Xbox 360 Failure Rate - My Experience with the Red Rings of Death

2010 marks the fifth anniversary of the Xbox 360's launch. Since its release, the console has been plagued with a high failure rate and faults. My family has experienced numerous problems with our 360s. Never have I been so concerned over a console working properly. Five years after launch, how are the failure rates and its other issues being addressed?

The Xbox 360s in my family

I bought mine used from a friend. He recently got it back from Microsoft after the system froze. I put it online in the summer of 2009. Two months later, the headset broke. I got another one. As of today, I'm on my third headset. I'm currently looking into ones that aren't made by Microsoft.

A week before Christmas, the Red Rings happened. My son just turned it off. From the corner of my eye, I saw flashing red. Immediately, I checked the power brick and saw it was green. Three red flashing lights and a green light on the brick are the telltale signs of a complete hardware failure, nicknamed the Red Rings of Death. (RROD) After 4 calls to Microsoft and two hours, my console was all set to get shipped back and fixed. Luckily, I was covered under the warranty. If I wasn't, I would have been charged about $100.00 to have it fixed.

Four days later, my husband and I dropped our son off at my Mother in Law's. He was excited since his uncle's Xbox 360 is there. When we returned, our son announced that Uncle Chris' 360 got the RROD too. I couldn't believe it. I looked it over and sure enough it had the three rings and a green light on the brick. Unfortunately, my brother in law's console wasn't under warranty and he had to pay to get it fixed.

Just this past week, my brother's Gears of War 2 disc was "eaten" by his 360's disc drive. There are chucks missing from the face of the disc. His Xbox was also making some sort of noise it never made before. He's not sure if it needs sending back yet. If it does this will be the second time he's had to do so.

What is the failure rate of the Xbox 360?

Finding the exact number is tricky. Game Informer magazine took a survey of over 5,000 people in the summer of 2009. It found the failure rate to be a shocking 54.2%. Microsoft doesn't deny that the console fails. It also doesn't challenge the 54%. You can read their response here. The survey is controversial and has sparked much debate. Some people claim that 360s of hardcore gamers are going to fail more. Overheating is thought to be part of the cause. My brother in law doesn't play his Xbox for hours at a time and his still failed. Through the years, failure rates from 16% to 33% percent have also been reported. Whatever the exact number is, it's no secret among gamers that the 360 breaks more then the PS3 or Wii.

Xbox 360s has other problems then the RROD. E74 is when one lower quadrant light is red. This is caused by the video scaler chip failing. On the screen, you will see a message in written in different languages. It says "E74 System Error. Contact Xbox Customer support." There is nothing you can do without voiding your warranty. It must be sent back to Microsoft.

The Xbox 360 is also thought to scratch discs. They offer to replace some discs for "whatever reason." This is the list. The BBC Watchdog group has launched its own investigation into the problem. The cause seems to be the disc drive. Since the disc is put on a tray that comes out of the console, it might be that the tray is not properly holding the disc in place. According to the BBC group, Microsoft blames the consumer. Its only solution is not to move the console while a game is being played. Discs have been reported being scratched even without moving the console.

What has Microsoft done?

Microsoft has been making improvements to the Xbox 360 since its release. The Jasper chipset is the latest improvement to the hardware. It's been in the arcade model since October 2008. The Jasper is smaller, runs cooler and is suppose to lessen the chance of RROD. I can not find information on Jaspers being put into repaired consoles. If they are not, the RROD cycle will continue among gamers with older models. Microsoft has extended their warranty for sufferers of RROD and E74. But what will happen when the warranty expires? Will the warranty get another extension? The first extension cost Microsoft 1 billion dollars.

I do not hate the Xbox 360. I love its exclusives like Halo 3, Left 4 Dead, and Gears of War. It's just very frustrating when a console has so many issues. Since this year is the fifth anniversary of the 360's launch, I hope Microsoft continues to address the 360's faults. Gamers just want honesty and straightforward answers. Let's hope Microsoft gives them to us.