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

This morning I decided to check the number they'd given me with the repair lookup, it still doesn't find it. So I called back into support, again, not too much wait time, and the agent was friendly. However, again, they are unable to process the repair order. Not the agents fault, but probably something Microsoft should get on top of. The official line is that they are doing system updates so that they can provide the customer with better service Attempting to create the order myself online (in Internet Explorer of course) I still receive the error that they cannot complete my order at this time. I am supposed to try again tomorrow.

Yes it is quite the excuse isn't it? Blockbuster sends out videos? That's pretty cool, sort of like Netflix?

I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later buying an Xbox 360, that's why I held off as long as I did. I only bought it when Halo 3 came out... Sadly I wasn't as impressed with Halo 3 as I was with Halo 2, but that's OK.

I just thought I'd like to keep track of how the whole process goes, from the reports I've read in the past, it is usually pretty smooth, and used to be way more convenient with the return box shipped out to you. I thought it might be fun to use a Play Station 3 box to return the dead Xbox in, though I don't have one.

I guess I'll give it another try tomorrow online and via the phone to see if they've fixed their systems so that they can fix my system

In all honesty though, having warranty service on nearly 3 year old hardware is still a pretty good deal.

My 360 is also my DVD player and media center extender, so I'm stuck with whats on tv, or watching on the computer.

Alright, so I called back today. Again, the wait time was very reasonable... I didn't care for this support agent as much as the previous ones, he wasn't rude or anything, but just didn't seem as friendly as the others, and wanted to trouble shoot the problem even though I provided him with a support ticket number from the previous agent and offered him one from the one before as well... For some reason he wanted to know which game it was I was trying to play that gives me the 3 red lights, I don't think he understands the problem. The previous agents seemed well aware of the issue, this one didn't, maybe he's new, I don't know... Either way, he says the order worked this time and I got a new ticket number (third times the charm? well actually I've tried probably 10 times online or more as well), and I am supposed to be getting an email with the shipping label within 24 hours. Now I need to wait for that and then find myself a printer, and a box. I did just receive a confirmation email confirming my support ticket, which I haven't before. Also, this was the first agent who offered to mail the shipping label to me, rather then email, but I figure if I have to hunt down a box I may as well hunt down a printer.

So as I've said my printer doesn't work... It's out of magenta ink so it won't let me print black... Of course the ink is worth more then the printer, and I rarely use it so I don't want to replace it. I called the UPS store to ask if I could print the shipping label there, they said it was $2.50. So I got to thinking where could I go to print this label, then I remembered the public library across the road has internet use so it probably has printers! I got the label printed up and it only cost 15 cents. :) Then I dug around in my recycle box until I found a box I had got some jackets in from SierraSnowboards.com, a little duct tape, crumpled up news paper, and a bit of leftover bubble wrap and it was ready to go. Now I'll just keep an eye on the tracking number and see how long it takes to get to Ontario, and how long after that before my replacement arrives. I'm hoping for a newer manurfacture date, at least not older, and that they remember my Xbox Live subscription card they promised.

Got my console today. They did include the one month card for xbox live... Though, they taped it to the side of the console, which left a lot of glue on it which was a pain to clean off. Not sure why they couldn't have taped it to the paper explaining that I have to redownload all of my DLC if I want it to be playable by anyone on the console. No idea when the console was made, it doesn't have a manufacture date, just a repair date. 09/09/14.

Sorry, DarkNovaGamer is right, it was 2009/09/14 written on the console.

Yes it seemed a little "hinky" that they taped it to the console, but in the end it was overall a relatively easy process, all that is required is patience. Of course, when this one RROD's I'll probably be out of the warranty period... Probably would be a good time then to get a PS3 and new HD tv? :)