Microsoft cops to 360 repair comps

Software giant will repair any Xbox 360 manufactured before January 1 that has hardware problems gratis and refund repair costs already incurred; newer models not covered.

When the Xbox 360 first hit the market, reports swirled that the console was suffering an alarmingly high hardware failure rate. In response, Microsoft executives called for calm, saying a small percentage of all new electronic products are defective and that the 360 was no exception. Purchasers suffering hardware failure--most often indicated by the dreaded red semicircle of death--were urged to contact Xbox customer support (1-800-4MY-XBOX) to have their consoles repaired or replaced.

Nearly 10 months later, Microsoft has now apparently admitted that the initial shipments of Xbox 360s were failing at a greater than normal rate. "As part of our standard and ongoing process of analyzing repair data, we recently noticed a higher than usual number of [360] units coming in for repair," Microsoft said in a statement sent to GameSpot. "Upon further investigation, it was further discovered that the bulk of the units were isolated to a group that was part of the initial manufacturing run of the console. Returns for repair are coming in for a variety reasons, and it's a higher rate than we are satisfied with."

As a result of its findings, Microsoft has "made the decision to comp repairs for consoles manufactured before January 1, [2006] and provide refunds to the small group of customers who have already paid for repairs." As was the case last year, those wishing to get their consoles repaired or replaced should contact Xbox customer support. However, several calls made by GameSpot to the hardware replacement department at 1-800-4MY-XBOX were greeted by a busy signal.

Speaking to GameSpot, a Microsoft rep stressed that the offer to fix pre-2006 Xbox 360s for free was just that. It does not apply to any consoles made after January 1, nor does it affect the free 90-day limited manufacturer's warranty on the console or the one-year paid warranty Microsoft also offers. The news also does not pertain to replacement plans offered by third-party retailers such as Best Buy.

211 Comments

  • 123wesdxc345

    Posted Mar 23, 2008 6:31 pm PT

    My x-box 360 Elite was manufactured after 1/08. It died. Now to the jerk that thinks it's funny that all the systems are crashing because they are first year machines. You don't know much do you.

  • nate1222

    Posted Jan 18, 2008 2:28 pm PT

    @Standard_222

    Yeah, but that failure rate is unnerving. And the PS3 doesn't have a 33% failure rate. I understand: you're a fan boy. But this isn't the Presidential Primaries. Let's keep it factual.

  • Standard_222

    Posted Sep 18, 2007 8:30 am PT

    I always find it funny when people who buy launch systems complain when they break down, and then they trash talk the manufacturer... Reality is, game consoles have had, and will have large defect launches because everyone in the world wants one right away, and the manufacturer has no choice but to push out a lot of consoles. That being said, the only way that you would have a perfect launch is if you give them 6 months to a year to test for bugs, and if they did that then everyone would complain. The bright side of all of this is, 4 months after the launch they were being sold with 3% defect rate, which is normal. In the end, they proved to be a good system and they never had what the ps3 had, which was a 30% defect rate... OUCH!!! I like my 360, and even if it does break down, I’ll suck it up cus it's a electronic system. They don't last forever!

  • thatguy24

    Posted Jun 9, 2007 12:56 pm PT

    are the newer consols still dying?

  • doysh121

    Posted May 23, 2007 3:45 am PT

    mines just **** broke :@

  • Jiko980

    Posted Apr 30, 2007 1:13 pm PT

    Yeah, I just called them about 2 weeks ago and they said my warranty was out of date. I called them again after seeing this article and *magically* my warranty doesn't expire until july. Go figure. But she said that the replacement offered by this was a special that ended Dec. 31 2006. What ever, I am not complaining.

  • drkndr3amer

    Posted Mar 21, 2007 7:06 pm PT

    Mine died today and it was a 2005 model, so I called 4myxbox. The rep said the offer was for 2005 360's, although it expired January of 07. Whether that's **** or not, I was powerless. I have a load of 360 games, and there's no real way of fighting back. The rep got me a 25% discount so I only paid $104. The funny and sad thing is that I'd be wasting $400 plus the cost of all my games if I did not want to shell out the repair and shipping cost. Sigh. I ended up paying as much for my 360 as I did for my 20gb ps3. And now I read that the ps3 will cut it's prices by $100. DAMN IT... I keep losing! =*(***

  • Bulova

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 12:31 pm PT

    My xbox died the other day and I called to inquire about repairs. They said my warranty was up and it would cost $168 CDN plus shipping to repair it. I said no, not right now. Then I found this article and called again this morning, as mine was manufactured in October 2005. I mentioned the article and the guy said that this "promotion" was over. But when he checked my account, he said that I was still within warranty (which is BS as I was not, but I'm not going to fight a free repair). I had sent them a nasty email saying I would rather spend that money on the Wii then get it repaired. Wonder if that had anything to do with it? Anyone with a console before 2006 mention this article and just be nasty about it....they will usually do something for you.

  • gilmog1

    Posted Mar 17, 2007 11:12 pm PT

    Mine has just started playing up and my mfr date is Oct 2005, im calling them in the morning, im hoping they'll fix mine for free. fingers crossed

  • antwaan812

    Posted Feb 13, 2007 1:47 pm PT

    same thing happened to me dylen

  • Dylen

    Posted Feb 7, 2007 5:12 pm PT

    Hmmm.. called 1-800-4MY-XBOX today regarding the 3 red light issue. Told her I got the 360 in September 2006, she says "Sorry warranty is up", then I mention the 1 year extended warranty they do now, "Sorry". Then I mention my console was made in 2005 and ALL those were supposed to get a free fix. She says, "Thanks for buying Microsoft products" and hangs up on me. And YES that was a supervisor. Can someone tell me where an OFFICIAL posting of the free fixes can be found? I am tired of fighting these guys.

  • HyperMetaDragon

    Posted Jan 16, 2007 8:58 pm PT

    I hope I get a later model if I return my 360.

  • manolobrown2

    Posted Dec 24, 2006 4:13 pm PT

    well I am sending in a second 360 hopefully I will get a later model!

  • Cloud737

    Posted Dec 24, 2006 2:55 am PT

    Lol, MS sure knows how to treat a customer.
    Give them a half-baked beta console (just so they`re in the race early), a 3 months warranty (as opposed to the standard of 1 year, or the xbox`s lifetime one), say that only a handful of consoles have problems, only to later admit it was the majority of launch units and that they finally accept to refund their customers, probably due to pressure.
    Now I`m a bit in doubt if I`ll ever buy a 360. Maybe after 4 years after I`ll see which console wins this generation, and after MS finally offered the quality products they should have offered from the start.

  • LTomlinson21

    Posted Nov 10, 2006 7:57 am PT

    Still waiting...

  • bigpikachica

    Posted Nov 6, 2006 12:32 pm PT

    Over 6 weeks, still no refund check. I called and was told to wait 1-3 MORE weeks and then call back if I still haven't received it. I was originally told it would take 4-6 weeks, not 6-8 weeks. They should pay my credit card interest, as well, since they required your CC to initiate the repair.

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Oct 7, 2006 4:25 am PT

    Great move by M$

  • Chirico_Cuvie

    Posted Sep 27, 2006 10:28 am PT

    Time to get my $140 back.

  • zeeplayer

    Posted Sep 25, 2006 11:41 pm PT

    what if i voided the warranty by opening the face plate.... i refused to pay the 130 then i called..... then try r sending ups ... you guys think they will still fix it

  • LiveByMeDieByMe

    Posted Sep 25, 2006 9:49 am PT

    I found out about this the day after i sent in my xbox 360 for repair (replacement?) I got my console at launch. I contacted xbox 360 support about this article, I can find no reference to this on their site and when i asked about it they had no clue what I was talking about. I want my $130 back that i shouldn't have had to pay for faulty equipment failure.

  • Guinluigi

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 11:36 pm PT

    yes thank you ms i always you guys would do something about this

  • Tehnubbin

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 4:42 pm PT

    Hmmm...wonder if this has anything to do with the rumors that Dead Rising is killing 360's?
    Hope not.
    Anyone know if you need your receipt for this?

  • fillfill

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 1:28 pm PT

    I bought my 360 in March (manufactured mid January). It died in August and was replaced for free so it looks like the cutoff date goes a little past Jan 1 manufacture date. Microsoft may have rushed the 360 but I have to say it was probably the right decision. Being a full year ahead of the other consoles is a big advantage. Sure some early buyers had their units fail but since they were replaced at no cost they met their commitment to the customer. Some people have suggested a recall like car companies do. Not likely for something that doesn't cause a safety hazard.

  • jerrycee

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 12:22 pm PT

    I also had to send my 360 in after seeing the three lights two months ago ,But Microsoft was great enough to send me a new within a week . Madden 07 & Ncca was the reason for my lights. After playing them i had problems with my 360.

  • Bond1020

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 11:59 am PT

    well i got mine in march and it works very well even though i use it a lot. The only problem is that when there is no disc in the tray it wont open properly and jams but when there is a disc the tray opens properly. Thats the only problem i have with it.

  • BYS2

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 11:14 am PT

    another sign that the 360 was a rushed console

  • menojohnson

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 10:35 am PT

    ummm wil they replace parts?

  • GjRjEjG

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 8:36 am PT

    I've had my 360 repaired (Replaced) twice and i got my first in February. both times free

  • SupremeRoyalist

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 7:33 am PT

    Mines was manufactured on november 27 last year and it just stopped working last friday. I called microsoft and hey sent me an emty box so i can send it back for repair, i received it yesterday and sent it out. Hopefully i get it back anytime soon cause i wanna play nba2k7 which is comin out on tuesday. Its a good thing to buy the warranty (its only $50) since i had to send my ps2 to sony for repair like 3 times.

  • Greatwasabi

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 7:23 am PT

    Microsoft was awesome with me... they just 'Magically' extended my 3 month warranty to a 6 month warranty and fixed it for free I was pretty happy

  • wheeloftime24

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 5:47 am PT

    This is wonderful indead. My 360 has been fine, but this is excellent customer service. This is something sony never did with my now 4th ps2. Good for you MS.

  • ChronoChris

    Posted Sep 23, 2006 1:37 am PT

    i bought my 360 about a week ago. hopefully i wont have any problems...otherwise that would be dissapointing..

  • brad_d

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 10:27 pm PT

    My 360 died yesterday. What a coincidence. I bought a 2 year protection plan so my retailer gave me a brand new complete system. Always buy the warranty. It's only the price of 1 game.

  • alien102

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 7:01 pm PT

    good thing I bought my 360 3 days before the New Year

  • e_boulanger

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 6:42 pm PT

    When Ford or GM find a defect on one of their car, they usually recall all of them for repair.

    I think Microsoft should the same, since they can easily identify which machine are more likely to fail. Do they wait for a lawsuit before doing something (like the problem with the power cord)?

  • _Sam_

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 6:40 pm PT

    thankfully I didn't get it when it launched

  • jer_1

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 6:09 pm PT

    YESSSSSSSS! This is great! Mine was born on 10/15/2006 so I'm in like Flynn.
    Just called M$ and talked some crap to them then told them to send me the box, they sure did too. I am very happy about this. *thumbs up for M$*

  • richten71

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 5:51 pm PT

    This sux. My X360 just died a month ago. The manufactured date is 1/4/06. I missed it by a few days. That's not fair.

  • d-suhiti

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 5:22 pm PT

    A good move by Microsoft.

  • FyreHeart

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 4:22 pm PT

    Heh - funny. Mine bit the dust on Monday this week, but I have extended service anyway.

  • Lepuke

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 4:18 pm PT

    Mine was manufactured March 8, 2006. Bought it March 24th. I havent had a single problem yet, and I play it alot.

  • ShockwavMk2

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 4:01 pm PT

    Do I need my recipt and what not to do this? I hope not.

  • pondarosa

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 3:44 pm PT

    Awesome - glad to see that Microsoft is doing the right thing and taking care of their fans. Also glad that they finally admitted that the initial shipments of 360 had a pretty high rate of problems, since everyone else already knew that. A bunch of terrififc games are coming out over the next few months, Live Arcade is bigger than anyone would have ever imagined and they've had a bunch of awesome games so far, even if there was not as much "quantity" as everyone would have hoped for - and that looks like that's changing as well. The 360 has had a terrific first year, despite the early setbacks.

  • XtremePhsyco

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 1:21 pm PT

    well i have had my 360 since b4 it launched to the public and i got no reciept or anything, but i have also had no problems with it, does that mean if mine breaks in a year, i can get it fixed for free?

  • dandoc2

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 1:06 pm PT

    how do you check when it was made as a shop may have kept it for a while when bought so....

  • metdevthegamer

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 1:04 pm PT

    That's nice of them. Would've been better to prevent those kinds of problems in the first place, but fixing them is the next best thing.

  • Pfc_Meanstreet

    Posted Sep 22, 2006 1:01 pm PT

    I got my replacement one a few weeks ago... no problems so far... but I'm sceptical!

    There's a 2 year warranty in Denmark on just about everything, so this really doesn't change anything for me ( it's always free ), but it's good they admit it got problems!

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