Massive Failure Rate For Xbox 360 Exposed
26 June 2007, 09:02 PM
#31
Moderator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Not all those who wander are lost
Posts: 17,863
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Microsoft now receiving 2,500 broken 360s per day in UK alone?
Published at 15:32 (GMT) on Tuesday, June 26, 2007
New complaints claim out-of-country repair centres are now being used due to unprecedented demand
Microsoft’s UK repair centre in Havant is now redistributing faulty consoles to foreign repair centres in order to clear an overwhelming backlog and keep up with the 1,500 to 2,500 Xbox 360s arriving at its doors on a daily basis, according to customer reports.
According to Lee Sherman (Gamertag, Toxic Daywalker), who sent us details of his horrible experience, his Xbox 360 had been sent to Prague for repair, which has extended the repair time considerably.
He talks of how three weeks and repeated phone calls yielded no further clues to the status of his repair, with customer service representatives merely telling him that it would be “returned shortly”.
Lee even claims that when he asked to speak to the repair centre direct, he was told this wasn’t possible because they don’t have phones... However, using a directory enquiry service he was able to obtain the number for the repair centre, where he was shocked to learn that his console was actually in Prague, not Havant as Microsoft customer service reps had claimed.
Additionally, the call to the Havant repair centre revealed some other worrying stats: “A shocking statistic we found out though is that between 1,500 to 2,500 consoles get sent to Havant by three UPS lorries per day, to then be shipped to Prague for repair,” Lee told us, going on to add, “[We] phoned up Nora the [customer service] supervisor again, who then admitted my console was in Prague and hadn’t been looked at yet – she seemed amazed that we knew!”
Comments from users on the Xbox.com forum reveal similar woes, and some have also discovered their consoles are indeed in repair centres outside of the UK: “I just spoke to the customer support people because my 360 has been gone since the 8th of June,” says forum user, LordBrown in a post dated 23rd of June. “Apparently because of the backlog in Havant they’re sending 360s to repair centres outside the UK! And that because of this Microsoft are legally allowed an additional ten days to get your 360 back to you.”
From the sounds of things it seems Microsoft is fighting a losing battle on this front, as more and more units flood in for repair. It kind of reminds of that bit in Santa Claus The Movie when all of those defective wooden toys started falling apart…
We connected Microsoft this morning, however we’re still waiting for an official response. We’ll let you know the moment we hear anything.
Published at 15:32 (GMT) on Tuesday, June 26, 2007
New complaints claim out-of-country repair centres are now being used due to unprecedented demand
Microsoft’s UK repair centre in Havant is now redistributing faulty consoles to foreign repair centres in order to clear an overwhelming backlog and keep up with the 1,500 to 2,500 Xbox 360s arriving at its doors on a daily basis, according to customer reports.
According to Lee Sherman (Gamertag, Toxic Daywalker), who sent us details of his horrible experience, his Xbox 360 had been sent to Prague for repair, which has extended the repair time considerably.
He talks of how three weeks and repeated phone calls yielded no further clues to the status of his repair, with customer service representatives merely telling him that it would be “returned shortly”.
Lee even claims that when he asked to speak to the repair centre direct, he was told this wasn’t possible because they don’t have phones... However, using a directory enquiry service he was able to obtain the number for the repair centre, where he was shocked to learn that his console was actually in Prague, not Havant as Microsoft customer service reps had claimed.
Additionally, the call to the Havant repair centre revealed some other worrying stats: “A shocking statistic we found out though is that between 1,500 to 2,500 consoles get sent to Havant by three UPS lorries per day, to then be shipped to Prague for repair,” Lee told us, going on to add, “[We] phoned up Nora the [customer service] supervisor again, who then admitted my console was in Prague and hadn’t been looked at yet – she seemed amazed that we knew!”
Comments from users on the Xbox.com forum reveal similar woes, and some have also discovered their consoles are indeed in repair centres outside of the UK: “I just spoke to the customer support people because my 360 has been gone since the 8th of June,” says forum user, LordBrown in a post dated 23rd of June. “Apparently because of the backlog in Havant they’re sending 360s to repair centres outside the UK! And that because of this Microsoft are legally allowed an additional ten days to get your 360 back to you.”
From the sounds of things it seems Microsoft is fighting a losing battle on this front, as more and more units flood in for repair. It kind of reminds of that bit in Santa Claus The Movie when all of those defective wooden toys started falling apart…
We connected Microsoft this morning, however we’re still waiting for an official response. We’ll let you know the moment we hear anything.
26 June 2007, 09:05 PM
#32
Moderator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Not all those who wander are lost
Posts: 17,863
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Live Stats & Results
There have been 5039 survey submissions so far
This represents 0.50% of the 1,007,246 Gamertags registered to date
A total of 3126 users who responded to this survey left comments
Of the 5039 submissions:
1814 (36.00%) say they have NOT had a console fail
2051 (40.70%) say they've had one console fail
1174 (23.30%) say they've had more than one console fail
Overall 3225 (64.00%) of submissions claim to have experienced Xbox 360 hardware failure
2009 (39.87%) submissions purchased their first Xbox 360 before January '06
Of these 2009 submissions:
1429 (71.13%) claim their Xbox 360 broke
580 (28.87%) say their Xbox 360 is still going strong
The 3225 submissions citing problems collectively claim a total of 5245 broken Xbox 360s
There have been 5039 survey submissions so far
This represents 0.50% of the 1,007,246 Gamertags registered to date
A total of 3126 users who responded to this survey left comments
Of the 5039 submissions:
1814 (36.00%) say they have NOT had a console fail
2051 (40.70%) say they've had one console fail
1174 (23.30%) say they've had more than one console fail
Overall 3225 (64.00%) of submissions claim to have experienced Xbox 360 hardware failure
2009 (39.87%) submissions purchased their first Xbox 360 before January '06
Of these 2009 submissions:
1429 (71.13%) claim their Xbox 360 broke
580 (28.87%) say their Xbox 360 is still going strong
The 3225 submissions citing problems collectively claim a total of 5245 broken Xbox 360s
26 June 2007, 09:28 PM
#36
Scooby Regular
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Northampton, Xbox GamerTag - Neanderthal1976
Posts: 6,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Those are worrying stats Dunk. Can you remind me what you recommend to back up your game saves with?
I think I'm living on borrowed time with my LD 360 now...
I think I'm living on borrowed time with my LD 360 now...
Taking no chances now 
26 June 2007, 09:48 PM
#40
Bear in mind most people can only be bothered to fill in surveys when they are pi$$ed off or had a bad experience, all companies reputation is blackened when customers have a problem, first thing you do is tell 5/10 of your mates, but rarely praised when they have good service.
26 June 2007, 10:03 PM
#41
Former Sponsor
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: www.scoobyworld.co.uk
Posts: 1,987
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
crikey, I must be one of the only people around whos had a 360 since launch and not suffered any problems with it
great bit of kit, very well made, ultra reliable (well my one at least
)
Neil
<touches wood>
great bit of kit, very well made, ultra reliable (well my one at least
)Neil
<touches wood>
26 June 2007, 10:10 PM
#42
Moderator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Not all those who wander are lost
Posts: 17,863
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bear in mind most people can only be bothered to fill in surveys when they are pi$$ed off or had a bad experience, all companies reputation is blackened when customers have a problem, first thing you do is tell 5/10 of your mates, but rarely praised when they have good service.
Just spent over half an hour on hold on the support line only to be told at 10pm that they are going home and no longer taking calls
27 June 2007, 09:34 AM
#43
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Worthing..
Posts: 7,575
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
WHen I got mine back it was just a case of plugging the HDD back in and all my saves were fine (still had to set up the system settings though - obviously saved in firmware)
27 June 2007, 10:00 AM
#44
Moderator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Not all those who wander are lost
Posts: 17,863
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Unless the fault is with the HDD or the PSU, they tell you to only send back the console without PSU and HDD.
WHen I got mine back it was just a case of plugging the HDD back in and all my saves were fine (still had to set up the system settings though - obviously saved in firmware)
WHen I got mine back it was just a case of plugging the HDD back in and all my saves were fine (still had to set up the system settings though - obviously saved in firmware)
27 June 2007, 12:55 PM
#48
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm on my third one since release date. My first blew after about nine months, took it in to GAME and swapped it there and then under warranty. second went about four months afterwards and it was out of warranty, but since MS hadn't had the serial number I told them I bought it three months ago (when I picked it up from GAME) and got it repaired/replaced free of charge. Means I get until October this year for part III to go AWOL on me, but touch wood I have had no problem with it so far and it seems to be OK (fingers crossed and all sorts as I type this!).
A mate I play with on live is on his Seventh one, and has a free TV that MS sent him after he threatened them with consumer services!
A mate I play with on live is on his Seventh one, and has a free TV that MS sent him after he threatened them with consumer services!
28 June 2007, 07:08 AM
#50
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Potters Bar
Posts: 2,924
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Also guys keep an eye on the disks you use a lot. Chatting to a guy in the US he has told me that XBoxs have been damaging disks a lot there.
I';ve not started to see this myself as I have a 4 month old copy of gears of war with a really veay wear ring around the outsiude of the disk. Gameplay where I gt it from advised its the XBox having seen this frequnetly and suggested I contact MS for them to replace it.
AllanB
I';ve not started to see this myself as I have a 4 month old copy of gears of war with a really veay wear ring around the outsiude of the disk. Gameplay where I gt it from advised its the XBox having seen this frequnetly and suggested I contact MS for them to replace it.
AllanB
28 June 2007, 09:47 AM
#51
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Surviving as a soldier of fortune on the Los Angeles underground...
Posts: 7,181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You should be asking them for compensation - they'll probably offer you "peripherals or games"
Last time mine went the conversation was something like...
- I understand I'm entitled to some compensation.
- Yes, thats correct.
- Well what is on offer?
- We can offer you peripherals or some games
- Could I have the webcam then please?
- Sorry, out of stock
- How about the wireless headset then?
- Sorry, out of stock also...we can offer a choice of games
- Which games?
- Perfect Dark Zero & PGR3
- Got Both of those
- Kameo?
- Got that.
- Call Of Duty 2?
- Got that.
- Viva Pinata?
- OK, I'll have that.
- oh sorry, thats out of stock too, can you wait 2 weeks?
- seeing as you've got my console, yes... hang on, why can't I wait until you get more stock of the wireless headsets?
- erm...
- Aaarrgh! doesnt matter - just give me Viva Pinata!!
- OK, thank you very much sir...
Incidentally, on the occasions my machine has gone pop the turnourounf has been exactly 10 days.
Last time mine went the conversation was something like...
- I understand I'm entitled to some compensation.
- Yes, thats correct.
- Well what is on offer?
- We can offer you peripherals or some games
- Could I have the webcam then please?
- Sorry, out of stock
- How about the wireless headset then?
- Sorry, out of stock also...we can offer a choice of games
- Which games?
- Perfect Dark Zero & PGR3
- Got Both of those
- Kameo?
- Got that.
- Call Of Duty 2?
- Got that.
- Viva Pinata?
- OK, I'll have that.
- oh sorry, thats out of stock too, can you wait 2 weeks?
- seeing as you've got my console, yes... hang on, why can't I wait until you get more stock of the wireless headsets?
- erm...
- Aaarrgh! doesnt matter - just give me Viva Pinata!!
- OK, thank you very much sir...
Incidentally, on the occasions my machine has gone pop the turnourounf has been exactly 10 days.
28 June 2007, 09:48 AM
#52
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Surviving as a soldier of fortune on the Los Angeles underground...
Posts: 7,181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Also guys keep an eye on the disks you use a lot. Chatting to a guy in the US he has told me that XBoxs have been damaging disks a lot there.
I';ve not started to see this myself as I have a 4 month old copy of gears of war with a really veay wear ring around the outsiude of the disk. Gameplay where I gt it from advised its the XBox having seen this frequnetly and suggested I contact MS for them to replace it.
AllanB
I';ve not started to see this myself as I have a 4 month old copy of gears of war with a really veay wear ring around the outsiude of the disk. Gameplay where I gt it from advised its the XBox having seen this frequnetly and suggested I contact MS for them to replace it.
AllanB
29 June 2007, 09:03 AM
#53
Scooby Regular
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 16,517
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's picking up steam now. I'll be selling my 360 at 11 months old if it's not failed by then. I'll buy one with the 65Nm chip when they are doing it.
UK-based repairs specialist Micromart has told GamesIndustry.biz that it has had to refuse to service Xbox 360 consoles that display three red lights, dubbed the Red Ring of Death.
"We were seeing about 30 a week before we pulled the plug on the service," said Jeff Croft of Micromart.
"We saw it over a period of several months and it was just getting worse. It began towards the end of last year. Once the twelve month warranty finished then we started to see more and more machines being sent in to be looked at.
Micromart acts for individual retailers who send customer's goods to the specialist. Croft says his company pulled the service after discovering problems with the motherboard, and that that repairing the console wasn't financially feasible. Even after working on a number of machines, the company didn't feel comfortable with the end result.
Croft said the company had written to Microsoft to inform it of the problems encountered but had received no reply.
"We were seeing about 30 a week before we pulled the plug on the service," said Jeff Croft of Micromart.
"We saw it over a period of several months and it was just getting worse. It began towards the end of last year. Once the twelve month warranty finished then we started to see more and more machines being sent in to be looked at.
Micromart acts for individual retailers who send customer's goods to the specialist. Croft says his company pulled the service after discovering problems with the motherboard, and that that repairing the console wasn't financially feasible. Even after working on a number of machines, the company didn't feel comfortable with the end result.
Croft said the company had written to Microsoft to inform it of the problems encountered but had received no reply.
29 June 2007, 10:21 AM
#54
Scooby Senior
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: North Wales
Posts: 5,826
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's a good analogy really.
The Focus is eminently usable car, well suited to UK roads and does everything you could want of it.
The 360 is totally impractical for use in the UK apart from posing. Well engineered and technically capable there is nothing in the UK that allows it's technology and capability to be fully exploited.
The Focus is eminently usable car, well suited to UK roads and does everything you could want of it.
The 360 is totally impractical for use in the UK apart from posing. Well engineered and technically capable there is nothing in the UK that allows it's technology and capability to be fully exploited.
Joking apart, the numbers for PS3 worldwide are catching 360 at an alrming rate. It's only a matter of time before decent games are available, and if they don't have the hardware failures, where does that leave MS?
Someone told me yesterday that a new version of the 360 is about to be released, any truth in that? Not next gen, just a better one with HD-DVD included and sonme other stuff (and hopefully, a bit more reliable).
Geezer
Last edited by Geezer; 29 June 2007 at 10:25 AM.
29 June 2007, 10:47 AM
#55
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Surviving as a soldier of fortune on the Los Angeles underground...
Posts: 7,181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Geezer - It's the 360 Elite, it doesnt have HD DVD but it's got an HDMI socket a 120gb HDD and a black case rather than a white one.
29 June 2007, 01:29 PM
#56
Scooby Senior
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: North Wales
Posts: 5,826
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
One thing that does naff me off about consoles, and has prevented me from getting a PS3 of 360, is the utterly ****e control method for shoot 'em up games. Games pads are just no good, they are nowhere near accurate enough. A mouse is a million times better for this sort of stuff. Unfortunately, for Resistance, it only accepts the six axis controller. I don't know if this is also true of 360 games. I have to say, it would be a big plus in MS favour if their shoot 'em up games took keyboard and mouse as an option.
I've borrowed a friends PS3, and I'm borrowing his 360 next week, so hopefully I can make a decent comparison.
Geezer
I've borrowed a friends PS3, and I'm borrowing his 360 next week, so hopefully I can make a decent comparison.
Geezer
29 June 2007, 01:44 PM
#57
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Surviving as a soldier of fortune on the Los Angeles underground...
Posts: 7,181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've never tried a FPS with the keyboard / mouse combo, only ever used a controller - although they are much easier since the controllers started having analogue sticks rather than the d-pad, now that was a nightmare...
29 June 2007, 02:17 PM
#58
Scooby Regular
Join Date: May 2004
Location: xbox Gamertag : trapdoor berk
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
you can actually get a mouse and keyboard working on a 360 but its naff, apparently it dose translate well with the controller based game setup.
X360F Review: XFPS - KB & Mouse on 360 - Xbox 360 Fanboy
X360F Review: XFPS - KB & Mouse on 360 - Xbox 360 Fanboy
29 June 2007, 04:28 PM
#60
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Zed Ess Won Hay Tee
Posts: 21,611
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i think i`m going to wait until my 360 is one year old, then take it apart and do this x clamp mod as it seams that helps quite a bit?
my console has been on pretty much 12 hours a day for the past 4 days and never seams to get "that" hot considering.
my console has been on pretty much 12 hours a day for the past 4 days and never seams to get "that" hot considering.