360 warranties will now be 3 years


blueguy
07-05-2007, 01:51 PM
http://www.gaming-age.com/news/2007/7/5-14
Microsoft Corp. today announced that it will expand its global Xbox 360 warranty coverage. Any Xbox 360 customer who experiences a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights will now be covered by a three year warranty from date of purchase. All other existing Xbox 360 warranty policies remain in place.
As a result of what Microsoft views as an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles, the company conducted extensive investigations into potential sources of general hardware failures. Having identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures indicated by three red flashing lights on the console, Microsoft has made improvements to the console and is enhancing its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers.

Microsoft stands behind its products and is taking responsibility to repair or replace any Xbox 360 console that experiences the "three flashing red lights" error message within three years from time of purchase free of charge, including shipping costs. Microsoft will take a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs under its current and enhanced Xbox 360 policies.

"The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division. "We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come."

For any customer who has previously paid for repair expenses related to the three flashing lights error message on the Xbox 360 console, Microsoft will retroactively reimburse them.

and for those in doubt, direct from Xbox.com, a message from Peter Moore.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/petermooreletter.htm
To our Xbox Community:

You’ve spoken, and we’ve heard you. Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we’ve not been doing a good enough job.

Some of you have expressed frustration with the customer experiences you have had with Xbox 360; frustration with having to return your console for service after receiving the general hardware error message on the console.

The majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles have had a terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and day out. But when anyone questions the reliability of our product, or our commitment to our customers, it’s something I take very seriously.

We have been following this issue closely, and with on-going testing have identified several factors that can cause a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. To address this issue, and as part of our ongoing work, we have already made certain improvements to the console.

We are also implementing some important policy changes intended to keep you in the game, worry-free.

As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge -- including shipping -- for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience.

If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience.

This will take a few days to roll out globally, and I appreciate your continued patience as we launch this program. I’ve posted an FAQ that should address some additional questions, and we’ll update it over the next few days.

I want to thank you, on behalf of all us at Microsoft, for your loyalty.

moneychair2003
07-05-2007, 04:35 PM
i was so happy when i read this. it just keeps getting better having a 360. too bad its just for 3 red lights of death error, but thats the main reason for broken xboxes now.

Supreme Stonecutter
07-05-2007, 04:47 PM
i was so happy when i read this. it just keeps getting better having a 360. too bad its just for 3 red lights of death error, but thats the main reason for broken xboxes now.

Sorry, I'm confused as to how this constitutes as being a good thing for the XBOX 360. How does this help things get better and better? I have a 360 and I love it, but the only reason we're getting a 3 year warranty is because of the outrageously high failure rates on consoles. I've already been through 2 in under a year. Not to mention the fact that they denied this for months. I think it's great their finally giving a proper warranty, but that's just because of the expected fail rate.

blueguy
07-05-2007, 08:56 PM
I honestly don't think 3 years is enough. They're doing this to keep away the class-action lawsuits. What happens to the people who've had their system working for 3 years and then start failing at that point as a result of the design flaw?
I honestly think any systems that were built prior to the date when they finally started making fixes, should be covered for 5 years. Systems built after the fixes were being used, drop em to 1-3 years.

SubSane
07-06-2007, 03:05 AM
I honestly don't think 3 years is enough. They're doing this to keep away the class-action lawsuits. What happens to the people who've had their system working for 3 years and then start failing at that point as a result of the design flaw?
I honestly think any systems that were built prior to the date when they finally started making fixes, should be covered for 5 years. Systems built after the fixes were being used, drop em to 1-3 years.

That's how it is with all electronics. There's no way a manufacturer is going to give 5 free years of warranty service when the next generation of hardware is only a few years away.

Regardless, good news. I had a single red light crash a few days ago and will be glad to know the system's covered after the store warranty ends.

moneychair2003
07-06-2007, 06:34 AM
Sorry, I'm confused as to how this constitutes as being a good thing for the XBOX 360. How does this help things get better and better? I have a 360 and I love it, but the only reason we're getting a 3 year warranty is because of the outrageously high failure rates on consoles. I've already been through 2 in under a year. Not to mention the fact that they denied this for months. I think it's great their finally giving a proper warranty, but that's just because of the expected fail rate.

having the warranty change from 90 days to 1 year to 3 years is great. i just said it keeps getting better to have a 360 because theres always good news all the time (i.e. game announcements, IPTV, xbox live updates).

the 360s that fail are mostly the launch consoles which have the huge failure rate. ive never had my 360 fail, but ive heard of all the experiences people go through when their xboxs fail and they have to go through refurbished 360s like crazy.

J.Re*
07-06-2007, 07:43 AM
mine has failed twice... and revived itself twice.

too bad I bought mine off of a friend, I know its going to die for good someday.

DAntae
07-06-2007, 08:53 AM
this is a good move on their part to mend some fences with customers. shows they stand behind their product and are aware of the mistakes made with the launch systems.

Supreme Stonecutter
07-06-2007, 10:03 AM
the 360s that fail are mostly the launch consoles which have the huge failure rate. ive never had my 360 fail, but ive heard of all the experiences people go through when their xboxs fail and they have to go through refurbished 360s like crazy.

That's not necessarily true, you do realize that right? Neither one of my 360s were launch consoles.

DAntae
07-06-2007, 10:12 AM
he did say mostly, and that is correct. the majority of issues with the systems were the launch consoles. that shouldnt have been much of a surprise though.

Cole
07-06-2007, 12:55 PM
i got the three red lights last week. finally called customer service today. was on hold for close to an hour. 3-5 days to get my shipping box, 4-6 weeks for repair.

i nearly lost it during the brutal conversation with tech support when i told him i bought mine in january and he replied, "well, i have good news for you. you're console is still under warranty." no shit. i'm getting a free month of xbox live out of it. whoopdeedoo.

DAntae
07-06-2007, 12:58 PM
so were playing some ncaa football 08 then right?

Cole
07-06-2007, 01:03 PM
that is one bonus. you'll have about a month's head start on playing the game though, thanks to my shity xbox.

i've been counting down the days to that game. now my countdown has increase by about 4 weeks. :(

Spartan
07-06-2007, 02:42 PM
waiting down the days for an ea game in 2007?

Cole
07-06-2007, 03:31 PM
ncaa is still a big deal to me.

and this seems more of a move out of necessity than anything. when your product in a highly competitive market is malfunctioning at an alarming rate, you have to do something.

knowing that i'll be able to get my 360 fixed in 4-6 weeks whenever it malfunctions again doesn't make me too thrilled. i'd prefer that it, you know, not fuck up in the first place.