Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360

[#1]

I purchased my elite in August 2007 and I just recently got the 3 red lights. I was wondering if there was a chance that I could still return it to Future Shop (if there is a one year warranty that comes with it) and get a new one or if I would have to send it into Microsoft. If I do have to send it in, what would I need to do exactly. Thanks.


Message Edited by Goose7 on 06-02-2008 08:07 PM

[#2]

Microsoft's policy, with regards to the red ring of death, is that the customer must always deal directly with the manufacturer (this also supersedes your service contract if you have one - but only for this specific issue). What you will have to do is contact Microsoft at 1-800-4-MY-XBOX and request a repair order. They will send you an empty box by Purolator in which you will pack the console (and only the console - do not include the hard drive, controller or cables as you will not get them back) and ship back to the manufacturer. All shipping costs are covered by Microsoft, so you shouldn't have to pay for anything out of pocket.

If you have any downloaded content on your hard drive, such as dashboard themes, gamerpics, maps, weapons, cars, tracks, arcade games, etc, you may find when you get your replacement system that you do not have access to them. This is a security feature to prevent people from sharing purchased downloadable content, and is easily bypassed - as long as you are signed into Xbox LIVE with the account you used to download the content originally, you will have access to your content. If you are signed out for any reason, such as being away from home without network access, or if your internet is down or disconnected, then your content will be locked out again until you are able to sign back into Xbox LIVE. Since you will most likely be logged in 99% of the time anyway, odds are you won't even notice.

[#3]

That's a lot of help. Thanks.

[#4]

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Daniel_D_PE wrote:
Microsoft's policy, with regards to the red ring of death, is that the customer must always deal directly with the manufacturer (this also supersedes your service contract if you have one - but only for this specific issue). What you will have to do is contact Microsoft at 1-800-4-MY-XBOX and request a repair order. They will send you an empty box by Purolator in which you will pack the console (and only the console - do not include the hard drive, controller or cables as you will not get them back) and ship back to the manufacturer. All shipping costs are covered by Microsoft, so you shouldn't have to pay for anything out of pocket.

If you have any downloaded content on your hard drive, such as dashboard themes, gamerpics, maps, weapons, cars, tracks, arcade games, etc, you may find when you get your replacement system that you do not have access to them. This is a security feature to prevent people from sharing purchased downloadable content, and is easily bypassed - as long as you are signed into Xbox LIVE with the account you used to download the content originally, you will have access to your content. If you are signed out for any reason, such as being away from home without network access, or if your internet is down or disconnected, then your content will be locked out again until you are able to sign back into Xbox LIVE. Since you will most likely be logged in 99% of the time anyway, odds are you won't even notice.

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I purchased an XBOX 360 elite for my son as a Christmas present. He was very excited to have received it since money has been in short supply this year and it was the only thing he asked for. We followed all instructions to the letter for set up and first found that the wireless controller would not sink to the console. Luckily I purchased a second controller and it worked. We then noticed that the game could not save to the hard drive and we could not set up a profile. We then noticed that the power cord would not fit into the appropriate area on the back of the console. We also noticed that the power cord itself had been crudely notched so it would sort of fit. To top it all off after after 1 minute the console shuts down and shows three red bars.

My questions are;

Is this a common occurrence with a brand new system just out of the box?

Is Microsoft passing off refurbished systems as new ones?

Is the power cord not the right one, since there is a plastic tab in the console power cord area that clearly restricts the cord from making the right connection?

Since today is Boxing day and FutureShop will not do returns or exchanges till the 28th, my son will have to wait. I am also expecting that when I go in on the 28th they will also be sold out, making my son wait even longer.

I feel awful for him, because this sort of disappointment sticks with you for many years.

Could someone please answer my questions?

[#5]

In the past, 360 consoles sold as part of Boxing Day deals have been refurbished units, but I don't know if this is still the case. I gather from your posting though that you bought the console before boxing day, so that makes the likelihood of it being a refurbished unit very, very low, as Microsoft is very strict about the sale of refurbished consoles - they simply don't allow it. When you say that the power cord has been crudely notched, can you be more specific? Exactly what does it look like? Without seeing the cable and the connector, I can't say for certain what the problem is. One possibility, however unlikely, is that another individual may have purchased the console, opened it, used it, damaged it, re-packaged it to appear factory-fresh and defrauded the store by returning it and claiming that it was brand new - in that event, it would most likely have been unknowingly put back out on the shelf and re-sold to an unsuspecting consumer. While this is a rare occurrence, sadly, it does happen from time to time.

As with any electronics, having problems with the console right out of the box is not unheard of, although historically the 360 does tend to have a higher-than-average incidence of this happening. Generally speaking the problem of consoles having issues right out of the box has decreased substantially, but it unfortunately still happens. It's a shame that your son won't be able to enjoy his console until it's been exchanged, but you should be able to exchange it without any difficulty. 360's are usually in good supply, and they usually start getting in larger quantities before the holidays in anticipation of higher demand., so I wouldn't expect them to be sold out when you go in on the 28th.

[#6]

Hi Daniel

Thank you for your comments

Having looked at the xbox again and remembering how it was unpacked I am suspecting that it was previous used. As for your question about the power cord. On the cord there are 6 slide receivers that carry the power, in the middle and bellow the receiver areas are rectangular slots molded into the the plastic with a divider wall of plastic running vertical. On the bottom the divider wall of plastic has been crudely cut away so that a plastic tab in the receptacle on the console can slide into it. If the plug was not notched it would not fit in the proper orientation in the console receptacle. As it stands the plug barely sits in the receptacle but it still carries power. I hope this makes since

[#7]

This might belong in another thread, but I'll ask it here.  I downloaded content onto the HDD of my XBox from my account.  My fiancée also has an account and uses the same XBox as I do.  Will she no longer be able to use the downloaded content if I am not playing with her should I have to send my console in for repair?

Thanks!

JB

[#8]

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letra wrote:

Hi Daniel

Thank you for your comments

Having looked at the xbox again and remembering how it was unpacked I am suspecting that it was previous used. As for your question about the power cord. On the cord there are 6 slide receivers that carry the power, in the middle and bellow the receiver areas are rectangular slots molded into the the plastic with a divider wall of plastic running vertical. On the bottom the divider wall of plastic has been crudely cut away so that a plastic tab in the receptacle on the console can slide into it. If the plug was not notched it would not fit in the proper orientation in the console receptacle. As it stands the plug barely sits in the receptacle but it still carries power. I hope this makes since

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Hi Letra,

That plug certainly looks like it's been abused - as if someone took a knife or a file to it in an attempt to shave it down. It definitely lends credence to the theory that it was a used console returned as "new" and resold. You should go in and get it exchanged as soon as possible. If you're concerned about it, you can open the replacement console while you are still in the store and inspect it before you leave, just in case. I used to do that for my customers when I worked for Future Shop.

[#9]

Hey Juice,

That's the way it used to work, but I think they may have corrected that now. I believe that as long as the LIVE account is on the console, the content will still be accessible to anyone, even if the original account is not currently logged in. This might be a question to ask the Microsoft representative if/when you call them for a repair order.

Does anyone else have more relevant and recent experience with this particular issue?

[#10]

Hi Daniel

Thanks again for your comments.

I exchanged the xbox today without any problem. I also checked the power chord and packaging at the store. It all looked good. It set up fine and my son has been playing it for about 3 hours without a problem.

 Thanks again for your help