Microsoft ends Xbox 360 RROD "coffin" program, still paying for shipping

Getting an Xbox 360 RROD was never any fun, but at least getting it fixed was easy, since a quick phone call would get you a pre-paid "coffin" in which to send the broken console back for repairs. Not anymore -- although Redmond will still pay for return shipping, the company's beancounters have decided to axe the expense of sending custom packaging out to people who need repairs, meaning anyone who gets an RROD will need to pack things themselves. Not the end of the world, but we share Joystiq's take: just send it however you can, since MS is fixing it anyway, and then save the return carton in case something else goes wrong -- knowing the 360, it very well might.

[wrs589 @ Jun 9th 2009 2:37PM]

Would the warranty still be valid if it became damaged in transit, due to being poorly packaged?

[Kris @ Jun 9th 2009 2:45PM]

Nope and they're probably counting on that to a degree.

[inteller @ Jun 9th 2009 2:50PM]

good thing I saved back my previous coffin. I'm sure I'll be using it a year from now since all the 360s I've ever owned live for exactly one year.

[MacBandit @ Jun 9th 2009 3:08PM]

Why wouldn't you buy the insurance for a couple dollars?

[Uchiha Sasuke @ Jun 9th 2009 3:23PM]

How sad is this? Out of the 20 million 360s' sold. I wonder what percentage of those machine actually lasted its lifetime without suffering the RROD or any such failure. I owned pretty much all Nintendo and Sony consoles and none of them ever crap out on me.

[Jared @ Jun 9th 2009 3:23PM]

My 360 got the code 6 months after I bought it. Since then, not a single problem. Been about 2 years problem free.

[becu55 @ Jun 9th 2009 4:01PM]

I got mine 2 or 3 weeks after launch and it still runs, no repairs.

[mlo4764 @ Jun 9th 2009 4:12PM]

Ive had two xboxes die on me and microsoft made the process relatively easy for me to get them fixed. However, i wish i could say the same about Nintendo because my Wii just wouldnt turn on one morning and they refuse to admit it was a manufacturing defect that caused the problem.

[T-Will @ Jun 9th 2009 4:37PM]

They've been making consumers pay for their own shipping and packaging at least back to a year ago when I had to pay to send back my own RROD 360.

[bjsguess @ Jun 9th 2009 5:00PM]

My Wii just cost $90 to repair - having to send it back to Nintendo to fix the DVD Drive. My brothers just crapped out as well. Both of our Wii's are a little over a year old.

[Mam00th @ Jun 9th 2009 5:02PM]

The goal of this move isn't to save money. They probably won't save that much not sending you a box. The point is that you can ship your dead Xbox360 right after you called instead of having to wait for a box.

[Dirk Belligerent @ Jun 9th 2009 6:19PM]

Two RRoDs ago - yeah, I know; had three total across two 360s - they were supposed to send a coffin and I waited several days and it never showed. Call 'em back and they suddenly needed my serial # again. Call 'em the next day after I got it and they tell me they could either send a coffin or a printable pre-paid shipping label. WTF didn't you offer that the first time?!?!?

With the latest RRoD, I went to the Xbox.com site instead of calling and they just offered the pre-paid label option. I printed it out and my g/f boxed it up in a box the exact size of the Xbox, but without any padding. They fixed it and sent it back without a comment. Funny thing though, it's suddenly gotten picky about DVDs it plays. Hmmmmm....uh-oh.

[vdex34 @ Jun 9th 2009 8:40PM]

My launch 360 never got a RROD, but the disk drive did start scratching disks so I sent it in for a dvd drive replacement. Great service, and the only other problem I have had is the button on the front of the console sometimes doesn't retract the disk tray, but this is only an intermittent problem that I could probably fix myself.

[mike.bybee @ Jun 10th 2009 11:43AM]

I have 2 360 elites, and I've had to do probably 5 replacements, counting 1 that was DOA.

Compared to my track record with the PS2 (a dead one every 6 mos), this shows about the same longevity. I find it amusing that my Sega Genesis and N64 are still running perfectly after FAR more years of use.

Is this a moving parts vs solid state kind of thing, or just a complexity thing?

[CREW @ Jun 10th 2009 2:19PM]

Woohoo!! This is actually good!! That means the xbox can be sent in more 'broken' than before because they have to give leiaway for packaging damage. The 'cofin' they sent before didn't even look like it cost much anyways.

[Evangelion @ Jun 9th 2009 2:38PM]

This is why I'm a PC gamer.

[ash @ Jun 9th 2009 2:40PM]

Yeah? Never had to RMA anything?

[blai4754 @ Jun 9th 2009 3:37PM]

Never RMA'd any computer part. By the time a part did die, I was already upgrading it.
In any case, a benefit with PC is the ability to fix it yourself w/o the "warranty issue" in opening up your own PC if it was self-built.

I've already sent my PS3 once and am sending it again after 2 weeks.

Yet to do it with my 360 though, I haven't touched it in a couple months.

[Patriks7 @ Jun 9th 2009 2:54PM]

That's why I'm a PS3 gamer. Never had a problem + I get better games.

[Why should I have all the fun? @ Jun 9th 2009 3:05PM]

The one silver lining is that the costs MS is incurring over this issue will motivate them to get it right on the next console. No more cost-cutting during hardware development.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Jun 9th 2009 3:19PM]

"by the time a part did die, I'm replacing it"

errrm yeah, I bet that PC gaming habit cost a lot more than a console gaming habit would, if you're replacing parts frequently enough..

[Eddie @ Jun 9th 2009 3:21PM]

nice! now where did i last see my xbox???

[d889 @ Jun 9th 2009 3:23PM]

i have only had to pay for one xbox, and my 2006 model worked for about 3 years, now my 2nd one is running perfect.

but i cant tell you how many video cards and ram sticks ive been through, thats why i gave up on pc gaming i got tired of having to upgrade my system just to keep up.

but whatever to each his own, i wasted enough hours playing half life and quake 2 back in the day lol

[barry99705 @ Jun 9th 2009 3:49PM]

Same here, have never had a bad part. I also don't replace parts piecemeal. I keep it for a few years and either give it to a family member, or use if for something else.

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 9th 2009 4:01PM]

Exactly. What, 3 years later and this stench lingers like a bad cloud of pig gas hovering over a South Carolina Farm. MS will inevitable hold fast to their typical pattern:
Windows 3.1 = Xbox (the beginning)
Windows 95, ME, Vista = Xbox 360 (first release - bad)
Windows 98, XP, 7 = Xbox 720 (second release - good)
They never get it right the first time or when its rushed. Xbox 720 WILL BE AWESOME, Watch!

[elBravo @ Jun 9th 2009 4:11PM]

@Frankenstein Black

I for one have grown to appreciate your allegorical lists that so often frequent the engadget comments.

[kal326 @ Jun 9th 2009 4:27PM]

PC Gaming made my wallet RROD. However my 360 is still RROD free, but my PS3 does kick the fans on pretty hard halfway through about any BR movie. Its kind of an annoying sound for a BR player to make.

[Jono @ Jun 9th 2009 7:17PM]

If you have a good PC, you have no need for an Xbox 360. All of its titles are multiplatform/available for PC.

Except for Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, and whatever Halo's they're trying to shove down your throat.

[Invisiblemoose @ Jun 9th 2009 9:48PM]

I'm a PC gamer too... And I've had to RMA a 750watt Corsair PSU last summer, and an x850pro a long time ago...

[jonwil2002 @ Jun 9th 2009 11:29PM]

I have had PC hardware die on me before but it lasted a lot longer than any of the XBOX consoles people I know have owned. And in some cases the PC hardware dieing was because I made stupid mistakes (like using the heat-sink and fan from a Pentium 166 MMX on a 300MHz Cyrix part, last time I did that and last time I bought anything other than Intel) or because of external factors like lightning or surges.

Nearly every piece of PC hardware I have owned (with a few exceptions like the Cyrix CPU and a really old crappy sound card with a CD-ROM connected via a proprietary connector) has been rock solid.

[Wwhat @ Jun 10th 2009 12:55PM]

it's 'dying' jonwil2002, although maybe dieing exist to describe a colouring process, though I think they might use 'dying' there too, I'm unsure.

[Patriks7 @ Jun 10th 2009 3:02PM]

"Except for Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, and whatever Halo's they're trying to shove down your throat."
Isn't that really the only reason most people get an XBOX? And I know when you try to talk about XBOX games, every gamer points to that and says it's the only reason the XBOX is on top (or so they think)...

[Sam @ Jun 9th 2009 2:38PM]

They haven't for a while.

[DonatoM3 @ Jun 9th 2009 2:46PM]

Yeah, I had done a warranty repair about 7 months ago and they required that I send the xbox in my own packaging. They just emailed the shipping label to me.

[Sporkinum @ Jun 9th 2009 2:58PM]

Likewise..about 6 months ago I had to pack it myself. They sent a prepaid label and picked it up though. About a year and a half ago, on the first RROD, I got a coffin.

[IannCannon (XBL&Steam: ianncannon. PSN: Iann Cannon) @ Jun 9th 2009 4:26PM]

When I returned mine about 3 months ago they gave me the option of sending it in my own box or having them send me the coffin. I did this through their website.

[htd @ Jun 9th 2009 2:45PM]

I thought they were letting people keep their pro and sending a new xbox360... should'nt quit binge drinking...

[pika2000 @ Jun 9th 2009 2:45PM]

Oh f@ck! I bet MS now will say "Oh, it is damaged in transit, so no free repair for you." This is bull, just bull, especially for a company as big as MS.

[Kris @ Jun 9th 2009 2:47PM]

This is how most companies do it. Welcome to the real world; enjoy your short stay.

[MacBandit @ Jun 9th 2009 3:09PM]

Shipping insurance. Buy it. Don't be cheap.

[lax @ Jun 9th 2009 3:44PM]

I just got my xbox back from repairs,I spent less than £5 spent on a box/bubble wrap, don't be cheap.

[Dre @ Jun 9th 2009 2:47PM]

1) Wrap with aluminum foil
2) Put in a Ziplock bag
3) Label it
4) Ship it out...

[Najakwa @ Jun 9th 2009 2:54PM]

5) Go meet the Unibomber for tea.

[TRS @ Jun 9th 2009 2:59PM]

6) ???????
Over 9000) Profit!

[Why should I have all the fun? @ Jun 9th 2009 3:06PM]

7) Repeat

[Barry @ Jun 9th 2009 2:46PM]

I can't believe MS didn't retreat from the game industry in shame after the awesome failure that the 360 hardware was.

[Alex @ Jun 9th 2009 7:39PM]

Actually I'd consider it to be more of a success than anything.

[Jay Voorhees @ Jun 9th 2009 2:47PM]

They should just package one in with brand new 360's.

[Clyde Berry @ Jun 9th 2009 4:14PM]

But then they would charge you for it as an extra accessory.

[parksprodigy @ Jun 9th 2009 2:49PM]

MS has been doing this for a while. My 360 RROD'd about 3 months ago and they made me send it back with my own box. Luckily I still had the original box so I sent it in that. They do say that the customer is responsible for any damage sustained in transit to MS however. I thought it was pretty $h!tty. But I got a working 360 for nothing so I'm happy with it.