There’s no doubt that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is a great video game console. It’s provided me with years of entertainment. My friends and I have played countless hours of multiplayer. I have enjoyed every minute I’ve spent with my Xbox 360.
Unfortunately, the Xbox 360 is not a flawless piece of hardware. Most gamers are familiar with the Red Ring of Death that has plagued the console since its launch. I personally fell victim to the Red Ring of Death (commonly referred to as RRoD) three times. The first time I got the RRoD was towards the end of 2006. I wasn’t covered to get my Xbox fixed - Microsoft’s warranty extension didn’t come into effect until 2007 – so I had to hold off on buying a new console.
The holidays eventually passed and I finally managed to save enough money to purchase a refurbished Xbox 360. I was able to once more hop online and play games with my friends. This happiness lasted until early 2009 when I became the proud owner of another Xbox with the RRoD. Unfortunately for me, my refurbished Xbox 360 wasn’t covered under Microsoft’s 3-year warranty extension. I therefore had no choice but to go out and purchase yet another Xbox 360. I decided to go to Circuit City, before it closed, in hopes that they would have a unit available during their ‘Going out of Business’ sale. I was lucky enough to get one of the last three Xbox 360 Elite consoles they had in stock!
I walked out of Circuit City extremely proud of how much money I saved because of this awesome sale. I got home and hooked up my new console only to find that I had just become the owner of a faulty Xbox. Any game I played would stutter and lag, so I immediately called Microsoft Support to see what could be done about this issue. I had literally just bought the console so I was hoping they’d help me out. Microsoft’s customer support said that they would fix the console for me at no charge. Finally, on console number four, I was able to able take advantage of the extended warranty program.
Not long after my Xbox 360 Elite was fixed I noticed it was still a little sluggish at times. It would even freeze on me occasionaly and I started to become increasingly nervous that it would just out-right die one day. I searched online to see if anyone else was having issues and everything I read on forums suggested that the dreaded RRoD was on it’s way. I hoped for the best and followed the guidelines listed on the xbox.com’s support page that supposedly prevent console malfunctions. Sometime after the initial symptoms reared their ugly head, I once more suffered the RRoD. Luckily, it was covered under the three year warranty and Microsoft repaired it yet again for free.
It’s probably obvious by now that I haven’t really had the best luck with the Xbox 360. In fact, my Xbox broke AGAIN after this second repair, this time not under warranty.
The Xbox 360 Slim came out not too long before my Elite started making the loud noises that preceded each ‘death,’ so I decided to get a new Slim model since it was rumored to be incapable of getting the RRoD. I liked what I read about the new model, so I decided to take the plunge and buy one.
Once again, my happiness was short-lived. After a year and three months I got what is now called the ‘Red Dot of Death.’ (Mine was actually worse than most cases though, because the outer ring turned red as well, not just the inner dot.)
It’s been said that the Slim Xbox 360 will warn you if it doesn’t have enough ventilation. Mine didn’t, so I knew that couldn’t be the issue. An Xbox customer service rep told me that it must be an audio/visual issue. My problem with that is that I’ve only had my Slim a year and three months. I thought these things were built to last?
It bothers me that I’ve had yet another Xbox for such a short period of time and I’m already having issues. If I’m going to be spending $200-$300 on a console, or anything for that matter, then I expect it to last more one year. I don’t want to make this an Xbox 360 vs PlayStation thing but I bought my PS3 in 2008 and haven’t had any issues with it at all. (As a side note, GameJudgment editor Kory Baldwin bought a 60 gig PS3 in early 2007. It performed beautifully until late 2011 after four-and-a-half years of HEAVY use.)
I’m slowly losing interest in my Xbox because of all of these issues. I shouldn’t have to send in my Xbox or replace it every two years or so. I think Microsoft needs to build a more stable console so that gamers like myself don’t have to deal with the RRoD or other technical issues that come with the Xbox 360.
I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s had more than one bad experience with the Red Ring of Death. Tell us your story in the comments section.
-
Image: Bustedtees
Related posts:
You are painting a picture for why the Xbox 360 sells so well. LOL
Honestly I don’t get it, I am the biggest PlayStation fan but if I was on my 3rd or 4th box this gen, heads would have rolled over Sony tech support. I may have even been tempted by the Xbox. :)
How this sort of thing is acceptable to Xbox fans is beyond me. I am on my 2nd PS3 I get lots of game time on my consoles too.
You may want to think about cleaning your consoles on occasion.
I do dust them whenever I clean my entertainment center. I’ve had tons of fun with my 360 and can’t deny that but I’m just going to be gaming less on it, that’s all.
to be honest i think you may have just had very very bad luck because i have a first generation 360 the ones without the falcon chip and i have had if for over 3 years now and have yet to experience any kinds of console related problems although at one point game informer did a stduy and came to the conclusion that the fail rate of x box 360 was almost 49%
The problem is that I love tech toys but they seem to not like me so much…haha
I have blown two boxes, one old Pro-model and one Arcade. After sending Arcade for replacing (which took over 3 weeks) I moved to PS3.
Totally agree. I’m on my third Xbox. Once this once goes (and it will), I’m done with buying anymore xbox units. PS3, no problems there. FU Microsoft…nice way to get people to buy new systems every three years
This sucks, i’ve been playing since the Xbox came out and had to replace my system three times, the first two were covered under warantly, the last one i had to re-buy. Seems like you were unlucky. The PS2 slims had the same problem of overheating which is why no matter what is said i’ll never buy a slim (I cringed a bit when you said you had). I remember reading it was because of the wrong gel being put it and that the problem was fixed. I know money being tight sucks but I would warn away from buying refurbished unless you know the guy that’s doing it personally. As annoying as it is getting the RROD, given how heavily I use my system i’d say in my experience they’ve held up pretty good. Oh side note, my new xbox didn’t come with a third prong for the power cable, my old one did so I used that one. I had two friends from Live have a power surge and I think it lead to RROD. I always have my stuff hooked up to a power bar to prevent surge damage.