Are Xbox 360 Conditions Stressing You Out?
No xBox 360 problems? Then count yourself as one of the fortunate ones. With a breakdown rating of more then 50%, most consumers have undergone at least one problem with their console.
The problems range from disks being damaged, to “bricking”, or possibly sometimes the “Red Ring of Death”. Some problems like games freezing can be frustrating, but most people often take on them.
Have you been playing your preferred game on your Xbox, and suddenly it freezes up on you? You reset the console to only find that it freezes again. Taking out the disk you see that there are now scratches on it. Regrettably, this is typical with this console. As many as 1 in 9 consoles placed flat, and 3 in 9 set on their sides have scratched disks. This is due usually to two issues, a pad absent near the reader inside the the disk drive, or the drive not locking the disk in place before running.
Another issue Xbox 360′s encounter is “bricking”. “Bricking” is a term used within the field due to the brick form of most electronics. Since a brick is ineffective when it comes to electronic devices, when items like a game console, DVD player or related gadget quits, it’s now “useless as a brick”. Some dashboard changes have caused “bricking”. The only solution for this is to check with Microsoft to see about a replacement or repair your Xbox 360. If the console is not in the period of warranty, the repair might cost anywhere from $99 and up.
The most common problem with Xbox 360′s is the “Red Ring of Death”. The name for this issue is derived from the three red lights that are on around the power light on the face of the console, forming a red ring. This is as a result of either a general hardware failure or a main digital failure. Either of these problems is not good. Both call for your console to be taken to Microsoft for repair or replacement. The average time taken to receive one back is eight weeks. Due to the rate of occurrence of this issue, Microsoft stretched the 1-year warranty that these consoles came with to 3 years from date of buying.
Because of the frequency of failures with the Xbox 360, there have been several lawsuits made. The first was right after the release of the console. Second was filed in November of 2006, only about a year after release. This lawsuit was made due to the “bricking” that was encountered after the November 1, 2006 release of a dashboard fix.
The most recent class action lawsuit made against Microsoft was in October of 2008 by Californian users. The filers claim that Microsoft knowingly made faulty consoles and that they refused to release the actual failure numbers of the consoles.
Xbox 360′s too often have issues. In an industry where only 3-5% is a reasonable failure rating, a rating of over 50% is outrageous! What happened to the game consoles that lasted for years and years free of any problems what so ever?


