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The Xbox 360 video game console is subject to a number of technical problems that can render it unusable. Many of the issues can be identified by a series of red lights flashing on the face of the console; the three flashing red lights ("Red Ring of Death") being the most infamous. There are other issues that arise with the console, such as discs becoming scratched in the drive and "bricking" of consoles due to dashboard updates. Since its release on November 22, 2005, many articles have appeared in the media portraying the Xbox 360's relatively high failure rates.^[1][2][3] Recently, there has been legal action taken attempting to hold Microsoft responsible for the failure rate among the Xbox 360 and provide reasonable compensation for those affected.^[4]

Contents 1 Three flashing red lights 1.1 Response to rate of failure 1.2 Causes 2 Scratched discs 2.1 Disc replacement 2.2 Kassa’s February 2007 investigation 2.3 Kassa’s April 2007 investigation 2.4 The European Commission’s June 2007 investigation of disc scratches 2.5 Lawsuit 2.6 BBC Watchdog Investigation of Xbox 360 disc scratches (2009) 3 November 2006 update 4 Video failure 5 E74 error 6 "New Xbox Experience" update issues 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Three flashing red lights

When a Microsoft Xbox 360 console experiences a "general hardware" failure or "core digital" failure, three flashing red lights appear (known as the "Red Ring of Death" or the "Three Red Lights of Death") around the power button, in lieu of the four green lights indicating normal operation. Warning signs may include freeze-ups, in which the screen has strange, spontaneous graphical problems in the middle of gameplay, such as checkerboard or pinstripe patterns on the screen, the sound is frozen and changed to a strange, static-like sound, and the console only responds to pressing the power button to turn it off. These events may happen once or several times until the general hardware failure occurs, or not at all. Just because an Xbox freezes once in a while does not mean that the error will follow. When the error does occur, the user attempts to turn the console on and the three red lights are seen and the console will not function.

Some have confused General Hardware Failure with a similar looking error warning where four red lights appear, in which case the console does not detect an AV cable is plugged in.^[5] The four lights can sometimes also be seen when power surges or very brief power outages occur while the console is running, in which the console needs to be unplugged and plugged back in again to reset the error. In newer consoles, there can be three lights flashing with a green light flashing in the center for power outages^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Response to rate of failure

In the early months after the console's launch, Microsoft stated that the Xbox 360's failure rate was within the consumer electronics industry's typical 3% to 5%.^[6][7][8][9] Nevertheless, Microsoft has not released their official statistics on the failure rate of the various versions of the console; the company's press relations policy is to focus on the prompt resolution of any technical problems.^[10]

On July 5, 2007, the Vice-President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division published an open letter recognizing the console's problems, as well as announcing a three-year warranty extension for every Xbox 360 console that experiences the "general hardware failure" indicated by three flashing red LEDs on the console.^[11]

A source that has been identified as a team leader and key architect in the creation of the Xbox and Xbox 360 and a founding member of the Xbox team^[12][13] provided insight as to the high rate of failures. The interviews suggest that Xbox 360 units that fail early in their life do so because of problems in the system design, parts supply, material reliability, and manufacturing issues as well as a system not tolerant to faults. These issues were alleged to be the end results of the decisions of management in Microsoft's Xbox team and inadequate testing resources prior to the console's release. A second source cited that, at one time, there was just a 32% yield of one of the test production runs. 68 of every 100 test units were found to be defective.^[14][15]

In February 2008, during the Game Developers Conference 2008, Microsoft announced that the "Failure rate has officially dropped", but without mentioning any specifics^[16]. The same month an examination of 1040 Xbox 360s by SquareTrade found a 16.4% (one in six) failure rate; 171 were "disabled", of these 171 units 60% failed due to a general hardware failure (and thus fell under the 3 year extended warranty) of the remaining 40%, not covered by the extended warranty, 18% were disc read errors, 13% were video card failures, 13% were hard drive freezes, 10% were power issues and 7% were disc tray malfunctions.^[17][18]. However SquareTrade also admits that their estimates are likely much lower than reality due to the time span of the sample (six to ten months), the eventual failure of many consoles that did not fail within this time span and the fact that many owners did not deal with SquareTrade and had their consoles repaired directly through Microsoft via the much publicized extended RROD warranty.

On October 17, 2008 a class action lawsuit was filed in California against Microsoft over the RROD problem. ^[4]

[edit] Causes

EE Times reported that the problems may have started in the graphics chip. Microsoft designed the chip in-house to cut out the traditional ASIC vendor with the goal of hoping to save money in ASIC design costs. After the multiple product failures, Microsoft went back to an ASIC vendor and had the chip redesigned so it would dissipate less energy into heat^[19][20].

One possible cause of the General Hardware Error may be cold solder joints. The added mass of the CSP chips (including the GPU and CPU) absorb the heat flow that allows proper soldering of the lead-free solders on the motherboard, so the solder therefore never has properly melted underneath these chips, which can lead to voids (air bubbles) and weak spots in the solder known as cold solder joints. Because of prolonged constant temperature changes inside the console, the voids cause cracking. Some people claim this issue does not exist, and claim it is caused by a confusion over this issue. They have suggested that the dull appearance only suggests that the joints are cold soldered, as lead-free solders, even when properly soldered, take on a dull appearance that non-professionals might mistake for a cold solder joint (as the older lead/tin solder solder-joints became dull when not heated sufficiently). This suggestion is, however, rejected by the majority of experts. Lead-free solders also require a greater amount of heat (213 degrees celsius) to solder properly when compared to older lead/tin solders (185 degrees celsius) which compounds the problem.^[21]

The Nyko Intercooler has also been reported to have led to a general hardware failure in a number of consoles, as well as scorching of the power AC input.^[22] Microsoft stated that the peripheral drains too much power from the console (the Intercooler power cord is installed between the Xbox 360 power supply and the console itself) and can cause faults to occur, and stated that consoles fitted with the peripheral will have their warranties null and void. Nyko has recently released an updated Intercooler that uses its own power source. Nyko claims this problem no longer occurs with new versions of this cooler. However, Microsoft still considers it an unlicensed add-on and will void the warranty of machines showing signs of its use. There is no data available to indicate whether Intercooler decreases the chance of hardware failure.^[22] But if it itself becomes defective it can hinder rather than help the overheating problems.

The game console heats up during use, and given enough time, the temperature inside can reach very high levels due to insufficient cooling. An overheated Xbox 360 is indicated by both left quadrants lighting up red. Because of the way the Xbox is constructed, this may result in stresses building up between the delicate ball grid array solder joints of the CPU and GPU and the motherboard, causing them to break. The problem is exacerbated by the specific type of lead-free solder used, a type which is more brittle than the older tin/lead solder that was used in the past and the GPU's location directly underneath the DVD drive. Microsoft needed to make room for the DVD Drive, so they shrank the heat sink.^[23]

German computer magazine c't, in an article titled "Jede dritte stirbt den Hitzetod" (every third one dies of heat), published in July 2006, blames the problems primarily on the use of the wrong type of lead-free solder, a type that when exposed to elevated temperatures for extended periods of time becomes brittle and can develop hair-line cracks that are almost irreparable.^[24] Also, according to the same article, Microsoft has created an internal account, funded with more than one billion dollars, dedicated to addressing this problem. The fund would only be fully depleted by $100 in repairs to every existing Xbox 360, or complete replacement of every third Xbox 360 ever made.^[25]

The article also revealed that representatives of the three largest Xbox 360 resellers in the world (EB Games, Gamestop and Best Buy) claimed that the failure rate of the Xbox 360 was between 30% and 33%, and that Micromart, the largest repair shop in Britain, stopped repairing Xbox 360s because they were unable to fully repair the defective systems. Because of the nature of the problem, Micromart could only make temporary repairs, which led to many of the "repaired" systems failing again after a few weeks. At that time Micromart was receiving 2500 defective consoles per day from Britain alone.^[24]

The console's design utilizes heatsinks, vented openings, and fans to aid in dissipation of heat, but the potential still exists for excessive heat buildup inside the console if these measures become insufficient. Users are advised not to obstruct air flow to the enclosure vents or power supply. Problems associated with overheating include reduced system performance and instability that may result in crashing or hardware failure. Xbox 360s with "Falcon" motherboards, which use the smaller device geometry 65 nm CPUs, are reportedly less susceptible to these failures^{[citation needed]}.

According to the October 2007 issue of The Official Xbox Magazine, there are reports that new Xbox 360 Elites and newer Premiums, as well as officially refurbished units, have larger heatsinks. It has yet to be determined how far this fix has gone in alleviating the issues.

Some third-party manufacturers have also introduced external cooling devices that attach to the console, and claim to help prevent the console from overheating.^[26] However, reports indicate that some such devices can do exactly the opposite, including the attachment melting on the console itself, possibly damaging the internal microprocessors, and voiding the product warranty. Also, when the attachment is powered by the Xbox 360's power brick, it might overheat the power brick, causing even more problems. Third-party cooling devices are available which use their own power sources. ^[27][28]

[edit] Scratched discs

Almost at the same time the Xbox 360 was released in late 2005, consumers began reporting rounded scratches found on discs used in their Xbox 360 consoles. Almost two years later, in February 2007, the website "The Llamma's Adventures" investigated the matter and concluded that some Xbox 360 drives lack a mechanism to secure the disc solidly in place.^[29] Tilting or moving consoles with these drives, when operating with a disc spinning inside, can potentially cause damage to the disc, in some cases rendering the disc unusable. ^[30] The disc can also be scratched by a disc tray not functioning in the right way so that the tray will close the disc in an odd position and scratch up one side of the disc, which also can result in the laser being obliterated.^{[citation needed]} Although this problem is not covered by the warranty^[31], Microsoft's Xbox Disc Replacement Program^[32] will replace a limited range of scratched discs that are published in countries where the Xbox was originally sold, for a $20 fee^[33], and released a list of games that qualify for replacement.^[34] Halo 3 Limited Edition was replaced at no cost until February 1, 2008 according to the Xbox Disc Replacement Program's main site. Other publishers can be contacted directly for a disc exchange, but it is unclear whether they will replace discs at no cost, Electronic Arts details a specific program for this problem which requires the disc and original receipt, also the game must be purchased within 90 days of the request for a replacement disc, or will request a replacement charge of $20 or $25. "EA Warranty Info". http://warrantyinfo.ea.com. Retrieved on 2009-04-07. 

[edit] Disc replacement

The Xbox 360 was released in the United States and Canada on November 22, 2005 and in early December 2005 in Europe and Japan. In December 2005, reports of unintelligible noises from the Xbox 360 were appearing on Internet message boards.^[35] In response to the problem, Microsoft offered in December 2005 to replace only the Perfect Dark Zero video game "even if it was not the game that was scratched."^[36] The scratched disc problem reportedly affected only a small percentage of Xbox 360s,^[36] however it became apparent in December 2005, through message board reports and growing media coverage.^[37]

[edit] Kassa’s February 2007 investigation

The Xbox 360 scratched disc problem received little media coverage in 2006;^[38] however, in February 2007, the Dutch television program Kassa investigated several complaints from Dutch customers about circular scratches made in their Xbox 360 discs.^[39] Some of these customers claimed that their discs became unreadable.^[39] Kassa investigation traced the problem to a design defect in which the Xbox 360 optical lens was not restrained sufficiently.^[39][40] In asserting that Microsoft or at least its chain of suppliers was aware of this problem, Kassa noted that Microsoft's "TSST"^[41] versions of the Samsung DVD-drive lack rubber cushions around the optical lens while identical Samsung drives sold for PCs did have these rubber cushions.^[39][40] Kassa also noted that the affected Xbox 360s all seem to have been produced towards the end of 2006.^[39][40]

[edit] Kassa’s April 2007 investigation

During the February 2007 investigation report, Kassa stated that either not all Xbox 360s without protective pads would spontaneously scratch discs, or that the complaints were from Xbox 360 users who had moved their Xbox during use, or who used an unstable setup.^[39] Here, Kassa's February 2007 investigation left open the question of whether consumers contributed to the rounded scratch problem by moving their Xbox 360 (TSST version) during the playing of a disc.^[42] This resulted in Kassa receiving an additional 1,000 complaints over the subsequent two months, with many customers denying the Xbox had moved when the scratching occurred, or that it had been placed in an unstable position. ^[43]

Prompted by consumer reaction to their February 2007 report, Kassa performed several tests with Xbox 360s from customers who claimed their Xbox had the problem. Kassa stabilized these consoles and positioned them at a location remote from contact by anyone. The results of the laboratory conditions test revealed that one of the nine tested Xbox 360s had spontaneously scratched a disc after five hours of gaming. The consoles were also tested standing upright, and the test revealed that three of the nine tested Xbox 360s significantly scratched discs. The video of the complete investigation, meticulously documenting the methodology, and all the relevant details of the tests, was made ready to be aired in April 14, 2007. The videos (also with English subtitles) can be found here: ^[44] Weeks before it aired, however, Kassa solicited input from Microsoft Netherlands.

One day before the airing of the April 14, 2007 show, Kassa received a response from Microsoft Netherlands stating that "as a result of regular use it is possible that scratches on discs can arise",^[45][46][47] and that Microsoft Netherlands "would seek a solution for the Dutch customers with this problem".^[48][49] Additionally, Microsoft released the following statement ten days after the show, on April 24, 2007:

"Due to the fact that we did not participate in the experiment done by Kassa and have little insight into the methodology that was used, we cannot comment specifically on the outcome. While we are aware that discs can potentially be scratched through normal wear and tear, we have not received any widespread reports of the issue highlighted here. That said, it is important to us that all of our customers have the best gaming experiences possible, and these claims are obviously very concerning to us. We encourage any Xbox customer who believes that their discs have been scratched in the same manner as identified by Kassa, to contact us. We will examine the console and make appropriate repairs if necessary in order to restore the console to full working order, as well as provide customers with information on how to obtain replacement discs should they need them." ^[50]

Microsoft Netherlands now accepts these complaints from users (whilst within the warranty period), and offers to replace the Xbox 360 free of charge. Whether Microsoft Netherlands will also replace scratched discs is still unclear. After the official broadcast, (in a continuation of the show which can be viewed on-line, circa 28 minutes into the show) a customer is shown calling the Microsoft help-desk, who is told Microsoft will replace his Xbox 360 but is denied a promise to replace his scratched games. [4] (Dutch) There are reports from some other regions that Microsoft will replace scratched discs if published by Microsoft.^[51]

[edit] The European Commission’s June 2007 investigation of disc scratches

On June 1, 2007, European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva, after talking with the makers of "Kassa" and other Dutch consumer organizations,^[52] announced that the European Commission would investigate the Xbox scratching problems, and would ask Microsoft for an Xbox replacement program for the whole of Europe. She expected Microsoft’s answer within a week.^[53] Informal sources now say that Microsoft’s response was to deny the problem exists, stating that "the users are to blame".^[54] But Meglena Kuneva did not react to that response, and 18 months later (4th quarter 2008) the EC’s (Meglena Kuneva’s) news site was still silent about Microsoft’s response, or about the result of the "investigation". ^{[55][56] [57]}

[edit] Lawsuit

A man who claims Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 scratches game discs has sued the company, saying the consoles are "negligently designed and manufactured." In the lawsuit filed on July 9, 2007, in a Florida federal court, Jorge Brouwer says Microsoft has received thousands of complaints but has not replaced all scratched discs. The lawsuit seeks class-action status.^[58]

The Law Firms of THKO in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Wasserman, Comden, and Casselman, LLP of Los Angeles, California; and Stritmatter, Kessler, Whelan, Coluccio of Seattle, Washington are investigating consumer complaints regarding the Xbox 360. WCC, THKO and SKWC have filed lawsuits in the United States District Court Western District of Washington at Seattle on behalf of a proposed nationwide class of consumers who have suffered scratched game discs while using their Xbox 360. The lawsuit seeks class certification and reimbursement for consumers for the cost of games damaged by the console; reimbursement for consumers who have paid a $20 fee to Microsoft Corporation under a limited disc replacement program offered on ten Microsoft games; repair of consoles free of charge to prevent further disc scratching; and/or reimbursement for consumers who have paid for an aftermarket repair solution.^[59]

[edit] BBC Watchdog Investigation of Xbox 360 disc scratches (2009)

On March 23 2009, BBC's Watchdog TV show took an investigation into how the console scratches its own discs. One person featured in the investigation was 13-year-old boy Michael Mowatt, who saves up for his games by collecting pigeon droppings from his neighbor's pigeon coop. It usually takes him around a month to save up for new games for his console. When he tried out one of his newly-bought games, the game suddenly stopped reading and when he took the disc out, he found a carved circle around the inside of the disc. His mother (Rachel Mowatt) thought that Michael had been misusing the console and told him off for damaging the disc. But the same problem happened again with another of his discs a few days later, and this time Rachel knew that something was wrong. The console was still in warranty, so he sent it off to Microsoft for it to get looked at - but the scientists at Microsoft found nothing.

The same thing happened with Robert Monaghan and his family. They bought an Xbox 360 and a copy of Rock band (with all of the instruments) so that there was something for the family to do, but after a while playing the game, the game disc also was subjected to the carved inner ring problem on the disc. Robert thought that the children in his family were misusing the console as well, so he punished them. After a while, the same family bought Guitar Hero World Tour for the console instead, so that they still had something to do. Same thing happened, but this time dad Robert knew there was something wrong with the console. So, like Michael, he also sent his console away to be looked at - but again, no problems.

Because of these two stories, the Watchdog team started to do their own experiment. They bought a brand new Xbox 360 and borrowed one which they knew had already caused problems. They sealed both of the consoles on separate tables, with two jugs of water next to them each to indicate any console movement. The team set to work by gaming for six days straight, but nothing happened with both consoles.

But then the team realized that those sort of conditions wouldn't be in your average living room - so they took the two Xbox 360 consoles to a lab in Hampshire, UK, for them to be tested more. The two consoles were about to be subjected to some vibrations on a surface which would make the console slightly move to test out if movements in an average family home could damage the discs. The first test they carried out simulated walking (with slight vibrations) - and both consoles passed the test. But then the scientists carried out a 'shock vibration test' which would simulate the sort of movement that would replicate putting a heavy book on the table by the Xbox. The new Xbox 360 passed again, but the old console scratched the disc.

Currently, Microsoft say that it is the user's fault that the discs were damaged, because they say that they 'make clear about multiple warnings not to move the console with the disc inside'. They also say that only a minority of customers are affected by this issue. However, the company did not comment on the lab tests.

Watch the video report or read the official report here.

[edit] November 2006 update

An update patch released on November 1, 2006 was reported to "brick" consoles, rendering them useless.^[60] The most obvious issue occurs after the installation of the patch, after which the console immediately reboots and shows an error message. Usually, error code E71 is shown during or directly after the booting animation.

In response to the November 2006 update error that "bricked" his console, Mr. Kevin Ray of California has filed a class action lawsuit against Microsoft in Washington federal court in early December 2006.^[61] The lawsuit seeks $5 million in damages and the free repair of any console rendered unusable by the update. This will be the second such lawsuit filed against Microsoft, the first having been filed in December 2005, shortly after the 360's launch.

Following Microsoft's announcement in December 2006 that it would extend the Xbox 360 warranty to a full year, from the previous 90 days, Ray's attorney confirmed to the Seattle Post Intelligencer that the lawsuit had been resolved under confidential terms.^[62]

[edit] Video failure

In mid 2007, technology and gaming blogs began reporting about new problems with the Xbox 360 losing video output.^[63][64] The problems are characterized by a blank or staticky video output with a proper functioning audio output and no flashing red lights on the console. The complete video failure is sometimes preceded by other graphical glitches such as an irregular saturation of green and/or red colors.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] E74 error

An E74 error is when the lower-right quadrant of the ring-piece indicator flashes red and displays an error message in multiple languages: "E74 System Error. Contact Xbox Customer Support". The error is caused when there's a video problem, either because the audio/video cable is broken or when the Xbox 360 hardware scaler chip is damaged.^[65] As of April 14, 2009, the E74 error is now covered by the three-year extended warranty, and customers who previously paid Microsoft for out-of-warranty service to correct the E74 error will receive a refund. ^[66][67]

[edit] "New Xbox Experience" update issues

On November 19 2008, Microsoft released the "New Xbox Experience" (NXE). This update provided streaming Netflix capability and avatars; however, some users have reported the update has caused their consoles to not properly read optical media.^[68] Others have reported that the update has disabled audio through HDMI connections.^[69] A Microsoft spokesperson stated they were "aware that a handful of Xbox LIVE users are experiencing audio issues, and are diligently monitoring this issue and working towards a solution."^[70] Microsoft released a patch on February 3, 2009 for the HDMI audio issues. ^[71]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Microsoft Xbox Support

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