"Towel trick" provides temporary fix to Xbox 360's red ring of doom?

If you think we took that indubitably unscientific "decibel test" with a grain of salt, then we're throwing down a few barrels with this one, but the sheer weirdness of this should encourage all bricked Xbox 360 owners to give it a whirl. Although we're fully aware of how wrapping a soft cotton towel around your red ring-displaying console should not effect its status, well, it just might. According to numerous 360 owners who haven't taken advantage of Microsoft's newly-extended repair / replacement offer, they were able to bring a few previously dead Xbox 360s back to life, if only for a few hours at a time. Sure, this is far from an actual solution, and if anything, this should reaffirm that voice in your head telling you to call up Microsoft and get an RMA number, but nonetheless, it seems that blanketing your 360 with a towel, firing it up for 10 minutes or so, turning it off, and then removing the towel will mysteriously allow your machine to function for a couple hours. Granted, we don't know how many of these folks are fibbing, but we're putting it to you all to give this a go and report back, and if it does indeed work out, who knows what else those innocent looking towels can revive? [Warning: Read link requires subscription]

[Via TheXboxDomain]

[MearWolf @ Jan 16th 2007 12:47PM]

yea but with the crap PS3 you HAVE TO buy all the accesories, you may not wnat every single accesory for your xbox

[Brad @ Jan 15th 2007 6:33PM]

The South Park and H2G2 jokes are just too easy.

[Jimmyhat @ Jan 19th 2007 11:10AM]

It still boggles my mind that this actually worked last night on my friends 360. He had 4 red lights of doom, the first time he tried the towel trick he got on and played for about 20 minutes, then froze up then BOOM back to the red lights, actually only 3 red lights this time. Tried the Towel trick again, green light comes back on. He played for hours and hours and did not see the RED LIGHTS OF DOOM AGAIN! Thanks to who ever thought of this!

[Tom @ Jan 15th 2007 6:36PM]

My 360 had the red circles but it was only because of a power problem. I turned it on and it worked. Maybe red rings count as there being a problem,

[Ken Hanscom @ Jan 15th 2007 6:39PM]

You've got to be kidding me. I'll keep my PS3.

-Ken
http://ken-hanscom.blogspot.com

[Andrew @ Jan 15th 2007 6:54PM]

Sounds like a case of coincidence to me. I mean, if they said run it with a fan blasting on it, that would make sense, but I can't say I've ever heard of a game console not functioning because it hasn't been tucked in.

[Kenban @ Jan 15th 2007 6:53PM]

Actually most people have found that the reason for the red ring of death is that there is a problem with the solder joints that attach one of the chips to the board. Why this towel trick might work is because your heating up the console which will cause the metal to expand and produce enough contact for it to run. I have read about several people actually fixing the problem for good using a heat gun or anything else that can reflow the solder. (The CPU/GPU use a ball grid array so you can't use a standard iron)

[pyro @ Jan 15th 2007 7:19PM]

exactly what i was going to say, it melts the cracked solder joints. a heatgun it a better fix. Both are only temporary though. You can narrow down the cause of the red light by reading the error code, theres a few guides online for it.

[PhilJ @ Jan 15th 2007 6:57PM]

I was desperate to get my 360 running, so I gave it a shot, as I also had the TRLoD. I honestly think the problem has to do with one of the case fans not spooling up fast enough -- it makes a different noise when malfunctioning.

Yes, it's hokey and appears to be internet giberrish, but honest-to-goodness, it worked on my 360 (1st gen). It dies after prolonged use (1hr watching a DVD movie on it) and the fan makes funny noise again. I wish I could've had a camera on my face when it powered up successfully after doing the trick (what was I going to do, break it?)... my jaw dropped, and I said loudly "I don't f****** believe it."

I wrapped mine in a fleece blanket (towels were in the wash), and let 'er sit for 20 minutes while I played Wii and PS3 (I wasn't sure if something would burst into flames, so I watched it). }=) It didn't auto-shutdown, so I tried it anyway, and it worked.

Today, back to the TRLoD, but I know how to resurrect it. I nearly bought a replacement, and then heard about the HDMI version of the 360... I wonder how long this puppy will last.

It did indeed work for me.

[Jason @ Jan 15th 2007 7:47PM]

I have gotten the 3 red lights before on my console and had tried turning it on and back off again and it still did the same thing... I was able to remove the hard drive wait for 2-3 minutes and power the system on without the hard connected and that fixed the 3 red lights... then I powered it back off and reconnected the hard drive and the problem went away.

[lobo @ Jan 15th 2007 7:12PM]

as you can see here

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=579364

the problem is in the BGA (ball grid array) soldering of the gpu, the towel only ruins the rest of your Xbox360

[lobo @ Jan 15th 2007 7:11PM]

as you can see here

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=579364

the problem is in the BGA (ball grid array) soldering of the gpu, the towel only ruins the rest of your Xbox360

[Chris @ Jan 15th 2007 11:10PM]

well, doens't exactly melt them, just heats them up enough to expand a bit, until they cool off again.

[uclatommy @ Jan 15th 2007 7:45PM]

...proving without a doubt, that a towels are the most useful thing it is possible to have handy in a crisis.

They can be used for snaring birds whilst falling from a three-mile high marble statue.

They can be used to signal temporally unstable spaceships by fossilizing them in planetary strata.

They can be soaked in nutrients to provide sustenance in awkward situations.

And to add to that list, they can be used to repair all manner of electronic malfunctions.

[pyro @ Jan 15th 2007 11:02PM]

Don't forget to bring a towel

[John Doe @ Jan 15th 2007 7:31PM]

Better fix for "Red Ring Of DOOM!!!"
1) Get Duct Tape
2) Cut off a few inches of said tape
3) Cover "Red Ring Of DOOM!!!"
Even better fix
1) Get sharp object
2) Stab LED's in "Red Ring Of DOOM!!!"
3) Repeat till frustration gone/360 really dead/LED's broken

"Red Ring Of DOOM!!!" is a registered trademark of Microsoft, Inc. Anyone who uses it will be shot, poisoned, or beaten to death with a wet towel or multiple wet noodles

[soopergooman @ Jan 15th 2007 7:37PM]

Best fix for the xbox 360. DONT BUY ONE

[zmanforever @ Jan 15th 2007 10:09PM]

Wow the fact that the towel can cause enough heat to expand the metal inside is crazy. Lol wouldn't it maybe cause some other negative things to happen? Anyways if you have to use towels to fix a 360 that sucks. I have both a PS3 and a 360, at least my PS3 doesn't need any towels :P

[FrankTheCrank @ Jan 15th 2007 7:50PM]

Is this a joke??

Remember the old days when all you had to do was blow into your cartridge?

CAN YOU SAY RUSHED???

[Dan @ Jan 15th 2007 8:00PM]

Towels... they were in, like a movie once, right? Some... guide for hitchhiking? ;)

What the hell are the odds?

[Dave @ Jan 15th 2007 11:19PM]

I think this is mainly a problem for older systems.

[Russell @ Jan 15th 2007 8:25PM]

Ah, the beauty of RoHS compliance

[Chilblane @ Jan 15th 2007 8:52PM]

Yes, I have to lol at the part where my September 2005 system has never had any problems... *sucks on barbeque stains on towel*

[Tony @ Jan 16th 2007 2:38PM]

Don't laugh too soon... my September '05 360 was fine, until last night!!!
Damn those red lights!!!

[Drew @ Jan 15th 2007 9:03PM]

When you're gonna go gaming...

Don't forget to bring a towel!

[Brandon Margicin @ Jan 15th 2007 10:00PM]

The only difference between a broken Xbox 360 and a PS3 is that there are games I want to play on the broken Xbox 360.

[Brandon Margicin @ Jan 15th 2007 9:53PM]

The only difference between a broken Xbox 360 and a PS3 is that there are games I want to play on the broken Xbox 360.

[Dp462090 @ Jan 15th 2007 10:09PM]

While the 'towel trick' may work, I can't imagine it's good for the hardware, but I guess if you have no other option.

[Jason Brown @ Jan 15th 2007 10:44PM]

Has anyone asked microsoft why they had this built into th system? Why are they that prepared? Why does this console have the ability to announce that it is dying when not even windows will do that. In fact windows vista if installed correctly will only restart the desktop. Why did they release a product they new full well was going to crash and burn? Or were they sitting around one day not long before it was first shipped and they said "why don't we put a few red lights on the console on the long shot it does crash and burn they will know it is happening. Of course it never will...I mean come on....were microsoft!" I am surprised the xbox was not recalled a year ago as a safety precaution with overheating. In fact I am surprised the goverment has not taken issue with the fact they were not recalled.

[Chris @ Jan 15th 2007 11:13PM]

it's not the OS that does this red ring, it's the BIOS. most PC BIOS's will tell you when a component has faied, and some even when certain components are about to fail, like hard disks that support S.M.A.R.T.

[Tom @ Jan 18th 2007 5:59AM]

The dell my mother uses has 4 lights above the ps2/keyboard ports. These lights serve the exact same purpose as those Red Led's of Death, either everything is ok, or somethings wrong...

[pyro @ Jan 16th 2007 3:47PM]

ya, I used the wrong word.

[Grant @ Jan 16th 2007 2:55AM]

Jason Brown:

Vista is software, the 360 is a consumer electronic, which if you read in the manual of almost any decent/reputable electronic has some sort of error codes. they are included in expensive electronics so when they are taken for repair the repairer knows where to start with the issue.
Just because something has an error reporting system doesn't mean it's only meant to break.
And it's not just consumer electronics, it's in things like your car too, like that good ol' check engine light, which is more in depth when you check the codes on the computer.

[Wallo @ Jan 16th 2007 12:58AM]

It does actually work! I had the 3 red lights but didn't want to send my console away over Christmas as the repair centre was closed. I used this trick to keep it running for a few more days until the repair centre opened again - all good! I couldn't believe it, but it makes sense.

[makingmark @ Jan 16th 2007 4:12AM]

Color me spooked...are those towels from Laytner's Linen & Home on the UWS? I have those exact ones (Martex Blue)...

[Joe Corrall @ Jan 16th 2007 7:41AM]

Swing but a miss...

Anyone with the red light of death should look at xbox360faults.co.uk, and you'd notice that one of the most common errors is moisture in the console. The towel trick works simply by providing an absorption layer for the moisture.

As the console heats up it evaporates and the towel absorbs the excess, but obviously after a few hours operation in even a mildly humid environment the 360 replenishes its moisture content.

The only real cure is to get a replacement or move to the sahara...

[PhilJ @ Jan 16th 2007 7:58AM]

Thanks Joe, but that forum is so overwhelmed with spam, I wouldn't recommend anyone really lend the site credibility.

Yeah, I'll agree with Brandon -- I have quite a few titles for each of the new consoles, and the Wii definitely is fun (kids love playing against dear ol' dad), but the PS3 doesn't have really anything fun for it... the 360 gets most of my gaming time.

[Dav @ Jan 16th 2007 8:13AM]

Hahahaha I cannot believe the amount of Playstation fanboys in here, just wait till their beloved PS3 starts kicking up problems and lets see what they say then.

My 360 is fine. Never has failed. I need no towel.

[Terrence Meekins @ Jan 16th 2007 3:10PM]

Funny how every 360 or PS3 post has to include someone of the opposite camp saying how bad said system is. I haven't had any problems with my 360 but it is brand spanking new. I'm glad the systems are pushing other. Just means the games will improve with the competition. Next year I suspect that PS3 will have a full set of games out and the competition will be in full swing. That'll be exciting.

[Farris @ Jan 16th 2007 5:51PM]

I'm surpiresed none of the spelling Luftwaffe caught the "effect" mistake.

This really is kinda crazy, though. I don't have a next gen console, and will probably not end up buying one. They all have too many faults.

[Farris @ Jan 16th 2007 5:52PM]

Wow, I really screwed up the word "surprised," didn't I?

*smacks forehead*

[bobdole @ Jan 17th 2007 10:26PM]

I was just thinking to myself.. "fuck, what aren't towels good for?" when I looked down to see there was exactly 42 comments...

It's all coming together now...

[Parker Talbert @ Feb 19th 2007 5:51PM]

It actually does work. 10 minutes exactly with the towel and were playing rainbow 6. :)

[Brian @ Feb 23rd 2007 12:45AM]

yes, RoHS is gay. most of the major distributors still supply, and have not announced to stop, selling RoHS products. a little lead in solder is what helps make it the wonder compound it truly is. unfortunately, solder isn't as useful as duct tape, which isn't as useful as a towel.
to quote said guide:
"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to- hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough."

[peepod123 @ Nov 22nd 2007 6:22AM]

I HAVE FOUND THE MAGIC SOLUTION, THIS ACTUALY WORKS IF U GET THE RED LIGHTS OF DOOM!

IF U UNPLUG ALL THE LEADS AND PLACE IT IN THE FRIDGE FOR A FEW HOURS, IT WILL REVIVE YOUR XBOX 360.

I TRIED IT AND IT WORJKS WONDERS, HAVE A GO IT WILL COMPLETELY FIX YOUR XBOX.