Several weeks ago I bought my copy of Halo 3 and sat down to play it. As luck would have it, my xbox rrod'd right then. I sent my 360 in and 3 weeks later they sent me a different 360 along with a note explaining that my old unit could not be fixed. I didn't really care, I just wanted to finally play halo. So I plug it in and push power, only to realize that the power button is weird. It only works if you push the upper corner - if you push it in the middle nothing happens. Still wanting nothing more than to play halo, I overlooked this. But as soon as I pushed the power the unit began to make a whining noise. After listening, I could tell it was coming from the fans. Its not the drive because I didn't have a disc in. I tried to ignore it, but the whine is really loud and constant. I can hear it even when playing games. It sounds like a VERY loud overclocked PC. I called their customer support and after a very LONG time got through to an American support agent (not one of the indian employees just reading a script). I was told that the newer units being sent out as replacements are louder because of a new fan. He said I can either get used to it or I can send it back. If they replace it, he said I only have about a 20% chance of getting a quieter one.

Has anyone had a problem like this? I want to know how you handled it and if you managed to get a quieter system. :confused:

Several weeks ago I bought my copy of Halo 3 and sat down to play it. As luck would have it, my xbox rrod'd right then. I sent my 360 in and 3 weeks later they sent me a different 360 along with a note explaining that my old unit could not be fixed. I didn't really care, I just wanted to finally play halo. So I plug it in and push power, only to realize that the power button is weird. It only works if you push the upper corner - if you push it in the middle nothing happens. Still wanting nothing more than to play halo, I overlooked this. But as soon as I pushed the power the unit began to make a whining noise. After listening, I could tell it was coming from the fans. Its not the drive because I didn't have a disc in. I tried to ignore it, but the whine is really loud and constant. I can hear it even when playing games. It sounds like a VERY loud overclocked PC. I called their customer support and after a very LONG time got through to an American support agent (not one of the indian employees just reading a script). I was told that the newer units being sent out as replacements are louder because of a new fan. He said I can either get used to it or I can send it back. If they replace it, he said I only have about a 20% chance of getting a quieter one.

Has anyone had a problem like this? I want to know how you handled it and if you managed to get a quieter system. :confused:

New fan? BS. Call them back and tell them you want a replacement and you want it with all new parts.

Yeah, if they send a refurbished one, which I got after my RROD, they guaranteed me that refurbished meant all new parts in an old casing. Mine's been fine (and probably quiter than yours, from your description) since I got it back. Go rip 'em a new one. Only problems being more time on the phone giving yourself a headache and more time without Halo :(

Well, surprisingly that worked. I called back and finally got through to a manager. It turns out that if you complain enough that instead of the usual turn around time they will speed it up. They are going to send my xbox overnight instead of by ground and they are going to exchange out all the components for the new ones - he even guaranteed that they would use the 65nm. They also are giving me a new power supply. I'm dubious but the manager did give me his personal extension so at least I won't have to wait on hold so long next time I return a console.

Before you forget...write down his name and the time and date you talked to him and what he promised you.

I got a refurbished unit back in July after sending in my 2nd RROD console and come to find out the refurb (my 3rd console total) has a DVD drive that's going out and produces a ton of disc read errors. I finally got around to replacing it with a brand new HDMI 360. I don't see what the point is of sending people pieces of crap for their piece of crap. Kind of a waste of a billion or so dollars I think.

Just wanted to give an update here - I received my replacement console and.... (drum roll please) - IT WAS BROKEN OUT OF THE BOX. I pulled it out and hooked it up - it won't read xbox discs. Seems its having an identity crisis. It keeps telling me that I need to put the disc in an xbox 360. I called and was told that I need to send it in for repair AGAIN. This is ridiculous. If they had done ANY product control testing they would have caught this. And microsoft is refusing to give me a new console. They said that that was not possible and I could either keep my broken one or send it in for another of their refurbished ones. Sigh.
Any suggestions?

Does the disc happen to be Halo 3? If possible pop in another game disc and see if that works because I remember reading something about bad batches of H3 discs. Rushed out the door methinks. :rolleyes:

Its every single disc.

Just wanted to give an update here - I received my replacement console and.... (drum roll please) - IT WAS BROKEN OUT OF THE BOX. I pulled it out and hooked it up - it won't read xbox discs. Seems its having an identity crisis. It keeps telling me that I need to put the disc in an xbox 360. I called and was told that I need to send it in for repair AGAIN. This is ridiculous. If they had done ANY product control testing they would have caught this. And microsoft is refusing to give me a new console. They said that that was not possible and I could either keep my broken one or send it in for another of their refurbished ones. Sigh.
Any suggestions? Like I said...tell them you want all new insides.

If you can't get a new box, then ask to speak to someone higher. Do they tell you that's not possible?

Research the Lemon Law for your state. You may be able to throw some statutes at them to get a refund or a brand new unit.

Thumper: I researched the lemon laws and called up and cited the Magnus consumer protection act. That turned out to be the wrong approach - the guy clammed up and now they have downgraded my shipping. This means that they now claim that I can't get the overnight fedex and have to take the ups ground. When I did the ups ground it took a month while the latest time with fedex it only took a week.

Beezdeez - I am currently dealing with the management level. When I ask to talk to a supervisor I am told that I will have to wait for a call back. I have requested several times and still have not received a call back.

I have never been treated worse by a company in my entire life.

I would file a claim with the BBB if it were me and possibly with my state's Attorney General Office. Sounds like you have a valid claim.

hate to hear it... :(

I have filed a claim with the BBB and with another consumer agency. I am right now looking into filing a claim against them in small claims court. But all of this seems ridiculous when all I want is a working xbox.

I'm on my tenth 360 since launch, so I feel your pain. Back in October '06, they sent me one that was immediately bricked by the fall update, then sent a DOA unit, then lost my return for two months, finally sending me a working unit in January. They promised on multiple occasions that I would receive a new unit. Out of all the replacements, all were refurbished. Also, the only one of those many refurbs to have the new GPU heatsink was the one I just received a few weeks ago. It runs quieter than any I've had, so I don't buy that "new fan" nonsense they sold you.

I work at a law firm, so here's the sad reality: They don't have to give you a new 360, or even one with new innards. They just have to give you one that WORKS, however long that takes. So long as they're going through their established process, they are legally upholding their terms of warranty. The only possible claim you would have for the time you're without the unit (since it doesn't earn income for you) is lost Xbox Live time... which they've now circumvented by sending 1 month Live cards with every refurb. If you start spouting statutes and state codes at them, you won't scare them a bit... You'll simply get stonewalled and they'll stop talking to you (as their lawyers have likely dictated as policy). They're freakin' MICROSOFT, people. You file a small claims suit and they'll bury you in pleadings and requests for production just to prevent you setting a precedent that might cause others to do the same.

Good luck. But don't hold your breath on ever getting the 65nm chipset from them. Just be glad if you get one that actually works.

Actually, in California they would not be able to "bury me in pleadings" in small claims court. Here, a party is not allowed to be represented in small claims court by their attorney. They would be limited to sending a local employee.
And under California consumer protection laws I can get a refund if an unreasonable amount of time has passed and my unit is still not working.
My goal through a small claims action is not to scare them, but to force their hand. Having worked in the small claims court as a mediator while I finished law school, I have seen similar cases involving corporations such as Best Buy. In all of those cases they settled quickly.
But my point is that it is ridiculous that it has even come to this. I can't believe that you are on your TENTH unit! That is ridiculous! How long has your current console been working?

Isn't there somewhere in their agreement where they have to give you a new one if they can't fix the one you gave them?

Number 10 arrived just a few weeks ago. The longest I've had one work so far is about 7 months. I've had one die 5 weeks after purchasing it, one arrive DOA, and one killed by the Fall update. The most recent death wasn't even a red-ring... The freakin' DVD drive stopped reading discs. Last year, I got so tired of waiting for a working system that I bought a Core system as a backup... which is the one that died 5 weeks later.

And no, RTRic... they don't HAVE to give you a "new" one under any circumstances. I've heard of them doing it if a customer has had like 3 dead refurbs in a row... but even if they do send you a new unit, they don't have to send you a 65nm unit. If they can't fix the unit you sent them, they replace it with a refurbished unit. Sadly, the quality control on these refurbs isn't the best, so sometimes they arrive borked. And often, they'll promise you a new one and send you a refurb anyway. That has happened to me twice now - once with their escalation department, whose only answer was to send me a free copy of Viva Pinata.

It's a shame that the 360 is so damn fun to play WHEN IT WORKS or I'd have given up long ago!

MS has a bad habit of sending half assed refurb units that aren't even fully fixed.

When my first 360 went RROD and I got a unit back it had a broken faceplate with part of a McDonald's double cheeseburger wrapper in it!

I finally gave up and traded mine in for a 65mm one. I'm such a tool...

I've only had 1 console die and so far the replacement still works. I would like to buy one of the new 65mm ones, but I feel like I'm just giving them more money as a reward for their crappy quality and service.

I wish they would just give people an option of getting a replacement console or a voucher for $100-$200 towards a new console. It would seem that it would be in their best interest to get the bad consoles out of circulation and encourage as many people as possible to buy newer ones.

I wish they would just give people an option of getting a replacement console or a voucher for $100-$200 towards a new console. It would seem that it would be in their best interest to get the bad consoles out of circulation and encourage as many people as possible to buy newer ones.

They would never do that as it would be like admitting that the console is garbage. It would open them up to (more) lawsuits.

I wouldn't be surprised if they extend the RROD warranty and make it lifetime.

LOL....you know something is a lemon when people say,"I've only had to return two of them!"

They would never do that as it would be like admitting that the console is garbage. It would open them up to (more) lawsuits.

I wouldn't be surprised if they extend the RROD warranty and make it lifetime.

LOL....you know something is a lemon when people say,"I've only had to return two of them!"

Haha... QFT...

I've had mine for quite a while (probably about a year and a few months). Haven't had any problems with it at all (knock on wood).