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My 360 RROD Chronicles
First of all this is not exactly the right place for this, since it isn't Windows 7, I am happy with the quality of Windows 7, it would be nice had Microsoft not dropped the ball so hard on the 360 though.
I know the RROD isn't news anymore, it's like beating a dead horse, sort of... Microsoft still sells Xbox's and as far as I know the reliability is still not there... Every person I know who has a 360 with the exception of my brother whose xbox NEVER gets used, not even casually, has had at least one RROD. I've been lucky, since 2007 my 360 has worked.
Until now, May 15th, 2010 when rewinding a video I was watching my Xbox 360 died, and now brings up the RROD whenever powered on. The 3 red lights and the green light on the power bar. Further inspection produces the error code 0020, which is not really any help.
So I try to go online and submit my repair order. I am a Google Chrome user. It turns out there is some parts of the Xbox support website that are pretty incompatible with Google Chrome. The way my address was formatted was also apparently causing 500 internal server errors. I had a dash between the unit number and the street number, that's the only thing I can think of, when I tried with different formatting it did not get the internal server error.
Of course, by this point I've had to switch to Internet Explorer. Among other things, using Google Chrome, some parts of the form to submit the order are obscured by other parts of the website. I highly doubt this is Google's fault and not Microsoft's fault. They seem to have trouble building standards compliant websites, let alone video game consoles.
So I finally manage to get through the process, the address is in, the serial number is in. The error problem is selected, and the description is filled out. The one decent thing here is that Microsoft has extended the warranty for RROD's to 3 years. So I accept the terms, verify the order, and then click to submit it.
We're sorry we're unable to process your order at this time
OK fine. I wait for the phone support to open up. It says something along the lines of, hey if you have a 360 with RROD then you don't need to talk to us, just go to our website and do it yourself. It does however let you do it over the phone if you insist. One other nice thing is there is not long queues to talk to an agent. They are friendly, from my experience. Upon speaking to the agent I find out they no longer send out return boxes. Great. I don't have a box to send it in, and I don't have a printer to print the label, way to make this easy for your customers. I'm told I should receive an email within a certain time frame with the label I can print, and the whole spiel about what to send, what not to send, etc. I am told it is a replacement order, not a repair, and that I will receive the same Halo 3 edition, just not specifically the same console back. Actually I had to ask if I'd get the same edition back. I asked if I would be getting back a refurbished older console, or one with newer hardware but he said he wasn't actually sure. We go through the whole process, basically the form I submitted online about 20 times trying to complete the order myself, and we get to the end. He says he's having trouble getting a support ticket submitted and asks me to hold for a couple minutes. When he comes back he gives me a ticket number and says I should receive the email in a few hours with the label.
I then ask about my Xbox Live subscription. I don't want to be paying Microsoft for an online service that I can't use with a broken 360... He tells me that I should receive a 1 month subscription card with my new Xbox. Hopefully this part pans out.
I checked the ticket number and couldn't find my order on the support website. It was also at this time I remembered my printer was out of ink (which as is typical costs more then the printer) so I decided to call back and see if there was any way they could send out the box. The agent I talk to this time says she sees that the previous agent tried to submit the return order several times but it didn't work and no order was actually created. Great. So Just get me off the phone so I'm someone else's problem? This agent suggests I try submitting my order online (actually, the previous agent tried that when I first called him too). I explain how the website is not working, and she tells me they can't currently process any orders and I should try again in 24-48 hours.
So to summarize, Microsoft manufactures consoles with a HIGH failure rate. Their website to request a repair isn't working (and only works in their own browser anyways). They no longer send out return boxes which at least provides convenience to customers with defective product. The agent tells me my order is submitted. The next agent tells me my order didn't get submitted and can't be done at this time. I should try myself online, or try calling back again in 1 or 2 days. This is not how support is supposed to work with a large company.
For the record (so I can compare to my refurb console when/if it arrives) the manufacture date on my Xbox is 2007-08-10