XBOX 360 Red Ring of Death FAQ: Soon to be known as the Red Dot of Death! :P

[quote name='spookyhurst']I just got a refurbished 360 back from Microsoft. It's dead! Won't even power on. Is this common? What should I do now? Send it back and hope the next one works?[/QUOTE]
I'm sure someone else has seen this, but I've never heard about anyone getting back a day-one DOA console. That sucks!!
 
[quote name='SirMikael']I'm sure someone else has seen this, but I've never heard about anyone getting back a day-one DOA console. That sucks!![/QUOTE]

I've definitely read other peoples horror stories of this same thing occurring. Their quality control is absolutely terrible. They're a bunch of fucking morons.

What probably happened was that refurb you got was in a pile of refurbs and who knows how long it had been sitting there.
 
Dude, that sucks. This is kind of why I just went out and bought an Elite Jasper. My old console should be here tomorrow, if UPS is correct. If it's a new Jasper, I'm going to trade consoles with a buddy and sell his on ebay to offset the cost of the ELite.
 
[quote name='archibishopthedoge']I've definitely read other peoples horror stories of this same thing occurring. Their quality control is absolutely terrible. They're a bunch of fucking morons.

What probably happened was that refurb you got was in a pile of refurbs and who knows how long it had been sitting there.[/QUOTE]

Happened to me. I sent in a 360 that had a drive that only worked on certain games, 3 weeks later I got a console that didn't read anything at all. After a 2-month debacle (and 4 months of wasted XBL between my and the ex's accounts), I finally received a working console with a whole 1-month "reimbursement."
 
i just received my fifth console from M$. best experience yet, the whole process took only 9 days, which has to be a record. last time it almost 3 months, as i did get a DOA console that was "new" from them. i can tell this one won't last long. the fan is already louder than any other xbox i've had.
 
Got mine back today. 12 days round trip. I actually got my original console back, no dirty Jimmy's scuzzbox or a new jasper. Just my old machine.
 
My Xbox died yesterday! :( Shippin' it out today. It won't get past the start up screen with the Xbox "globe." I started seeing all sorts of graphical glitches the last couple times I could actually load up a game. Never saw an error message though. I received a single red light in the bottom right of the ring of light once. Oh well now I can put my PS3 to use.
 
I'm probably spaming this since it's not actually dead yet, but now my Falcon had trouble smoothly playing the videos in the lastest Xbox magazine disc. Sooo 3rd problem in the last two months.

And Shadow Complex puts to rest any notion that I can really give up the platform if it goes :whistle2:( :lol:
 
I'm starting to get a little concerned. I received my shipping label last Monday (8/31), packed my xbox in the coffin from the last repair and sent it on it's way the next day. Got an email two days later saying they received it and two more less than thirty hours later stating 'Repair Complete' and console shipped (with tracking number). So far, so good. The next thing I did was to immediately check the tracking number on ups.com and got ">>> UPS could not locate the shipment details for your request. Please verify your information and try again later." No big deal, it had only been three hours since they sent the email so I waited until later that night and checked again, same result. Now, four days later, I'm still getting the same message. Anybody else have the same experience with ups? I'm begining to think my xbox fell off the back of the truck somewhere in Mexico.

"The waiting game sucks, let's play hungry-hungry hippos!"

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Don't worry too much. UPS was way off with mine, too. They always updated late and all it did was make me worry. Plus, the UPS folks know the ropes. I talked to the lady at the UPS store....she gets at least three Xbox's a day. The delivery guy (who is always super nice) said "here's your system back" as I walked up to him. He said he drops off about 3 a day and picks up at least one 360 and one PS3 a day (one PS3 a day???).

Anyway, don't worry too much. Just keep your eye on that estimated arrival date.
 
Thanks! You're absolutely right. I just checked my tracking number again and it's allready out for delivery! It's a good thing my wife is at home today to accept it, I would hate to prolong this any more. Eight days turnaround time is not bad at all, I can only hope my refurb is in decent shape (different serial number). I hoping for a nice new Jasper, but I'm not holding my breath.

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Update: WOW! Talk about worst case scenario. The UPS guy shows up around 7p.m. and makes a comment about how many xboxes he sees on a daily basis while I'm signing for it. Nice. Then, as I'm unpacking the console the first thing I noticed was how funky and flimsy the console feels as I lift it out of the box. Removing the plastic bag revealed the scuzziest, dirtiest, most beat-to-hell xbox I've ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on. This thing has scratches, chips, dings and the obvious signs of having been droped before all over it. To add insult to injury, the console I sent in had a manufacture date of 5/08 and my 'new' console is 7/07. Again, nice job Microsoft. And the inclusion of the same faulty Falcon board only gaurantees I'll be doing this all over again next year. So, trying to make the best of the situation, I spent the next half hour with q-tips, paper towels, and a bottle of cleaner attempting to make the xbox look presentable, with limited success. If I weren't allready so heavily invested in the platform I would be jumping ship right about now. fuck you Microsoft and your lazy, inept ways.
 
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My 3rd just died yesterday with a GPU failure. And when I go online to get it repaired it says my serial # is already registered with someone else....nice. So now I have to call and wait even longer. At least it happened now instead of when MW2 comes out.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Guys, try to put what revision you have...or am I the only one curious about that?[/QUOTE]

For what it's worth, I've had a...

Xenon - RRoD after a year and a half, replaced by MS with a...
Xenon Refurb with extra heatsink - RRoD after two years, gave that one away and bought a...
Falcon - RRoD in less than one year, replaced by MS with a...
Falcon Refurb mentioned a few posts back.

BTW, is there any information on the life expectancy of the Jasper boards??? I'm almost tempted to get rid of my current console for one of those.

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No, it's just too new :(

I'm on my fourth, but the first three were all originals. Fourth's the Falcon, which if nothing else has been a lot better than the first ones, although....
 
Well, my next 360 shipped from the repair center today. New serial number so I guess I'm gettin' a refurb, right?

1st 360 - Xenon had a faulty disc tray / eject button - gave it to a buddy
2nd 360 - Falcon - Graphical glitches, freezes, no error messages, would no longer boot-up - sent for repairs

Now to wait for the next one. Havoc has me worried after readin' his story. Is there anything you can tell from lookin' at the serial number as to which version the console is?
 
[quote name='tardoman']Now to wait for the next one. Havoc has me worried after readin' his story. Is there anything you can tell from lookin' at the serial number as to which version the console is?[/QUOTE]
Short of having it dead out of the box my experience is probably worst-case. It was a completely different story when I sent my original Xenon xbox in two years ago. The returned console had a newer build date, better dvd drive, added heatsinks and looked practicaly new. As for the serial numbers, I haven't been able to find any pattern here. For example, the Falcon Elite I sent in had a SN: 3099XXXX1405 build date:5/08. The replacement console is SN: 5122XXXX4205 build date: 7/07. If you sent a Falcon in you'll most likely get a Falcon refurb back. Unfortunately.

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Heck, people have gotten back OLDER versions before. That would be REALLY great :lol:

Sent in my Jasper, got a....launch unit. Yes! ;)
 
[quote name='tardoman']
Now to wait for the next one. Havoc has me worried after readin' his story. Is there anything you can tell from lookin' at the serial number as to which version the console is?[/QUOTE]

I had a Xenon which conked out after almost 3 years back in January.

I dont know how people here say they get back a console with a different serial number because I got back a Frankenstein console with my old serial number.

So I dont know whats up with that. I know it wasnt MY old console because it had blue marker marks on it, had a broken side grill and a broken face plate, and there was something lose inside rattleing around. It wasnt UPS's fault either as the shipping box was mint.

So, after calling in and complaining I got to send that Frankenstein thing back and got back another 360 (same serial number still) but everything fixed.

So far I have beat it up and it is my designated 'crapbox' which I use to mess around with on my bedroom TV while my Jasper is the main one I use when I want to download or actually play something like an RPG or a blockbuster game on my living room big screen.

It has frozen a few times since it got back from XBOX, but nothing major and it works fine. Like I said before, I have beaten it up and played on it for 5-6-7 hours+, no mercy, and its still very good. I figure if and when it breaks so be it I have the Jasper waiting in the wings.

To be honest, the crapbox has been a blessing in disguise as I might actually get a better TV for the bedroom since my wife likes the front TV and its a pain to get immersed in games when you have her and the 2 kids constantly moving around you.

If you've read this far I'll give you a tip that may or may not be working for me. I decided to try something new since it broke already once and with the hassle of the send out/return to me/send out again after getting it back messed up yadda yadda...

I read up that some people have had success using laptop coolers. I didnt like that idea so much because I didnt want to use something that sapped even a USB power from the console so I wanted something non-powered and couldnt find it. SO, I made a makeshift 'stand legs' which prop the 360 UP on four legs about 2 inches and I made sure it was steady so it wouldnt shake or be messed around with while you open and close the DVD tray. I noticed that the 360 runs much cooler underneath now that its not kissing the table or whatever you have underneath it.
 
My 360 got 3 Red Rings and I sent it in on Tuesday, they got it Friday and I got an e-mail later Friday night that they were done with it and were going to ship it back to me (though it doesn't look like it has left the facility yet, so I might have to wait until Monday for that.) When I click "Check Repair Status" it lists my 360 with the serial number of the system I sent in, but when I click "Repair Your Console" or "Register A Console" it lists a "XBOX 360 Pro Exchange" with a different serial number and standard warranty expiring in 12/09.

I'm not sure what Pro Exchange is, but I guess it is safe to assume I am getting a different 360 back. I just hope it is a newer one and not some of the beat up ones that I've read about on here. It would be nice if it had HDMI on it too but that would be asking for too much.
 
Woohoo! I got my 360 back yesterday, and much to my surprise it is a Jasper despite sending in a Falcon for repairs! Can't beat that I guess. Good condition and everything. Now hopefully it'll last!
 
I got a Xenon back (sent one in too.) Looks pretty nice and new/well kept. Seems to be working too. They sent a letter with it saying "So that you can get back to playing and enjoying your Xbox more quickly, we have replaced your Xbox console with a replacement console. The replacement console has a different serial umber than your old console." I guess that explains the Xbox 360 Pro Exchange it listed on their site.
 
[quote name='tardoman']Woohoo! I got my 360 back yesterday, and much to my surprise it is a Jasper despite sending in a Falcon for repairs! Can't beat that I guess. Good condition and everything. Now hopefully it'll last![/QUOTE]

Congrats! You got lucky, my friend. Enjoy the quite and somewhat more dependable system!
 
Well, they're not. fucking M$ and their BS. Oh, and another thing, my warranty expired before I even got the damn [used] thing! I think I'm going to sell anything and everything with their name on it.
 
Request a repair.Mine was out of warranty but they still took it.

Also,check if your cables are properly plugged in.Xbox 360 red rings when you don't have cables plugged in.
 
Your first mistake was buying one used. While that mighty have been okay previously, with how error-prone 360's are, it's too easy for someone to have got their 360 working well enough to pass a demo, even with major internal problems. Your second mistake was to assume 360 elite's don't RROD...all 360's can (and perhaps eventually will).
 
Sounds like all your anger should be directed at yourself. Shouldn't have assumed ANY piece of electronics was fault free and shouldn't have purchase a used 360.
 
Sorry to hear buddy. But I think its a MS rule to make sure their systems dont work, that way they can sell at least 3 systems to people. I think that its funny every time I hear numbers of units sold because I always try to divide that by 2 or 3 just to get an idea of how many people actually have it. Just do yourself a favor when you replace it, buy an arcade from dell when they offer that discount that way you get the warranty and your paying the least amount possible. Still puts you in the same boat, but under 200 for a system aint bad. Sucks for your DLC stuff though.
 
[quote name='dustdust']how much does it cost you for a recertified 360 from microsoft after getting the rrod if your warranty has expired?[/QUOTE]


Think it's $120
 
Looks like you should have done your homework little fella. Oh well, one less 14 year old on XBL is good in my book.
 
[quote name='JDMxB']Looks like you should have done your homework little fella. Oh well, one less 14 year old on XBL is good in my book.[/QUOTE]

Harsh, but fair.
 
[quote name='JDMxB']Looks like you should have done your homework little fella. Oh well, one less 14 year old on XBL is good in my book.[/QUOTE]

I've got to agree. Given how high the failure rate for the 360 has been and how well publicized it's been since the RRoDs began years ago, anyone who buys one used is...well, either uniformed, or an idiot. Judging from the tone of the message, I'd guess the latter.

That said...

[quote name='Immortal fWd']The Elite hasn't even been out for 3 years, so the RROD would still be covered, so quit crying and call MS.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. You've got about six months left before you hit the three year mark.

You know, if you're selling anything and everything with their name on it, does that include your copy of Windows? What about any hardware like keyboards or mice you might have? You might want to rethink that one, buddy.

[quote name='anotherpoorgamer']RRoD, E74, and other hardware failures/issues are the reasons I only buy Xbox 360 exclusives for that system.[/QUOTE]

Third party games don't cause hardware failure, and I really doubt that the decrease in playing time is going to make a substantial difference. If you've got the money to afford a 360 and a PS3, good for you...but not everybody does. :whistle2:s
 
My second Elite just RRODed. Oh and my PS3 just YLODed the day before. Not a good week for me. Turned on my wii and played some Galaxy and that made it a little better.
 
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