Friday, July 6, 2007

Microsoft Extends Xbox 360 Warranty to 3 Years

It seems like Microsoft finally decided to step up and fix some of the major problems that 360 owners have been complaining about. After recent reports showed the average console failure rate at 33% rather than Microsoft's originally stated 5%, the console maker stepped up by adding 2 years to its current 1 year repair policy for consoles which showed the dreaded '3 Red Lights' Error.

The company hopes this will strike a boost sales and increase customer satisfaction, as well as to stay on even grounds with the comfirmed $100 price drop on the Playstation 3. I am personally very pleased as a 360 owner, since I am assured a working console for the next 3 years. Despite, this, it was not all good news on Microsoft's part, as they will be ending up paying about 1.5 billion dollars to deal with the console repairs.

Original Article Below:


http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/13876/Microsoft-Extends-Xbox-360-Warranty-to-Three-Years/

"An open letter from Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the interactive entertainment and devices division at Microsoft, has just announced that the compnay is extending the warranty of the Xbox 360 to cover any console issues resulting in three flashing red lights, for three years from purchase. The company still denies there is a design flaw that causes the 3 RLOD. Regardless, it's good to hear the company will fix any console experiencing the 3 RLOD free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date.

Open Letter From Peter Moore To our Xbox Community: You've spoken, and we’ve heard you. Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we've not been doing a good enough job. Some of you have expressed frustration with the customer experiences you have had with Xbox 360; frustration with having to return your console for service after receiving the general hardware error message on the console. The majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles have had a terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and day out. But when anyone questions the reliability of our product, or our commitment to our customers, it's something I take very seriously. We have been following this issue closely, and with on-going testing have identified several factors that can cause a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. To address this issue, and as part of our ongoing work, we have already made certain improvements to the console. We are also implementing some important policy changes intended to keep you in the game, worry-free. As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience. If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience. This will take a few days to roll out globally, and I appreciate your continued patience as we launch this program. I've posted an FAQ that should address some additional questions, and we'll update it over the next few days. I want to thank you, on behalf of all us at Microsoft, for your loyalty. "

- TeamXbox.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just read this on xbox.com, but it looks like Microsoft is finally beggining to understand their system is flawed. I think its great they are fixing them for free though. +1 Microsoft

Anonymous said...

WooT! Free repairs on my 'about to die' 360. I though I was going to have to shell out 150 to get it fixed!

Anonymous said...

meh 360 was fixed a few weeks ago for a hefty fee :( glad they are gonna refund me for it tho.