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Microsoft UK Getting 1500-2500 Broken Xbox 360's a day!

Time: 09:44 EST/14:44 GMT | News Source: E-Mail | Posted By: Byron Hinson

No real surprise if you read forums and speak to other 360 users, but here in the United Kingdom we've finally heard the kind of problems the Xbox 360 is in in terms of how many faults there are with units. It has turned out that as many as 2500 units are being returned a day and that Havent (where the 360's are repaired) are now so overwhealmed they are having to ship them to other areas of Europe to be repaired.

Didn't J Allard once say that the PS3 would have overheating problems due to its case design...well J, it looks like Sony were actually right for once in their design. Work out the percentages and you're well on your way to a 20% plus failure rate.

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#1 By AWBrian (1944 Posts) at 6/27/2007 11:20:30 AM

Well, the PS3 is having overheating problems. They are being reported daily on the forums at www.playstation.com, so I guess J was right.

#2 By TechLarry (3677 Posts) at 6/27/2007 11:41:49 AM

Holy Crap!

#3 By mctwin2kman (231 Posts) at 6/27/2007 11:44:41 AM

My Brother in law had three XBOX360's in a year. Last one lasted less than 24 hours after replacement. He traded that dead one for a PS3 and has had no problems what so ever with his PS3. Which he has had a month or so now and it has so far out lasted his original 360. Not that one person can compare to all the 360 owners experiences but 3 in one year is not exactly a good sign for him. He had similar problems with the XBOX, original, and no problems with his PS2. He has just had better experiences with the Sony's I guess. He only bought the 360 to see if MS got any better and the PS3 was not out yet. Oh well I guess.

#4 By AWBrian (1944 Posts) at 6/27/2007 11:55:06 AM

I have never had a problem with my Xbox 1. I went through 3 PS2's before my 4th one was the charm. I have 2 friends that have replaced their PS3's twice.

#5 By Byron_Hinson[AW] (2030 Posts) at 6/27/2007 12:05:46 PM

Have to say it would have been better for MS to admit to the problem and make sure they fix it right the FIRST time - I've returned 3 and if it had not been for being a reviewer I would have been without one for around 2 months in total during my time and that is just not good enough for anyone who has bought one. I see the comments daily in the newsgroups and forums etc and even my two brothers have had to have theirs repaired too.

#1 - can't say I've seen many problems with the PS3's certainly not compared to the 360 - I'd say that the PS3 hits the 3% failure rate that MS talked about while the 360 is probably hitting 25 which is dreadful.

That isn't a PS3 is better than 360 comment either - it is just that their internal design for removing heat is much better and not flawed like the 360 has been - its one of the reasons MS has changed their internal heatsink design for the Elite in the hope it stops the mass of problems.

#3 - sounds normal, I had one repaired and I when I got it back it died when I turned it on the first time! You would think they might test them before they send them back,

#6 By AWBrian (1944 Posts) at 6/27/2007 1:30:14 PM

I frequent the PS3 forums daily, so it's very evident that it is above the "3%" return rate. Not a day goes by there and 10 new posts come up about PS3's overheating/dying/crashing and questions about getting them exchanged.

The two friends of mine both had theirs (PS3s) only a few months, and they died within 2 weeks of each other.

#7 By Byron_Hinson[AW] (2030 Posts) at 6/27/2007 1:57:33 PM

I would still go with it being under 3% of sales against failures for the PS3 - I use those forums each day and its far far lower than the 360 and about the same level as the Wii. I know 7 people who have had to have a 360 repaired, I think that is just about everyone I know who has bought one and some of those have had to have them repaired multiple times.

As for the PS3 faults I don't deny there are some, its just no where near this level not even in the slightest, I'd even say the faults on the 360 are 10 times that of the PS3 and Wii put together.

I don't know what the defence of this is really, they have been lying about the failure rate for over a year, but even I have to say I never expected it to be as high as this. But when you have multiple people returning consoles up to 7 times for the same one, its just not acceptable.

As you should know - I love the 360 more than any other console, but for anyone to say that the rate of failures is fine is just silly and completly unfair for those mass of users affected.

#8 By sodablue (5245 Posts) at 6/27/2007 2:27:41 PM

Wouldn't heat failures only be evident if one was playing games?

That might explain why the PS3 users don't see more heat problems.

:-)

#9 By MrRoper (313 Posts) at 6/27/2007 3:25:55 PM

I'm on my second 360 now. I'm almost afraid to turn it on if the room is a little warm as I don't want to go through the exchange hassle again.

#10 By AWBrian (1944 Posts) at 6/27/2007 5:18:40 PM

I never said the failure rates were equal. I was pointing out that the PS3 failure rate is growing fast. With about 12 million Xbox 360s to 3 million PS3s, it's bound to be more problematic on the 360 as it is more saturated. As the PS3 has started to sell more, the problems are showing up more and more each day. And there is no doubt, if you go to the official forums, that the rate of return is surely higher than 3%.

#11 By lketchum (3180 Posts) at 6/27/2007 5:24:52 PM

Still on our first, but I do wonder, having read these and related posts, if it has not held up so well, because we keep our home so cool.

#12 By Fritzly (1155 Posts) at 6/27/2007 5:52:19 PM

I do not understand the sense of most of these posts:
If I buy a XBox and the console get fried I am upset because I was sold something defective; the fact that owners of the PS3 have problems too does not make me feel any better.
Same logic apply if I buy a PS3.

This post was edited by Fritzly on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 17:53.

#13 By MrRoper (313 Posts) at 6/27/2007 6:03:50 PM

Yes lketchum, you're probably onto something there. I have the a/c cranked up in the room with the 360 so I can play later. Perhaps in the winter I can mount it outside a window and extend its life. Or pack it in dry ice.

#14 By sodablue (5245 Posts) at 6/28/2007 12:44:55 AM

#12 - Bleah, that's a reasonable position. What fun is that?

#15 By mooresa56 (2850 Posts) at 6/28/2007 12:58:39 AM

byron - "while the 360 is probably hitting 25 which is dreadful" . Oh c'mon! Lets be a tiny bit serious, please.

Anecdotally (and that IS what we are all talking about)... I got my x360 on day 1 and its never been a problem.

This post was edited by mooresa56 on Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 00:59.

#16 By Byron_Hinson[AW] (2030 Posts) at 6/28/2007 1:42:17 AM

#15 - so you are one of those who still actually believes that its around the 3% mark, classic. There are those out there who have never had a problem everyone knows that and I'm glad you haven't. I still have one 360 that hasn't needed repairing either...doesn't mean i'm blind to the fact there are a mass of problems does it ;o)

#17 By Byron_Hinson[AW] (2030 Posts) at 6/28/2007 1:43:42 AM

#11 - I'd agree with you - but living in the UK you would know most of our lives we have no hot weather! So the amount of problems seen here just relates to the heat inside the 360's.

#18 By Don_Corleone_Z (1 Posts) at 6/28/2007 4:24:26 AM

I Have a Ps3 and have left The Console on for 72hrs And Not had any problems Im From The UK and a Heavy Gameri was going to get a 360 as my friend has one but i will not get 1 until it will be guarenteed not to blow up in my face ill stick with the safe Buy PS3 add me psn id Don_Corleone_Z

#19 By Byron_Hinson[AW] (2030 Posts) at 6/28/2007 6:43:51 AM

#19 mine has been going even longer than that as I run folding@home when not using it. Can't say I'd dare leave my 360 on over night.

#20 By AWBrian (1944 Posts) at 6/28/2007 7:47:29 AM

#19, I can't remember the last time I turned my Xbox 360 off. It runs 24x7, week after week. It's always running, and it's usually hosting rooms while I am in bed or at work. I think it's been about a month since I last turned it off (only because I had a LAN party and moved it).

#21 By lketchum (3180 Posts) at 6/28/2007 11:55:58 AM

#17, Very true [about it being cold] but I also recall that in the U.K./EU rooms were heated via stored/radiated heat in most cases and at best, each room had/has a rudimentary thermostat.
My "lay BS" analysis follows:

***For those in the U.S. where central HVAC is the norm - in the EU, people often use a type of stone that is stored in these very heavy/large metal devices positioned inside rooms - at night, when electrical current is of lower cost, they heat the stones and store the energy for use during the day... that heat is either radiated, or supplemented with focred air from a small localized fan, or they use a fuel oil that warms radiators. In either case, the air is hot as heck and equally dry - hydrating it is a must and it does not remove moisture from the air - which in the U.K. and low contries, can be a problem - hot humid air year round, or cold damp air - take your pick. *it explains why in the EU people pack around little packs of tissue and culturally, why it is no big deal to honk your nose in public - even restaurants [where here, we'd excuse ourselves to the restroom].

Any case, the point wasn't so much about all that detail, as it is about humidity - wet charges of air are death to such devices - as are inversions [heating - cooling rapidly] and water cools 3000 times faster than air - so wet air would produce not only a thin condensation layer, but also more rapid and pronounced inversions - adding yet more water. Look inside elec cases in the EU and you will actually see rust [fine thin layer at first and far worse over time].
Also, damp air - especially cool damp air, holds a static charge - it's why our datacenters have dual humidity controls with dryers [to keep humidity and static charges lower].

So I think perhaps, environment has a lot to do with it - where humidity in both hot and cold environments is a factor - not only do things not cool as well, they also produce static charges that can be death to elec. devices. Finally, it is best to run your AC [compressor] for longer/sustained periods - vice over-cooling with wetter charges [e.g., an AC unit can be too large for a room/application]. [Search on ME to VE density ratios for more on how to plan for such in data centers, etc...].

#22 By lketchum (3180 Posts) at 6/28/2007 11:58:03 AM

#20, if you see my #21, above - that may well explain why yours has lasted - sustained, stable temp - vice temp inversions of any scale and less moisture and therefore, less static charge [which would dissipate at roughly the same rate at which it was forming].

#23 By Latch (3224 Posts) at 6/28/2007 3:42:41 PM

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160603

#24 By Byron_Hinson[AW] (2030 Posts) at 6/28/2007 4:09:28 PM

#23 - there is another story today of the UK's biggest console repair firm announcing they will no longer repair 360's as they are getting too many of them and most need motherboards replacing.

#25 By mooresa56 (2850 Posts) at 6/28/2007 10:00:06 PM

byron - "so you are one of those who still actually believes that its around the 3% mark, classic."

what are you implying? Thats i'm no objective in my observation? How can I be more objective than reporting what my own console has done in the past 2 years? Or are you just calling me a liar, in general?

AWBrian - same here. I leave mine on for weeks at a time. In fact, mine gets extra heat off the back of my television, DVR, and wireless antenna.

Some simple math for all... at last count there were ~6million x360s in the wild. At 3%, thats 180 THOUSAND bad systems. Yet some (byron, i'm looking at you) think a few hundred posts on a smattering of forums somehow turns that 180,000 defective systems into TWENTY FIVE PERCENT? Dont be gullible.

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