What to Do If Your Xbox 360 Fails

A Few Last-Chance Solutions Before Shipping it to the Graveyard

By Kyle S., published Oct 15, 2007
Published Content: 69  Total Views: 18,960  Favorited By: 4 CPs
Rating: 4.3 of 5
Every owner of an Xbox 360 fears the day they will see the dreaded three flashing red lights of death. I myself have encountered this horrible problem at the all-so-happy time of Christmas. Although it wasn't all as bad as I imagined it, there are still a lot people that do not know what to do once their Xbox 360 fails. I know I keep saying "when" it happens, because for the majority of owners out there, it WILL happen, because Microsoft has a major issue with its consoles. The point of this article is to help out anyone who has gotten the ring of death and hopefully give them a little info on how to check if their console just has some bad connections or if they need to send it in.

For some reason there have been several people that just haven't had their power cords plugged in right or a wall outlet has caused some problems. If you call Microsoft support, they will tell you the same thing. If you get the 3 flashing red lights of death, the first thing you need to check is if your power cord is correctly plugged into you're the console and the power supply. Try plugging the power cord into an outlet with nothing else plugged into it.

If that still doesn't work, unplug everything from the Xbox 360 and from the outlets. Wait a couple of minutes and try plugging it all back in again and maybe try using another outlet just to say you tried. So now if either of these things still haven't worked then I'm afraid it's time for the ever exciting phone call to Microsoft support.

It's actually not all that bad but the first person you talk to isn't really a person but a machine. This thing is the most annoying thing I've encountered in a while but it went quickly thankfully. Eventually you will be connected to a real living person and you will kindly tell them your console has failed. They will want your manufacturer date and model number that is located on the bottom of your console. From there she will give you an ID number after she gets your personal information like name, address and so on. Once your done talking to the individual, it will then be up to you on how quickly you want your system back.

Comments
Showing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
 
 
Thanks. I have heard this as well - I plan on buying a new 360 here pretty quick because my old one died and they sent me a refurbished one...knowing my odds, mine will crap out again. I just want a new one.

Posted on 11/10/2007 at 11:11:00 AM

 
I love Microsoft, but this really bothers me. The worst part about this red ring was that Microsoft knowingly sold defective 360's to consumers and fabricated information about the stats. They mentioned that the failure rate was 5 %, when the actual failure rate was 25 %. Shame on Microsoft. I heard a rumor that the new 360's have a lower failure rate than PS3's. I wonder if that is true. By the way, great content.

Posted on 11/10/2007 at 9:11:00 AM

 
Well now microsoft sends you the box with free overnight on it and they actually have people working at their factories almost 24/7 in order to fix the many problems.

Posted on 10/17/2007 at 1:10:00 PM

Type in Your Comments Below - (1000 characters left)
Your name:

Submit your own content on this or any topic. Get started »
Showing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
 
Most Commented On