Dusty Gamer: All about games since 1978

Red ring of death (Xbox 360)

I’ve previously had one scare with my Xbox 360. Initially I set the console upright because it takes up less space and looks better that way. However, once I heard a distressing screeching sound from the drive bay when it was loading a disc. I did manage without a ruined disc (unlike many), which is when I discovered that Microsoft doesn’t recommend using the console upright. Just because they’ve been too ignorant to install some foam pads to keep the disc from tilting too far.

During the Easter I first had my work laptop’s Windows XP die on me, and immediately after that the Xbox 360 flipped the infamous red ring of death at me. I can’t say what’s wrong, except that heat it ain’t. Anyway, their user support was very helpful. All I have to do is find a suitable box for the console, call UPS to pick it up and sit tight for 10-15 days. They will also send me a new wireless controller, because my original’s D-pad is unreliable (clunky) in one direction.

While it sucks to have to send it back for repair, at least the process is as easy for the customer as possible. And being European, we get a 24-month guarantee. My 360’s nine months old.

Posted

in

by

Joonas Laakso

Tags:

Comments

4 responses to “Red ring of death (Xbox 360)”

  1. MarkTheNiceGuy Avatar
    MarkTheNiceGuy

    Yesterday my Xbox 360 gave me the bird too and I had the ring of death and I just got my system for christmas this sucks so I called up xbox and told them this is not right they know about this problem
    but still make them and ship them out knowing that one day the ring of death will show up and I have to wait three weeks to get my new xbox from them I asked xbox to give me Bill Gates phone number
    to tell him how much his hardware sucks

  2. joonas.laakso Avatar
    joonas.laakso

    The failure rate does seem too high. As long as the warranty system works I’m not complaining too much, but of course it’s a pain to send your system back and be 2-3 weeks without the hardware you paid for.

    All of the problems seem to relate to rushing the 360 out of the gate. Hopefully they can get it together with experience.

  3. Dusty Gamer » Blog Archive » Update on the the red ring of death (Xbox 360)

    […] My Xbox 360 died on April 6. I contacted the customer care on the following monday (April 9). I shipped the console on April 12. The customer care told me to please allow for 10-15 days, which I imagined meant the time in which my console would get back to me. I’ve only now got word that they’ve received it – i’ts been 13 days. […]

  4. Dusty Gamer » Blog Archive » Red ring of death: Epitaph (Xbox 360)

    […] Once my Xbox 360 finally reached Germany and the hands of loving repair technicians, it was processed in one day and immediately sent back. It arrived yesterday, fully functional. I suspect it’s had its DVD drive exchanged, which might make sense, because the initial crash happened on a disc change. I might be imagining things, but it also seems quieter. Weird. […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.