Hello,
My xbox360 died over the weekend.. Had it since launch and now to locks up at randrom times... Pretty Sad, now I may have to go outside and enjoy the sunshine :( :( :(
Anyways i bought mine on launch day and also purchased an extended warrenty from futureshop.. Has anyone dealt with FS on an xbox360 warrenty issue? I'm wondering what to expect and if anyone has any tips on dealing with them on this... TIA

You might want to try to deal with Microsoft first, that way you don't need to use the Futureshop warranty yet. My 360 died a couple of months ago and I phoned the 1-800-4MY-XBOX number and they sent me a new system free of charge. It took them 8 business days to get my new system to me and they included a free wireless controller as well for my troubles along with a letter informing me that the service I received was not up to their standards.

Definitely call Future Shop first. They need to know about any repairs in the first year for it to count in regards to their "no lemon" guarantee.

Other advice...Reread your Future Shop Warranty so you know exactly what they will and will not do. Also, every time you call the 1-800 number write down the date /time and who you spoke with. That information may come in handy later if you run into troubles.

MS is only a 90 day warantee

definatly call FS's warrantee #

I didn't get an extended warranty, and my XBOX went crazy on me today. The ring of light turned red, and the screen went black. I brought it back to life (following tips from an online search on the issue), but it has died again since.

I bought it launch day, the 90 days are certainly past. I figured MS would charge me up the wazoo to fix the thing. I called support to see what my options are, and to my surprise they're fixing it for FREE!

They're sending me a box this week, and I'm to UPS the console (without HD, cables, controllers) back to them. They say I won't be without my console for long. I will report back on how it goes.

I wonder if excessive issues with launch hardware have forced MS to service beyond the 90 days.

Anyway, I figure I should make a positive post about MS support given all the negative posts you read.

I didn't get an extended warranty, and my XBOX went crazy on me today. The ring of light turned red, and the screen went black. I brought it back to life (following tips from an online search on the issue), but it has died again since.

I bought it launch day, the 90 days are certainly past. I figured MS would charge me up the wazoo to fix the thing. I called support to see what my options are, and to my surprise they're fixing it for FREE!

They're sending me a box this week, and I'm to UPS the console (without HD, cables, controllers) back to them. They say I won't be without my console for long. I will report back on how it goes.

I wonder if excessive issues with launch hardware have forced MS to service beyond the 90 days.

Anyway, I figure I should make a positive post about MS support given all the negative posts you read.

You lucky.
I got mine from launch date as well, and mine also stop working 2 days ago. I called MS on Saturday, and they said it would cost me $150 to get my xbox360 replace... I guess it all depend on the agent you talk to.

Thats strange, 'cause I also bought mine at launch and after hearing about people's problems lately, I decided to phone and see if I could still get the extended warranty. I was surprised to find that the original warranty was still in effect, till June 20th! I haven't had any major problems with the console yet, but I did have to replace the power supply. MS had it delivered to my door within 48 hours! Overall I am very pleased with the console and MS' service, but I do feel a little better now that I've got the extended warranty.

Douglas,

Call Xbox back and simply ask again. Don't take no for an answer and remind them about the "faulty" Xbox 360 stories that were spread just after launch and how you might have to spread them again ;)

My original Xbox had the faulty Thompson drive and was pretty much useless after 13 months. I never had an extended warrenty and they fixed it for free as there was a known problem. Of course the net blasted the Thompson drive to hell and back after launch.

I am probably going to get flamed for this, but when my hardware dies prematurely through no abuse of my own, I do the following:

Buy an identical product
Open the new one, take out the console, swap your hard drives (theyre detachable, no tampering required)
Put the old one back in
Return it as defective, keep the new one

Some might say this is unethical, but to me, selling a console for $500 that only works for a few months is unethical and no consumer should have to suffer the costs of that ;)

For those of you whose boxes have died, did they do anything prior to crashing (noise, lockups etc...)? My has been freezing occasionally recently and also has become quite noisy. I don't know if the freezing is due to the game (Oblivion) or the hard drive. The noise has definitely become more noticeable. I received the box just prior to Christmas and did buy the FS extended warranty. What is the noise like on the newer boxes (any difference)? I know the fan noise likely is the same but its the grinding noise thats bothersome. I have the console standing up and will try putting it horizontal to see if it changes anything.

For those of you whose boxes have died, did they do anything prior to crashing (noise, lockups etc...)? My has been freezing occasionally recently and also has become quite noisy. I don't know if the freezing is due to the game (Oblivion) or the hard drive. The noise has definitely become more noticeable. I received the box just prior to Christmas and did buy the FS extended warranty. What is the noise like on the newer boxes (any difference)? I know the fan noise likely is the same but its the grinding noise thats bothersome. I have the console standing up and will try putting it horizontal to see if it changes anything.

When mine started dying the screen would be filled full of graphical garbage and the whole unit would lock up. (dashboard button wouldn't even work).

I ended up getting a brand new unit (manufacturered in late march) when I redeemed my warranty and while the drive is slightly more quiet I don't know if I'd say it's all that noticable.

If the machine is only locking up in one software title then it's probably pretty safe to say that the title has software bugs/glitches. When my 360 started acting up pretty much ANY software title would cause the strange crashes/lockups, especially software that really pushed the machine (Oblivion, Full Auto, etc).

I bought it launch day, the 90 days are certainly past. I figured MS would charge me up the wazoo to fix the thing. I called support to see what my options are, and to my surprise they're fixing it for FREE!


I read somewhere that they decided to double the warranty from 90 to 180 days because of the problems with overheating, freezing, etc.

I got an extended warranty from FS and 40 days after I got it, the hard drive failed (system wouldnt boot with it plugged in). Brought it to FS and they gave me a brand new unit. Good service.

Douglas,

Call Xbox back and simply ask again. Don't take no for an answer and remind them about the "faulty" Xbox 360 stories that were spread just after launch and how you might have to spread them again ;)

My original Xbox had the faulty Thompson drive and was pretty much useless after 13 months. I never had an extended warrenty and they fixed it for free as there was a known problem. Of course the net blasted the Thompson drive to hell and back after launch.
Well, when I talked to the agent, I told him about the faulty xbox 360 stories and how some of my college also have faulty xbox 360. But they agent denied that there are many faulty xbox360.
And they have already charged my credit card... Wouldn't it be too lately now?

Well if there fixing others I tell them to take the charges off the credit card and fix it or your going to the BBB.

Call back you wont get the same agent.

When mine started dying the screen would be filled full of graphical garbage and the whole unit would lock up. (dashboard button wouldn't even work).

I ended up getting a brand new unit (manufacturered in late march) when I redeemed my warranty and while the drive is slightly more quiet I don't know if I'd say it's all that noticable.

If the machine is only locking up in one software title then it's probably pretty safe to say that the title has software bugs/glitches. When my 360 started acting up pretty much ANY software title would cause the strange crashes/lockups, especially software that really pushed the machine (Oblivion, Full Auto, etc).

Graphic artifacts are typically a symptom of an overheating video card.

Graphic artifacts are typically a symptom of an overheating video card.


Yeah I'm pretty sure the GPU barbecued itself.
In the end the machine just gave up and wouldn't even boot up after a while. It was at that point that I took it back to FS and got a replacement.

After giving MS a second call, they decide to refund the money to me, and giving me a free game (PGR3, which I already have). MS has regain their reputation from me again:D

Update:

No box yet. I called, and they sent it to Albania by mistake.

My XBOX has been working since the original service call, but it froze up this morning (and now I get the three red lights of death), promting a second call. They updated my address, so I should get a box soon.

I told the CSR that the problem is sporadic, and I am curious what will happen if no issue is seen by the technicians. My thinking is that I'd ask to buy the service plan if it comes back with no issue found.

She gave me the impression (do not quote me here, we'll see if it actually happens) that if you send it in, you automatically get a new console. I asked if that meant a refurb, and she said that in Canada we just get new consoles.

I will update you all as the adventure unfolds.

Yet another update:

Losing faith. My shipping box still hasn't arrived. One call seems to have been ignored, and another didn't take effect because of the original "Albania" error on the work order. The currency on my XBOX work order defaulted to European funds, which kept cancelling the shipping to Canada.

Now they claim to be "overnighting" the shipping box to me.

Three weeks and counting.

My X-Box is constantly locking up in Oblivion as well, but I think it's just the game. the thing that has me confused is my disc read errors. A screen comes up saying it can't read the disc, I reset it and it's fine. Anyone seen this issue?