Greenberg: Xbox 360 is reliable now

By Tom Bramwell Published 27 August, 2009

And, er, if not we'll fix it.

Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg believes that Xbox 360's notorious hardware problems are "well behind us" thanks to manufacturing improvements.

"I think we've made it clear we stand by the quality of our product and we will make it right by fixing the problem at no extra cost to you," Greenberg told GameSpot.

"But at the same time, we've been working hard to make improvements in the products we're currently making, so I really feel like most of this is well behind us." The platform holder's product management kingpin put that down to things like "lower-heat chips and better cooling".

Although Xbox 360 comes with a one-year warranty, Microsoft will replace consoles that fail with three red rings or E74 errors for a period of three years after the purchase date.

Xbox 360 has been plagued by reliability issues ever since its November 2005 launch, and at one stage author Dean Takahashi claimed the original factory defect rate was 68 per cent.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (64) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • TheDudesRug #1 3 years ago

    So, I can be safe in the knowledge that my current one is going to last more than a year? Fourth tme lucky!

  • Darren #2 3 years ago

    It's kind of tragic isn't it when a company rep has to keep insisting that their products are now reliable? :?

    Perhaps Aaron Greenberg, this costly $1 billion "experience" will teach Microsoft not to rush out a new console without thorough testing in future? ;)

  • Bazfrag #3 3 years ago

    Please tell me you didn't keep buying new ones and by fourth you mean four repairs? My box died two months after the 3 year warrenty. Fuck you Greenberg.
    Edited by Bazfrag at 27/08/09 @ 08:46

  • m0thr4 #4 3 years ago

    I'm not sure why, 4 years after launching the Xbox, and a clear year after the whole RROD issue coming to a head, Microsoft would suddenly decide draw attention to their Achilles' heel once again.

    I went through 4 Xbox 360s initially (my launch machine was DOA and returned for a refund, the second died after 3 months and the other 2 were reconditioned replacements that popped within a week of using them), but my 5th machine has been going strong for well over a year.

    Even with my own bad experience, I had put this issue behind me and regarded any fanboy mention of RROD as a cheap shot.

    I think Microsoft should really concentrate on addressing the Xbox 360's true weakspot which, in my opinion, is the lack of a Blu-ray drive.
    Edited by m0thr4 at 27/08/09 @ 08:43

  • Ikari2001 #5 3 years ago

    lol we can only hope. they tried to charge me to fix my last one earlier in the year but I politely told them where to go, and they did it for free. I expect the same if this 5th one goes too, cos I am not paying to fix a machine I've had replaced 4 times already!

  • muscleblade #6 3 years ago

    @Bazfrag

    Have you heard of warranty? Of course he didnt pay for 4 new ones.
    The only ones that have been hurt by the red ring problems are MS themselves.

  • TheDudesRug #7 3 years ago

    Bazfrag - repaired three white 20GB ones (sorry, don't know the model name or whatever) then gave it to a mate for testing XNA games and bought an Elite which so far hasn't gone wrong. It's still all kinds of ugly mind, they haven't repaired that.

  • muscleblade #8 3 years ago

    @Darren

    I would say that the PS3 was even more rushed really. Shouldnt it have been a better console compared to the 360 coming out a year later? It actually seems to be kind of inferior in many ways even if it doenst break as easily.

  • Darren #9 3 years ago

    I've been through five or six faulty Xbox 360s (hey, I've lost count!). Ironically, it's my launch one that has lasted the longest at 17 months, I've had two that lasted under a month and one that didn't even last one HOUR! I've had two Microsoft repairs and the rest were swapped for new units at GAME. The reliabity has been appalling to say the least for me and has it certainly made me reconsider buying the next machine at launch if there's the slightest indication of hardware failure as there was with the US 360 launch prior to it arriving in Europe.

    The Xbox 360 is a great games console but this kind of thing must have damaged its reputation somewhat and I sometimes wonder if sales might have been even higher had it not had a borked launch. Certainly I know a lot of people who refused to buy their kids an Xbox 360 because of the reliability issue. Even the UPS guys who collected my broken 360s said they wouldn't buy their kids one but then they were picking up dozens of faulty ones every day and that's bound to put anyone off!

  • Darren #10 3 years ago

    @muscleblade - The PS3 should have been better, yes, given that was delayed and launched a year after the Xbox 360 but my launch unit is working perfectly fine after 2 years and five months so, rushed launch or not, I have no complaints about the hardware quality. ;)
    Edited by Darren at 27/08/09 @ 09:59

  • Skurmedel #11 3 years ago

    Bring on the trolls!

    Mine broke down after 1 year. I was a bit angry, but they remedied it pretty much with the überquick replacement I got. Took them two days to fix it and ship it back from germany.

  • dingo75 #12 3 years ago


    "I think we've made it clear we stand by the quality of our product and we will make it right by fixing the problem at no extra cost to you,"

    You want a fucking cookie for that?
    You better fix all screw-ups you made to cut time to be the first on the market with a new console although you were warned constantly by engineers involved in the project without us paying anything!
    Edited by dingo75 at 27/08/09 @ 08:54

  • Bazfrag #13 3 years ago

    @dude. Fair enough. You are free to spend your cash how you want. Its amazing how often people buy at least 1 more new machine after severals RMA's though. I can see why though. Its less hastle than buying something else when you have invested in games, periferals etc.
    Edited by Bazfrag at 27/08/09 @ 08:59

  • GilbertGreen #14 3 years ago

    I love my Xbox but I'm on my third repair, curse you Fable II! The repair process has always been fairly quick but it gets annoying that you never quite know when you going to lose your games machine for a week.
    Edited by GilbertGreen at 27/08/09 @ 08:55

  • muscleblade #15 3 years ago

    "The Xbox 360 is a great games console but this kind of thing must have damaged its reputation somewhat and I sometimes wonder if sales might have been even higher had it not had a borked launch"

    The sales would have been higher no doubdt. Thats why MS was the looser and not the consumers ( exept the consumers that chose to buy another console instead ;-).

  • muscleblade #16 3 years ago

    @GilbertGreen

    I certaintly agree with you on that. I bought another 360 just so i didnt need to wait to get the repaired one back. The 360 always seem to break just when youve bought a game you have been looking forward to for years. Mine broke the day ive got Halo 3 in the house. I couldnt wait 2-3 weeks to start playing it. Im not like that.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #17 3 years ago

    Who is the manufacturer?
    If the issue is quality, then maybe MS should look at Foxconn or Asustek. .

  • DefdumBlindkid #18 3 years ago

    'The reliabity has been appalling to say the least for me and has it certainly made me reconsider buying the next machine at launch if there's the slightest indication of hardware failure as there was with the US 360 launch prior to it arriving in Europe.'

    I'm not getting caught up in the hype next time. I'll give it 6-12 months after launch before I think about upgrading.

  • Bazfrag #19 3 years ago

    "Thing is from hearing about how other people treat the damn things you can get the feeling this isn't a 100% MS thing."

    Ive taken the launch model apart, (the xenon) and that unfortunately IS an MS thing. The way the x clamps attach to the cpu warp it loose when heating or cooling. Ive no 1st hand experience with Falcon, Jasper etc, and I doubt its still that shitty!
    Edited by Bazfrag at 27/08/09 @ 18:23

  • Bazfrag #20 3 years ago

    @Farticus: I.. erm... think you are correct! : D

  • seasidebaz #21 3 years ago

    DVD drive failure = new E74.

    My Pro's developing a DVD drive failure. Need to get it repaired before my year's out (although I think it may already be...)

  • Xerx3s #22 3 years ago

    "Please tell me you didn't keep buying new ones and by fourth you mean four repairs? My box died two months after the 3 year warrenty. Fuck you Greenberg."

    So did mine and they fixed it for free within a week. They may have shite hardware but their customer service is second to none in my experience.

  • kangarootoo #23 3 years ago

    I'm on my 5th (I think, perhaps 6th).

    All of them were replaced directly by PC World, except the last one which failed outside of their own 1 year warranty. I contacted MS directly, and a new replacement was with me within 1 week.

    I have to hold my hands up and say I was completely wrong about the fail rate (I was one of those people who was confident it was within normal tolerances). That said, MS eventually got their support structure in order (at leats in my case, in time to take over from PC World).

    On the whole, I've got enough fun out of my 360 to more than make up for the few days of downtime its suffered. Its not like I'm an addict who can't find something else to do for a week.


    And for balance, I'm on the same launch PS3 I've always had and it has performed flawlessly since day 1.

  • moggsy #24 3 years ago

    @designerheadache

    I think you need to lighten up. It's only a £130 gaming console after all said and done - if it breaks down and needs a repair then so be it.

    It's not a life support machine we're talking about here ;-)

  • Darren #25 3 years ago

    @designerheadache - The truth is that people put up with the 360's reliability issues because the amount of enjoyment they get out of the console far exceeds the amount of time spent replacing it or getting it repaired. It's sweetened somewhat too by the extended three year warranty for RROD and (I believe) E74 failures too.

    That's certainly the case for me even though out of all the consoles I've owned over the years, only the ones made by Microsoft have given me problems (my launch Xbox from March 2002 also died after 14 days too - a faulty DVD apparently).

  • LordMorpeth #26 3 years ago

    Replace at no extra cost? I've been waiting months to receive a refund for an E74 related repair cost last year. Absolutely no joy at all with managing to get hold of it. When you call M$ support most haven't got a clue that this as a policy exists.

    @designer headache: I agree with your sentiment - the challenge for me is, there really is no acceptable alternative. I've had a PS3 for 2 years now and not bought one single game for it. As much as I swear and curse at M$ during the day when on hold again to their customer support, we always make up in an evening when they put gems such as Trials HD or GW 2 on XBLA. I always plump to get the multi-format stuff on 360 just because this is the console I use most. And the clever bloke from Digital Foundry - if I've understood correctly - more often than not concludes 360 games have the edge from a performance perspective. So they certainly have me over a barrel.

  • kangarootoo #27 3 years ago

    @designerheadache

    "i refuse to pay for an expensive game console and then spend the entire time worrying if/when its going to break"

    Methinks your problem is rather closer to home than you think* If you just learn to not really give a shit about the stuff that doesn't really matter, life will be a whole lot less stressful.



    * I realise you were probably exagerating when you said "spend the entire time worrying" :)

  • bslsimes #28 3 years ago

    designerheadache: Three years of people harping on about the problem is "very little comeback"?

  • JahB #29 3 years ago

    @Donnie

    "This problem occurs when your Xbox 360 console experiences a hardware failure."

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907536

  • Bazfrag #30 3 years ago

    "So did mine and they fixed it for free within a week"

    Serves me right for dismantling mine before enquiring if a repair was still possible!
    Edited by Bazfrag at 27/08/09 @ 18:24

  • DanWhitehead #31 3 years ago

    I'm not sure why, 4 years after launching the Xbox, and a clear year after the whole RROD issue coming to a head, Microsoft would suddenly decide draw attention to their Achilles' heel once again.

    The timing does look strange from our point of view, but in the wider retail picture it makes a lot of sense. At a guess, I'd say it's because they're hoping to attract new gamers to the 360 in the face of the PS3 price cut/redesign. You have to understand that while announcements like this are covered by specialist gaming sites, they're not really aimed at us - the early adopters who follow every new development.

    For the new customer thinking of getting a new console this Christmas (or sooner), and assuming they're not interested in a Wii, it comes down to PS3 or 360. Chances are they'll have heard talk of the 360 being unreliable - maybe vague memories of it on Watchdog, or word of mouth from friends. It's also the cheapest, however, and they want to save money if they can. By releasing statements like this, Microsoft ensure that anyone searching the net for info on 360 reliability issues will find lots of nice up-to-date news stories saying that it's OK, it's fixed, you can buy with confidence.

    They can't eradicate all the talk of RRoD online, so they gain nothing by pretending nobody knows about it, but they can negate its impact on someone Googling for quick consumer advice. That could be enough to tip some potential, but wary, customers back towards the 360. For the effort of putting out a press release, it's probably worth their while.

  • bslsimes #32 3 years ago

    Also, if you click through the the Gamespot piece linked in this article, it's not Microsoft drawing attention to the problem, it's them responding to that GameInformer reliability survey.

  • penhalion #33 3 years ago

    Any true gamers who have a 360 will almost universally get PS3 this year if they haven't already. I've moved past this RROD nonsense now. As long as they replace my rig in a timely and efficient manner when/if it fails I'll be happy. Same applies to my PS3 too.

  • DefdumBlindkid #34 3 years ago

    'They may have shite hardware but their customer service is second to none in my experience'.

    @Xerx3s- you are being ironic I hope?
    :-)

  • moggsy #35 3 years ago

    @designerheadache

    'I suppose i am also rebelling a little against the disposable nature we now seem to have, and willingness to chuck things away or replace them quickly.'

    MS are repairing consoles whenever possible. Mine has gone wrong once in the many years I've had it and was repaired by MS. Nothing was chucked away.

  • curtlikesmeat #36 3 years ago

    My first RROD is due back from Germany today - if it breaks again I'll be sure to print a copy of this article and forward it on to you Greenberg.

  • drumbaby #37 3 years ago

    Sorry Msoft, but noone believes a word of this. The Xbox 360 is intrinsically broken by all accounts.

  • SeesThroughAll #38 3 years ago

    So generous of them!

    If every appliance in my house had an "extended warranty", I would never worry again about buying damaged or badly designed products! :)


    /sarcasm

  • GamesConnoisseur #39 3 years ago

    Seconded dan's point of this being more aimed at casual consumers and getting reliabilty being not exclusive to PS3 etc. I have had experience of getting Rroded n was quickly replaced. Fortunate only did that once since launch and done MS big harm than consumers who in majority got sorted with as little a fuss.

    How funnily enough and doubters out there would think I was being sly or such, my work mate with PSN of DocBarnett said his PS3 rroded last night and he ll just get PS3 slim as not going to pay up for repair!
    He added he knows of two other mates of his whose PS3 also went kaput. We compared stats and acknowledged there was a bit more X360 rrods from our circles but ps3 doesn't escape unscathed.

    Still would not be suprised if PS3 managed to get a far better words of mouth.

  • Fab4 #40 3 years ago

    I've had 3 people of my friends list, all on brand new hardware, suffer RRoD in the last 2 weeks.

  • Redeye #41 3 years ago

    Still on my first 360, no problems so far.

    Although I *do* realise that by saying this, I'm not only inviting disaster, I'm offering to take it out for a meal and a movie as well. O_o

  • Lukree #42 3 years ago

    After my last RRoD last autumn, this spring the machine I got from repair cannot read discs anymore. If I would have known how terrible this piece of hardware is I would have swapped camps to Sony. And it's noisy as hell too!

    Well, too late now as I have over 20 games, it feels strange to start buying PS3 games.

  • kangarootoo #43 3 years ago

    @moggsy

    My last one (the only one I've dealt with MS over) wasn't repaired. It was a new unit. I never saw my old system again.

  • El-Dev #44 3 years ago

    @Lukree, I had over 30 PS3 games before I bought a 360. Doesn't feel strange at all, in fact it's really good because you can pick up shit loads of games really cheap. Gow2 for £22 on Saturday, Bioshock for £15 the other week, mirrors edge for £20.

  • DugBriderider #45 3 years ago

    Great so what about other issues? I had 2 instant red rings on my elite which turned out to be a RAM solder issue, fixed eventually by striping the console to its mother board and blasting it with a paint stripping heat gun (hoping not to fry anything important). I think a general 3 year warranty would be a lot more favorable.

    On the plus side I hope the financial pasting Microsoft will be a lesson to all, but just like the long history of Windows consumers have proven that exciting unreliable products with a large install base still outdo safe dull minority products.

    Also the sense of satisfaction by doing the DIY repair was great and the community surrounding this international fuck up is most accommodating, I recommend Llamma repair forums as a 1st port of call.

  • JensonJet #46 3 years ago

    I've only had one 360.

    The only fault I've experienced was the DVD drive died. I think that's fair enough, I've certainly had several pack up in various computers over the years. Plus it was fixed for free, which makes Microsoft one of the most customer friendly electronics business I know of. Maybe I have a strange 360... a reliable one. And it's not for putting it through it's paces either. Throughout it's life, I've used it for very long sessions, often leaving it on for over 12 hours at a time, and it's my only DVD player. Compared to the 360 I've had more electrical goods break down from company... SONY. Six products including a radio, a monitor, a TV, a recordable CD/DVD player and a car radio in an eighteen month period died on me. What's that about 360s?

  • Skurmedel #47 3 years ago

    They replaced mine on sight as well, they didn't even try to fix it. I think something was seriously wrong with it as I had neither RROD or any error messages, one day it just decided to give up and display artifacts on bootup.

  • sneetch #48 3 years ago

    "I think we've made it clear we stand by the quality of our product and we will make it right by fixing the problem at no extra cost to you"

    Except the time it takes to contact them and arrange shipping and, of course, the two or so weeks you're without the console which - if you're a gold member - is time off your Live subscription and so on.

    Odd how they never consider wasting your (possibly limited) time as a cost. Odd as you can be sure they're well paid for their own.

  • davisorle #49 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 20:44:35 16-04-2012

  • Skurmedel #50 3 years ago

    Would you rather have it they break down and they don't fix them? I think one should give credit where it's due. That said, it is rubbish that they break down and take your time.
    Edited by Skurmedel at 27/08/09 @ 17:25

  • spiritsnake #51 3 years ago

    @designerheadache
    i agree with your comments totally,

    svd_grasshopper
    if they never has this monumental design fuck-up, MS wouldnt have this "amazing" 3 year warranty... dont applaud them for fixing your box for free.

    its like saying 'thanks' to someone who vomitted on your bed but wiped it up. you'd rather the prblem not to exist in the first place.

    best comment ive ever read grasshopper,i couldnt have said it better myself.the whole point is that they blundered with
    the design,and they knew their mistake so they had NO other CHOICE but to repair or replace the consoles.
    what else could they have done.if they had refused to do that,no one would have bought a 360 again.
    in my personal opinion i hate when a piece of hardware is so unreliable.i dont like to be stressed every single minute
    im playing,there i am unloading a shotgun into someone and at the back of my mind im constantly thinking abt rrod,wondering
    if it'll hit me the next second,ive had tht happen to me once on a ps2 and im never gona put myself thru that again.
    and what about the 30 million plus xbox 360's sold,how many of those were replacements,or 2nd,3rd,4th,5th etc consoles bought by one person because his others decided to kick the bucket.granted 360 has great games,as does the ps3 since many are cross platform,and sure 360 has a slight graphical edge coz nvidia blundered with the rsx in the ps3,but the pathetic failure rate of the 360 is unforgivable,and to try and lessen the impact of that failure msft sell the 360 at a dirt cheap price and give you extended warranty.
    once again well put grasshopper.

  • Calgon #52 3 years ago

    He's probably got good reason to be saying that(they've never quite said it like that before, they never said it after they moved onto the falcon revision... falcon was a big improvement and jasper *is* an improvement on falcon, so maybe they really have reached that reliability targets?). Maybe the best thing to do is release their own reliability tests on the Jasper 360s, obviously the usuals will call bullshit no matter how legitimate the results are(probably even if they use a third party) but they most likely just hate MS to begin with which renders most of what they say as worthless in such a discussion.
    Edited by Calgon at 27/08/09 @ 18:59

  • spiritsnake #53 3 years ago

    according to ur post,u sound 100% like a troll calgon.and uve made a totally self contradicting post.
    i dont think after reading every comment here,anyone hates msft. i for one love their windows products,and i genuinely enjoy playing the 360,at my friends place coz then i dnt have to be worrying abt it rrod'ing on me. and the 360 has rrod on me while playing at my pals place,5 times at three different houses.i pitied my frineds coz they had no other option.msft warranty isnt available in my country,no standalone repair man knows how to fix the 360 and a new 360 here costs 580 dollars.
    anyway,back to the subject.the 36o has a great outer design,it looks,dare i say sexy.its has awesome games and the best online games experience anywhere.the chunky ps3 looked aweful and for a while after launch dint hv a good roster.but now its got awesome games and its solid reliable.
    period...i wont say more.

  • Calgon #54 3 years ago

    dont applaud them for fixing your box for free.

    By the same token then dont complain like they've done nothing about it, anyone still trying to claim that is a moron of epic proportions.

  • spiritsnake #55 3 years ago

    oh u edited ur post did you.
    enjoy ur time here,goodevening good sir.

  • Calgon #56 3 years ago

    spiritsnake before you get defensive realise that post was not aimed at you but the resident trolls(what would EG be without trolls though eh?) who repeat the same old uninformed bullshit every chance they get, I eventually decided its not worth the effort since I probably wont come back to this thread anyway.

    Atleast now we have the comment rating system trouble is the trolls have learned to use it too now, imagine that, they are displaying learning capacities(it's like them smart zombies... not good). :o
    Edited by Calgon at 27/08/09 @ 18:55

  • spiritsnake #57 3 years ago

    hahaha,guess i had misunderstood ur comment,thot it was at me.i apologise for any inconvenience i may have caused you.
    you're soooo right about trolls,they have infested our gaming world with their rabid noxious gases that spews from their rotting mouths,wish they would all turn to stone.

  • cyber_nicco #58 3 years ago

    I have a US launch model Elite (came out earlier here) and it went back once for a CD drive problem about a year ago. Other than that it's been working great.

    I still can't shake the thought that people that have so many repeat failures are doing something wrong. Perhaps really crappy wiring in their houses? Maybe not - just seems strange to me.

  • patchbox360 #59 3 years ago

    three red rings or E74 errors - disgust me

  • onyxbox #60 3 years ago

    There are people in work that say "i'm sick of sending the thing off" reffering to their son's 360.

    I'd tell them to just buy a PS3 this Christmas but I just know their kids are entrenched in the whole XBL Community and Acheivements and that going PS3 / PSN wouldn't make them happy... so the only option for the parents are to just keep sending 360s off or buying new ones.

    I wouldn't trust Greenberg as far as I could throw him... MS pretty much lied about the whole thing for about 2 years... why the f should anyone trust them about it now.... it's like saying you really will be faithfull this time after being caught with your pants down before.

    Just like Sony had to spew all that BS about not needing Rumble... MS had to spew a load of BS about 360's failure rate..

    They're all lying Barstuards and Greenberg is a plonka ! :-D

    (just an opinion)

  • felastica #61 3 years ago

    My Xbox has had Red ring three times now - I only bought it two years ago. This last time they just gave me a new xbox. Hopefully this one has been made properly.

  • richcz3 #62 3 years ago

    Reliable = Arcade-Jasper. I don't know how many Falcon units (Pro/Elite) are moving with the new price cuts, but I'm sure between now and the holidays, there will be an increased dent in that 1.1Billion repair fund. How long can Sony and MS slug this thing out? This battle is a blood letting.

  • spiritsnake #63 3 years ago

    looking at how this gen is going for sony and ms,i cant wait to hear what the ps4 and xbox next will be like.what precautions will they take,what power are we looking at?and will both the companies continue using their current partners to make parts for their machines? maybe sony will make their own grphics chip for ps4,and will cell make a return!

  • trybexus #64 2 years ago

    The sad reality is that XBOX 360 consoles are really having issues with the hardware inside them. I have personally experienced a comically large list of problems: (3) 3 red lights 0020, (2) with disc read error e74, (2) DOA with error e64, several with random audio and video-related issues and one that actually exploded with a faulty PSU. I did find this which made it easier to bare with: <a href='http://amianonymous.net/blinking-red-light-on-xbox-360-xbox-360-error-code-0020/'>how to fix xbox 360 e74 error </a>