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Microsoft Acknowledges 360 Issues, Extends Warranty to 3 Years

Posted by Zonk on from the red-rings-of-awesome dept.

RamblinLonghorn writes "Microsoft has announced that they are extending the warranty for all Xbox 360s to 3 years. This appears to be entirely retroactive and that 'those who have already paid for such repair charges can expect reimbursement checks for the amount of their console repair.' It seems as though Microsoft is accepting the blame for the hardware malfunctions, but it is worth noting that this warranty modification only applies in the 'Red Rings of Death' situation."

2 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Still, they break. by rbgaynor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Quality control / reliability is the issue. How they handle it is at best damage control. The most they can hope for is people thinking "They really screwed the pooch there, but at least they agreed to adopt the puppies." As for stepping up with the warranty did they really step up or is this a preemptive step to avoid a large (and expensive) class action lawsuit.

    --
    "Good things don't end with eum, they end with mania or teria." - H. Simpson
  2. Re:Microsoft NEEDED to do this? No. by Velops · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The formulas used to calculate warranties are meant to cover manufacturing errors. Every once in a while, a defective unit will get past quality control in the factory due to human error. The warranty is designed to protect customers if they get one of these units.

    The "Red Ring of Death" is likely from a design flaw, not a manufacturing error. A manufacturing error would not account for the abnormal failure rate. It is literally built into every unit that leaves the factory. The only long-term solution to a design flaw is a product recall.

    Extending the warranty is just a temporary solution because Xbox 360s will continue get the "Red Ring of Death".