Xbox 360 Dead.. Past 90 day warranty.. Nice! (1 Viewer)

[Jimi C]

Well, I thought I had the diamond in the rough as far as 360's go. I Purchased my unit from target early in the year. I never had any issues with freezing or crashing and was happy as a clam.

Now fast forward.. 2 days ago I tried to power it up to play some NHL 2K7. Nothing. Completly dead. My xbox has sat in the same spot on my equipment rack for the past 9 months and was never touched except for about a month ago when I got a new display. According to microsofts webpage im no longer covered under warranty and im definatly past the 90 day return period at Target. I am so pissed. I cant see myself dropping another $400 clams for a new unit. Ive tried it on other outlets, I brought it to my friends place and tried it with his ac adapter, ive detached the hard drive. Im out of ideas. Ive never had a piece of equipment just totally die on me like this with no warning. Anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[Seth=L]

They had problems with the power supply, the black box that plugs into the wall. Test that to see if it works. I think that it may have a indicator light that shows the power supply is actually on. If the power supply is bad it shouldn't cost much to replace it. Leaving the Xbox 360 on for long periods of time can cause the power supply to get very hot, and heat is the #1 enemy of electronics because it increases resistance. If you need more info or solve the problem post back and let us know.

Sorry didn't read your first post closely enough, didn't realize you already tried another adapter. Call Microsoft and tell them your problem. It would likely be cheaper to have them repair it than to replace the entire unit.

 

[Jimi C]

Wow, I feel sort of stupid, because the idea of having it repaired never even crossed my mind.

I didnt realize untill it crapped out on me that the warranty was only 90 days. Thats the sort of warranty usually given on refurb electronics.

 

[Bryan X]

In another thread people who were having it constantly freeze up were being charged $129 for repairs if I remember correctly. Sucks, but better than $400 for a new one.

 

[Matt^Brown]

Jimi C

Call Xbox and then send it back for repair. Pay the $129 to get it fixed and then do yourself a favor and get the extended warranty. It cost $59 and last for two years. I can almost promise you that your unit will fail again. I am on my second unit and this thing is getting louder everyday. You can look around and see some of my other post. Trust me you did not get the diamond in the rough.

More and more people our having problems with these units. Currently the only site that I have seen taking up the issue is IGN. They have been holding Microsoft feet to the fire about their failure rate and I'm glad to see them doing it.

As stated before my PS2 failed and cost me over $100 to fixed only 6 months after purchase so I have been down this road. The joys of being an early adopter.

 

[PeterMano]

When I buy a new system like the 360, which only has a 90 day warranty, I immediately purchase either an extended warranty or a Product replacement plan. When the 360 goes, it can go quickly. My launch system was fine and they one fine day in late july, within a few minutes of turning it on and before I could even decide which game to play, a horrible stench filled the room, the dreaded red ring of death flashed just before I could get to the system to shut it down and, FRIED, baby, FRIED. I've never experienced a meltdown like that. I had to air out my living room.

I used my prp with EB games and was up back and running with a new unit in about 20 minutes. I also purchased a new prp for the unit. If this sucker goes down, I'll replace it and promptly sell it off. The 360 defect rate is much higher than what MS is claiming. 3%, my ass. Far too many anecdotal reports of people's 360s just suddenly crapping out. Is it a heat issue, a voltage issue? Hell, if I know. But, the 360 is like a ticking electronic time bomb. It could go off at any time without warning. Just one day, kabooom!

If you send it in for repair to MS, ask to speak to a supervisor and make sure he gets an earful of how disappointed you are with the unit and its sudden failure. MS has been cutting back on the repair costs and even giving disgruntled consumers some freebies to compensate. Also, when you send it in, do NOT send in your hard drive. Detach it and keep it with you. Do send in your power supply, because that could easily be the problem.

I suspect something is amiss on a technical level. My 360 wasn't on long enough for it to have over-heated the way it did. So, I don't think it was a cooliing problem. At any rate, MS needs to step it up in the quality control area.

I wound up having to replace my xbox twice and I'll be damned if I'll do the same thing with the 360.

 

[Jimi C]

Yea. I dont have the money right now to have it fixed, Sadly this will probably have to wait a few weeks. My reg Xbox is still going strong. Built 11-17-2001. Sheesh, time flys. Feels like I just got it..

 

[Dave Scarpa]

If you go over to the AVSforum there are some good post about failure rates, I guess the CBC has opened a report on the failure rate but they can't hold MS responsible till it gets to 7%. Mine's been ok, but seeing all these issues I've decided to not go for the Add on HD-DVD and go for a standalone

 

[Jimi C]

Update:

Turns out it was my power supply. Yesterday I drove around to about 5 stores, non of which sold 360 power supllies, I searched online and found only one (an extremely sketchy looking one) website that claimed to have them. In a fit of rage I sent of this email to Xbox via there customer support page.

__________________________________________________ _____________
From.com

Be specific when describing your problem. The details that you include enable us to promptly send you the most likely solution to your issue.
My Xbox Power Supply is dead. Why is it that no stores *online or brick and mortar* sell them? Am I expected to buy a whole new 360? Please do not send me the stock questions asking me If I was sure that it was plugged into the wall. It was. And I'm sure everyone at Microsoft is aware of the astronomical failure rate of your PSU's. Should I take the advice I found on one of the many websites where this issue is adressed and rig it to run off of a power supply designed for a PC case? Is that really my only option short of buying a new 360? This is ludicris. $400 for a door stop. Thanks alot. Nice warranty too.. 90 days... Ive had milk in my fridge longer than that.

I really need this power supply so I can sell my 360 for money towords a PS3 and a Powerbook.
__________________________________________________ _________

I got a response today, almost forgot I had sent that email. Feel a little emberrased by it. (but not really =P )

Hi Jim,

Thank you for writing Xbox Customer Support!

We deeply apologize for the inconvenience. It sounds like this has been a very frustrating experience for you. After careful review of your issue, we have determined that it is best that you call the Xbox Customer Support number for better assistance; United States and Canada : 1-800-4MY-XBOX (1-800-469-9269) International direct dial to US : 1- 425-635-7180.

Our phone representatives will assist you 7 days a week from 9:00AM -12:00 MN CST (Central Standard Time). Thank you for understanding.

To expedite service, please provide Service Request Number when you call.

For more information about Xbox360, please visit http://www.xbox.com or http://www.xbox.com/360.

Sincerely,
Mark
Xbox Customer Care Team
__________________________________________________ _____________

So, I guess ill try to call again tomorrow since im off of work.

 

[Seth=L]

How did you determine it was the power supply?, I thought you used a friend's power supply to make sure that was or wasn't the problem.

Also. I would look at buying an aftermarket power supply with a warranty maybe. What is the output of the one you have i.e. watts, volts, amperage? You may be able to get one from radioshack that won't ya know, break again. It may and probably would be much more cost effective to do it this way as well.

 

[Jimi C]

It has a proprietary connector at the end. I wont find one anywhere. Nobody makes a generic one yet.

 

[Mark Schmitt]

This just happened to me too on Saturday. My 360 was manufactured on 1-22-06 so I'm out of the loop for the warranty extension. I called support, went through all the steps, and now I have to send the unit in. DAMMIT!! It's costing me $129 and that sucks, even after I get the free shipping (they send me a box to mail it in on their dime).

Even worse I estimate the turn around time will be two weeks. I get the box in a few days, send it back which will take a couple more days, then they say the turn-around time is 24-48 hours and then they mail it back.

Damn, I just got NHL 07! What am I gonna do now for two weeks!!? I might have to actually get a life!

I am pretty upset about this. It shouldn't be crapping out on me in 9 months time. I wish I had gotten the warranty, but you can be damned sure I'll get it now.

 

[Jimi C]

Well, even though my unit was produced before 06' I still had to pay for my power supply. Apperantly that isnt included in the warranty extension. So, It cost me $80 and should be here any day now.

Pretty lame.

 

[Ed B]

Hey guys not sure if the power supplies are covered under this but they (MS) recently announced that they would refund repairs for the initial 360 units.

Perhaps they'll be generous and extend some type of coverage for a replacement power supply.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/200...oft_dismi.html

 

[Dave_P.]

Hmm...I bought the extended Microsoft warranty back when I got it in December. Shouldn't we get some sort of extension on this now, if people are getting free repairs with the 90-day warranty?

 

[Eric Stuckey]

So are you saying I should not buy a 360???
I am about 4 weeks from buying one, & have already bought the network card and two games for it. My buddy has had his since Dec 23th 2005 with no troubles.
Update
I have been all over the net looking at horror stories about the fialer rate and I am now scared to death to buy one. I will still buy one but am going to wait a little longer in hopes that more bugs will be fixed.

 

[Bryan X]

If you search for horror stories on the internet you'll find them for any product. Just keep in mind, the only people likely to post about their 360 are the ones having problems. So it's not really a good way of judging the quality of the product. I'm certainly not trying to defend the first wave of 360s because they obviously had issues or MS wouldn't have made the concessions it did. Just keep things in perspective.

I've had my 360 since April with an '06 build date and haven't had any problems. I don't regret the purchase one bit.

 

[Eric Stuckey]

Thanks Bryan, I agree about the people only posting bad stuff. My wife doesnt want me to spend $500.00 on a game system so any bad stuff like this happening will get me the ... I TOLD YOU not to buy it , speech.

 

[Matt^Brown]

Eric I would buy the 360 but get the warranty. If you find my earlier post you will see where I had the same problem with the PS2.