Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

[Valkysas]

From IGN.com

Microsoft Expands Xbox 360 Warranty
Move to cost company over $1 billion.
by Erik Brudvig

July 5, 2007 - Microsoft announced today that it is expanding its Xbox 360 warranty to three years for any customer who experiences the three flashing red lights error message that indicates hardware failure. All repairs will be made free of charge for three years from the time of purchase, including shipping expenses. Anybody who previously has paid for their consoles to be repaired related to three red light error message will be retroactively reimbursed. Other existing Xbox 360 warranties remain unchanged.

The warranty covers all Xbox 360 consoles. Whether you purchased an Elite, Core or regular Xbox 360 with a hard drive, the new expanded three year warranty holds from the date of purchase. Launch Xbox 360 consoles will now be under warranty from hardware failure until November 2008.

With reports of massive numbers of hardware failures, one can easily anticipate that this retroactive warranty update will not be cheap. In fact, Microsoft is going to take a $1.05 to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter that ended on June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs that it will incur under the current and new enhanced warranty policies.

"The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division. "We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come."

The company is making the move as a result of what the company views as "an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles." Microsoft claims that it has identified a number of factors that cause the three flashing red lights error message and has made improvements to the console.

Whether the improvements result in less hardware failures remains to be seen. In the meantime, those with broken Xbox 360s can begin cheering.

guess its safe to buy one now.

[DarkwingChuck]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

I was just about to post that in Misty's thread.

[Patryn]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

Now they just need to price drop it and I'll buy one....when I get the money.

[Goufunaki]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

From xbox.com

Open Letter From Peter Moore

To our Xbox Community:

You've spoken, and we’ve heard you. Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we've not been doing a good enough job.

Some of you have expressed frustration with the customer experiences you have had with Xbox 360; frustration with having to return your console for service after receiving the general hardware error message on the console.

The majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles have had a terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and day out. But when anyone questions the reliability of our product, or our commitment to our customers, it's something I take very seriously.

We have been following this issue closely, and with on-going testing have identified several factors that can cause a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. To address this issue, and as part of our ongoing work, we have already made certain improvements to the console.

We are also implementing some important policy changes intended to keep you in the game, worry-free.

As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience.

If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience.

This will take a few days to roll out globally, and I appreciate your continued patience as we launch this program. I've posted an FAQ that should address some additional questions, and we'll update it over the next few days.

I want to thank you, on behalf of all us at Microsoft, for your loyalty.

[Jeroak Nelave]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

I'm sorry, I am SO going to come off as a 360 hater for this, but...

"Some of you have expressed frustration with the customer experiences you have had with Xbox 360"

SOME!

The amount of people complaining of problems with the Xbox 360 dwarf those of the PS2 by an immense margin.

I mean, seriously, MS saw what the hardware problems did with the PS2, WHY would they not make sure their equipment is more reliable?

[Valkysas]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

I'm sorry, I am SO going to come off as a 360 hater for this, but...

"Some of you have expressed frustration with the customer experiences you have had with Xbox 360"

SOME!

The amount of people complaining of problems with the Xbox 360 dwarf those of the PS2 by an immense margin.

I mean, seriously, MS saw what the hardware problems did with the PS2, WHY would they not make sure their equipment is more reliable?

or at least extend the warranty sooner. The "majority" of 360 users have had consoles die on them. quite a few had them die on them during the launch window. how many people passed bricked 360 demo stations in stores? hell, a poll here showed that most 360s owned by our own community had problems.

the 360 is a good system, don't get me wrong. but that it took them this long to openly acknowledge a problem is rediculous. especially when they're still trying downplay it.

but yes, it is good that they FINALLY did this.

[DarkwingChuck]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

Didn't they do this once before? I remember them reimbursing people who'd paid for repairs at least.

[Jeroak Nelave]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

Yeah, when they extended their original 90 day warranty to 1 year.

[Chrono]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

Yes, I was. There warranty was once only 3 months. Last year it was extended to 1 year.

This is great news; hopefully it will set a precedent with console warranties. There’s really no reason to not buy a 360 now.

[Jeroak Nelave]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

But now MS is also going to have to drop the price of the 360 to make their system stay a better deal than the PS3.

I wonder if they are willing to do that.

[Vonwert]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

I will have to say, I must be lucky, since I haven't had any problems with my 360.

[Valkysas]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

But now MS is also going to have to drop the price of the 360 to make their system stay a better deal than the PS3.

I dont see why they'd have to drop the price of the 360. its cheaper than the PS3, and as far as games that are out right now, it is a better deal than the PS3. Live also blows both competing consoles online services away.

[Misty]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

Well, I'm going to be buying a 360 so this extended warranty is good news. I'm still very much concerned with my system breaking down on me; that is why I'm going to play it safe by getting an intercooler and registering my unit with Microsoft. I just hope the model I buy is reliable enough to last a long time.

[Jeroak Nelave]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

DONT BUY THE INTERCOOLER!

Those things are prone to causing more problems than solving them. My recommendation would be to just make sure you keep the 360 in a cool well ventilated spot. I also think it is a good idea to keep the system vertical, as there is more area open to the air, compared to horizontal where there is a better chance of heat staying in one spot.

[Misty]

Re: Microsoft extends warranty of 360s to three years.

Yeah, Valk told me the ones that share with the 360's power cord will fry the machine fairly quickly.

Still though.....as nice as the warranty is, my hope is that I never have to use it. At least not for a long while....