Microsoft to Extend Xbox 360 Warranty Coverage

Good news for Microsoft Xbox 360 owners, Microsoft has announced through a press release that it will be extending the global warranty of the Xbox 360. The warranty is good for 3 years from date of purchase but only covers owners of the Xbox 360 who experience a hardware problem indicated by three flashing red lights.

The three flashing red lights is what is commonly called the "red ring of death" by gamers. This is indicated by three red lights on the third quadrant of your console. The Xbox has been marred with problems since its launch. Reports of overheating and an unstable system has plagued its reputation but the worst scenario that an Xbox owner can come across with is the three flashing red lights. The Xbox 360 usually flashes a series of red lights to indicate specific problems that the system is experiencing. When four red lights in the quadrant is lit, this is usually due to A/V cable not being properly connected, two red lights on the left means the console is overheating and one red light on the bottom right is usually a general hardware failure. Hardware problems can only be resolved by contacting Xbox customer service and the only way to resolve the three flashing red lights is a visit your repair center so that your Xbox 360 can be replaced with a new one.

A lot of Xbox owners have already made this trip to their repair center and apparently, the number of Xbox owners who have experienced this problem has alarmed Microsoft and viewed this as unacceptable. According to Microsoft's press release, they have conducted investigations and has identified some of the general causes of the hardware failure and made improvements to the console.

Microsoft will be shouldering the repair expenses if users have experienced the hardware problems indicated by the three flashing red lights including the shipping costs. Microsoft estimates that it will be spending $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion of its earnings for the costs to repair the Xbox 360. Microsoft will also be reimbursing any customers who have previously paid for expenses caused by the three flashing red lights.

Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division has apologized for any problems or frustrations that the hardware problem has caused some of their customers.

"We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come," Bach said in the press release.

SOURCE:

Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Expands Xbox 360 Warranty Coverage. Microsoft press release. URL: (http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2007/jul07/07-05WarrantyExtentionPR.mspx)

Wikipedia, Xbox 360 technical problems. URL: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_technical_problems#General_hardware_failure)