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BBC: Kinect caused 'Red Ring of Death' on out-of-warranty Xbox 360
Grand Theft Auto IV blamed for RRoD -- Tipster on April 30, 2008 Red Dead Redemption blamed for RRoD -- Tipster on June 21, 2010 Kinect blamed for RRoD -- BBC on January 5, 2011 As our tips box can attest to over the years, every major Xbox 360 release causes the unholy specter of the Xbox 360's infamous 'Red Ring of Death' to return. The family interviewed in this BBC piece have an especially poignant tale: they just missed out on the three year warranty the product carries for the RRoD and E74 errors. Microsoft said in a statement, "There is no correlation between the three flashing red lights error and Kinect. Any new instances of the three flashing red lights error are merely coincidental." We believe it, given our anecdotal history. It's still of little consolation to anyone who was blessed with an old, out of warranty Xbox 360 that somehow hadn't died/broken/etc.
Digital Foundry examines why 360 and PS3 can't take the heat
You could make the argument that system reliability has been the preeminent conversation of this console generation, but it's one often clouded by speculation and a lack of reliable information. Digital Foundry talked to Darren Thickbroom, an engineer for an independent console workshop, who offered a lot of revealing insight into the issue. Thickbroom explained that the massive amount of heat generated by the HD systems -- exacerbated by high-end technology crammed into a small compartment -- contribute to their eventual demise (and all because you played on them so often). And like many "exclusive" games this generation, this is by no means constrained to one console. Though Xbox 360 failure rates are abysmal, Thickbroom noted that more PS3s have been appearing in his workshop. His gloomy prognosis? "It comes down to how much you play it. People might disagree with us, but this is the way we see it: if you handle the machines day-in, day-out with the issues they've got, I'd expect to change them every year." We have the same rule for our underwear, so that part should be easy to remember.
Game Informer: Xbox 360 at 54.2 percent failure rate
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/17/game-informer-xbox-360-at-54-2-percent-failure-rate/'; The latest issue of Game Informer contains a surprising statistic for anyone who's ever loved and lost their Microsoft-branded home console – according to their survey, in which over 5,000 console owners participated, the Xbox 360's current failure rate due to the Red Ring of Death, E74 or other hardware failure is 54.2 percent. They also calculated the relative death toll for PS3s due to the Yellow Light of Death (10.3 percent) and Wiis, due to ... well, we're not actually sure what color the Wii's light turns to upon its demise (6.8 percent). Unfortunately, for having the highest failure rate, survey participants also pinned Microsoft for having the least helpful customer service representatives. Not that it matters – later in the survey, only 3.8 percent of participants said they'd never buy another Xbox 360 due to its high failure rate. Speaking of which, we're not sure what future techno-utopia this poll was conducted in, but a 54.2 percent Xbox 360 failure rate sounds awfully low. Had the survey's participants been comprised entirely of Joystiq staffers, it would have been a bone-chilling 100 percent. [Via Consumerist]
PSA: E74 victims should have received refund check by now
If your Xbox 360 fell victim to the E74 error and you paid Microsoft for the repair, you should have received a refund check back from the company by today. If you paid for a repair and have yet to receive a check, you'll need to follow up with Microsoft before the hard deadline of November 1, 2009. After that ... well, you're just going to have to eat it.The E74 error was placed under a similar warranty to that of the Xbox 360's "Red Ring of Death," after data revealed it was another widespread defect for the console. [Thanks, Matt L]
Xbox 360's class-leading warranty extended again to cover E74 errors
While long warranties are a strong selling point in the automotive world -- a sign of confidence from the manufacturer -- in gadget land bonus repair coverage usually comes along with some chronic problem. Most notable was the Xbox 360's iconic RRoD, and now a new failure is continuing that console's reliability black eye: the E74 message. It's said to be caused by a bogus AV connector or graphics chip, and while the message doesn't necessarily result in the same ring of crimson that caused Microsoft to extend the warranty the first time around, the company has announced it will cover E74-afflicted consoles for that same three year period, and will refund any money already spent by those fixing this issue. It's another classy move by Microsoft, but another worrying failure in an already disconcertingly fragile box.[Via Gamezine.co.uk]
3-year Xbox 360 warranty extended to cover E74 errors
It's been a difficult time for you, we know. While all your friends were getting the radical Red Ring of Death and happily cashing in on Microsoft's three-year Xbox 360 warranty, you had to make do with a decidedly less impressive (though equally cataclysmic) hardware failure, one that couldn't even manage to spit out more than a few crimson lights.But your lonely torment is at an end, with Microsoft ceasing its defection discrimination and revealing via the Xbox Support page that the mysterious E74 error is now covered by the RROD's three-year warranty. Microsoft has determined "that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console," and will "refund to customers the amount paid for an out of warranty repair due to a general hardware failure associated with the e74 error message." If you don't automatically receive this refund by July 1, 2009, you'll need to claim one through xbox.com/support before November 1, 2009. Hooray! Welcome to the club, E74 victims! Um, sorry about your Xbox.[Thanks, Peter]
More survey data backs up Xbox 360's E74 increase
So, we only tracked around 60 incidences of E74 in our last batch of emails, so we thought you'd be interested in seeing the results after we cataloged the more than 170 emails we've received about E74 since our original piece went live.As you'll see, there's a huge increase of E74 claims since the launch of the New Xbox Experience. In fact, you can see a spike right around November, and many claiming an E74 in that month say it was just a day or two after installing the firmware. The evidence that we've gathered from emails, our poll and the Engadget poll all points to the same conclusion: There's been a definite increase in E74 errors since the NXE dropped. Whether that's due to a change in error reporting, a change in the way the system operates causing the error or simply increased use during that time, we can't say. Check past the jump for all the data.
Xbox 360 repairs should always have the option of a 'coffin'
With all this talk of the Xbox 360's E74 error, and the continued presence of the RRoD, we are reminded of former Microsoft executive Peter Moore's request that we not focus on the Xbox's problems, but rather on the quality of the repair service. To that end, we've received conflicting reports about whether consumers are being offered the option of receiving a box -- which has come to be known as "the coffin" -- from the company, when dealing with Microsoft's customer service in India. When we took a quick sampling earlier this week using Twitter, answers were all over the map, so we followed up with Microsoft to get a clear and direct answer.Reports that the company now requires consumers to find their own packaging when sending in an Xbox 360 for repair are "inaccurate," a Microsoft spokesperson told us. The company has always given two options and "this policy is global, not region-specific." Customers have the choice of either printing an e-Label (and providing their own box) or receiving a coffin from the company (this should take about five business days). The representative did "confirm that the same policy applies to all scenarios, regardless of the repair." So, just to clear up any future confusion: There should always be the option of receiving a coffin when dealing with an Xbox 360 repair scenario.Reference -- Official Microsoft repair FAQReference -- Online console repair support
Joystiq survey: Xbox 360 E74 errors on the rise since NXE [update]
var digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/19/joystiq-survey-xbox-360-e74-errors-on-the-rise-since-nxe/'; When we recently posted about the Xbox 360's E74 error and asked for your input, we weren't prepared for the staggering response we'd receive. Within a few hours, we had dozens of emails from readers like you who had experienced this particular hardware failure (typically caused, according to unofficial web reports, by a loose scaling chip). It was surprising to touch such a nerve, but what really knocked us for a loop was what we found when we started compiling the data sent to us.
Is your Xbox 360 an E74 victim?
[Update 2: The results are in, check them all out right here.]Considering the Red Ring of Death (to put it kindly) debacle, we're going to be extremely careful with what we say here. We're starting to see and receive numerous reports from readers, friends and in forums like this of Xbox 360s becoming the victims of an error labeled by the console as "E74." We've received only a few of these reports (two in '07; one in '08) prior to the recent barrage of complaints. When contacted, a Microsoft rep told Joystiq she wasn't familiar with the problem (the company is currently looking into it), so here's what we've been able to piece together by ourselves:The E74 error seems to be related to video problems. It's occasionally caused by a faulty AV cord, but more often than not, the solder on the ANA/HANA (in HDMI models) scaling chip has come loose. In fact, many have reported creating a temporary fix by wrapping pennies in electrical tape and weighing the ANA/HANA down. (For the record, we're not suggesting you do that.) Before the error, the system usually starts showing graphical problems like lines across the screen or snow. It's accompanied by one red light in the lower right-hand quadrant. So, we've got a poll right after the break where you can weigh in with your own experience. Also, if you've got more details, we'd love it if you would email us here.[Update 1: Our friends at Negative Gamer just sent this interesting Google Trends result our way. As you can see, E74 was basically a non-issue until August of 2008. Interesting ...]
"Red Light of Death": The new Red Ring?
The brouhaha over Microsoft's ever-present Red Ring of Death is sooooo 2007. The "Red Light of Death" is the new Xbox 360-breaking craze for the oh-eight ... if a Consumerist post is the front end of a trend, that is.Unlike the distinctive three red lights of the RRoD, the "E74" error is characterized by a blinking red light in the lower-right corner of the ring and graphical problems on the television. The problem has been known for a while but is currently not covered by Microsoft's extended three-year Xbox 360 warranty, which only applies to traditional Red Ring problems -- E74 sufferers have to shell out the money to ship their system in for repairs. Of course, we don't know just how widespread this E74 problem is, so it's not necessarily a cause for alarm just yet. Still, we have to agree with the Consumerist that the warranty extension should apply to all sorts of hardware malfunctions, not just the common ones that get a lot of media attention. How about it, Microsoft?
