IMPORTANT NEWS FOR XBOX 360 OWNERS!

Microsoft has announced that they will be expanding the warranty coverage of the Xbox 360 console due to growing concerns over hardware failures on the next generation console. Thus starting today, Microsoft will be rolling out a new three year enhanced warranty program to address specifically, the hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights on the console. The warranty applies to both new and previously-sold console and will be retroactive to the consoles’ purchase date. The Xbox 360 will still have a general one year warranty for the console but if you experience any hardware failures because of the three red light issue, then the three year warranty applies. Microsoft will also reimburse you if you paid for any hardware repairs relating to the three flashing red light problem.  You can read more about this via the “Open Letter” published by Peter Moore on the Xbox.com website. There’s also an FAQ about the new warranty here.

Most people will also probably wonder what the root cause to this three flashing red light problem is. Here’s what the FAQ has to say about it:

Q: Have you identified a root cause that can lead to failure?
A: There is not a single issue that we can point to as being a problem.  We test the product extensively, including accelerated life testing, but the nature of the console itself is very complex, as it’s a consumer electronic product that contains more than 1,700 different components and 500 million transistors. 

There are a variety of scenarios that can cause a general hardware failure.  Only the indicator (the three flashing red lights) is always the same.

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