As with all modern day consoles, the only way to get one on launch day is to either preorder them or to camp all night in line at a retailer. Since preordering is much easier, it was the route I choose when the Xbox 360 launched. I went to pick up my unit the morning of launch. Something I was presented with upon purchase of the system was whether or not I wanted to buy a two year warranty package from Microsoft. In the past I had a few Xbox systems and they all were pretty reliable so I quickly said no, paid for the system and was on my way.

Within a month of launch the internet was full of reports of system failures. At first I brushed it off as Sony and Nintendo loyalists spreading untrue and often made up rumors but as more user reports came to light, it was getting hard to believe that this was just a conspiracy. Within a few months, I definitely believed that there were some major engineering flaws in the Xbox 360.

In December 06, 13 months after the system had launched Microsoft was getting hammered by the bad press so much that they decided to extend the original 90 day warranty to a year and offered to fix all consoles that failed due to the red ring of death all free of cost. Additionally, refund checks would be sent to all those who had paid to get their systems fixed since launch. While short of admitting a problem, this was a nice gesture and many customers calmed down now that it would not cost them any money to fix a product gone terribly wrong.

By the end of this period, it was quite well known that the failure rates within the first year were as high as 35% and would most likely rise because of the fact that the vast majority of systems fail gradually. The consensus on the cause of the error known as the red ring of death is that components in the system overheat so much that their solder joints warp. After my year warranty extension was up (Feb 07), I figured that the life expectancy of the system was a few years at best and it was in my best interest to avert system failure and thus costly repairs. How would I attempt to ward off a RROD? If the cause was excess heat, I would need to keep the system board clean. From there I periodically opened the system and cleaned the system board. In July of that year Microsoft made a stunning announcement right before E3 2007. In a half-admission, they said that the reliability of the Xbox 360 system was less than par and that they decided to fully invest big bucks into extending the warranty to three years since the date of purchase.

Great news for consumers, bad news for people like myself who had voided their warranty in the limbo period when the Xbox was not warranted. I had many friends with launch units and ALL of their launch system failed within the first 1.5 years. I kept my system clean and it seemed a miracle it still worked after 1.5 years but alas, almost two years into its life and it suffered the fate the vast majority do, the dreaded RROD.

The only good news at the time was that the newest Xboxes known as the Falcon had just started shipping. Since the launch of the system, there have been very few changes to the hardware aimed squarely at increasing the system’s reliability. The Falcon was arguably the first revision of the system aimed to increase reliability. The two hottest components in the system are the CPU and the GPU. The Falcon used a newer version of the CPU which used much less energy and produced much less heat.

In December of last year, two months after not having a working Xbox, I plunked down and bought a Falcon with the hope that these versions of the system would be a little more reliable. These systems have been on the market for a year and the word on the street is that these versions are much more reliable than the pre Falcon units however they still remain much more faulty than either of their competitors. The faulty factor to this equation would ring true for me almost one year after I bought the Falcon.

On November 13, just a few days before the heralded New Xbox Experience dashboard update was to launch, I turned on my Xbox to get an E74 error message followed by a RROD. I ordered a "coffin" (a shipping box Microsoft provides) from xbox.com. It was shipped from the Pennsylvania area (I can't remember which state). The box came in a matter of days via UPS with an enclosed UPS prepaid shipping label. I packaged up the Xbox and shipped it off the next day. The destination was in the same state I live (Texas) so with any luck, shipping would be quick to and from the warehouse. It got there on the 21st but according to the UPS tracking, the recipient had scheduled a later delivery. The next business day (Monday 24th), it was accepted and I got an email confirmation. Later that day, I got another email informing me that the Xbox had been fixed and I should receive another email with the tracking number of the return shipment.

On the 27th (Thanksgiving), I got an email informing me that the system had not been received yet. My tracking number said otherwise and so did the previous email. The next day I called 1-800-4MY-Xbox and spoke to someone regarding the conflicting emails. I was told that the latter email was in error and the system was already enroot to me via UPS. On December 1, 10 business days (not counting Thanksgiving) after I had requested the coffin I received a working Xbox.

In an earlier article about why so many people have gone through so many systems, I explain what is to be expected from a refurbished system. If history is any indication, this system has a high chance of failure in the next six months. I am happy to say that this system works fine for now even though the DVD-ROM drive is loud. I have never gotten the right combination but presumably quiet fans and quiet DVD-ROM drives exists. Maybe if and when I get another Xbox 360, I will get the right combination.

When the Xbox 3 launches, I will probably get that warranty if it is offered because the Xbox 360 has proven to be one of the most unreliable mass market electronics of modern times. It should have struck me as odd that Microsoft was even pushing an official warranty but instead, I thought little of it. You’d expect some retailers to push their warranty (they all got burned bad on this one) but when the actual manufacturer pushes an extended warranty, I might think of it differently in the future.