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Microsoft's new Xbox 360 service site
Microsoft makes the repair process easier for Xbox customers

Microsoft launched a new website over the weekend which helps streamline the process of getting a defective Xbox 360 repaired. If the past is any indication, it looks as though many Xbox 360 owners will become accustomed to visiting service.xbox.com.

According to Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog, customers can easily register an Xbox 360, initiate the repair process for a defective console and track the status of the repair. Microsoft is also offering customers who sign up for the service a $5 credit for Out-of-Warranty repairs.

The service is currently only available to U.S. customers and you must have a Windows Live ID in order to sign in.

The new website is just the latest in a long line of steps taken by Microsoft to give customers a better "service-side" experience with the failure-prone Xbox 360. Within the past year, the company upped the standard console warranty to one year, expanded its warranty services and extended warranty coverage to three years for Xbox 360's affected by the Red Ring of Death.

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Good in concept
By webdawg77 on 8/6/2007 10:00:50 AM , Rating: 1
This is a good idea in concept except for those people who might already be on a 2nd, 3rd, 4th console.

I currently have my 2nd console in for repair / replacement, but every time I log onto the site to check the status, it says I have no registered devices. When I try to register the 2nd console (which I did way back in November of last year after receiving it), it says there is an error and to call Xboxlive. And yes, I am using the correct Xboxlive ID (only have one).

I think they still have a way to go before getting all the bugs worked out on this one.




RE: Good in concept
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 8/6/2007 10:11:42 AM , Rating: 2
Not really. I would bet good money they have two databases setup right now and one doesn't talk to or feed to the other. It's simply a matter of setting up two feeds to move data changes from one to the other and back.


RE: Good in concept
By webdawg77 on 8/6/2007 10:16:13 AM , Rating: 3
It might only be one bug, that's one big bug ;). What's the point of having this all online if one of the major things it's supposed to do doesn't work :).


RE: Good in concept
By Gul Westfale on 8/6/2007 10:24:08 AM , Rating: 1
maybe this is good in concept, but wouldn't it have been better to invest a little more money in the machine/manufacturing process up front? then they wouldn't have problems on such a large scale now.


RE: Good in concept
By xphile on 8/7/2007 4:28:54 AM , Rating: 2
Sorry but that doesn't really wash. I deal with multiple load balanced web served databases serving the same function, and if this IS the problem then that's quite ridiculous.

If you have this kind of set up and roll it out live and the DB's DON'T talk to each other live then for web servers / services you are failing on the most important aspect of a successful implemention strategy.

Better yet several of the DB's I'm talking about are MS SQL Server based - so you can't tell me MS can't understand how to do this on their own product. I'm of course assuming they trust their own database technology enough to actually be using it as much as they tell their potential customers they should, and it certainly can and does work pretty well, so I don't see how that argument can stand technically. If it is the reason then that is plain sloppy implementation.


OG 360
By riddance on 8/6/2007 11:52:41 AM , Rating: 2
I was just wondering how many people reading these articles still have a functioning xbox from the initial launch batch. I picked mine up on the night it came out and haven't had a problem. My 360 serves as the primary media device for just about everything; games, dvds, cds, media center. It is on for 12-18 hours a day on average.




RE: OG 360
By webdawg77 on 8/6/2007 11:59:39 AM , Rating: 2
My first one was from the initial launch batch. I have a friend who got his first one the actual day they came out by standing outside Bestbuy. We are both on our 3rd box now.

My first one didn't "die" until the Fall Update last year. I definitely played it a lot when I first got it between CoD2, NFS: MW, and Quake 4. I had just started to play it a lot again with CoD3, GoW, and NFS: C when the update came out.

It's just luck of the draw ... think overclocking. Some chips will and some chips won't even from the same batch.


RE: OG 360
By Hotdogah on 8/6/2007 3:13:58 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I was just wondering how many people reading these articles still have a functioning xbox from the initial launch batch.


I do, I use it alot, however I have cleaned it out after about a year it overheated and blanked out a few times and flashed red lights, I decided to take it apart after the Small signal board on my tv went out which costed 900 dollars to fix (im not sure if they are related but it happened at the same time).

I also just changed the junky thermal goo last month that microsoft used. I used artic silver and now I have a much quieter xbox, I mean its normal like a newer one. Mine used to sound like a jet engine even when it was new. I dont worry about its death now as it wuns alot cooler. Mine was mnufatured by foxcon in november according to the case stamp.


RE: OG 360
By Epyon on 8/6/2007 10:58:04 PM , Rating: 2
I got my xbox 360 at launch with 5(I know all of them) other people at the local blockbuster. 4 of the 5 died within a year. 2 died within 6 months of the launch. The last remaining xbox was mine and I was starting to think, just like you, that my xbox was ok and would not need replacement. It just died a couple months ago. It died the same day I got my new 1080p lcd. Seems like its not a matter of if, but when.


Hmm...
By nomagic on 8/6/2007 10:15:38 AM , Rating: 2
I bought a new one immediately after my first one died of RROD two weeks ago. Maybe it is time to send in the broken one for repair.

I wonder what I should do with the repaired xbox360.




RE: Hmm...
By pckiller00 on 8/6/2007 10:57:54 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
I wonder what I should do with the repaired xbox360.


Well, given you would have two 360 consoles, hold on to it, in the unlikely event your new one breaks down, u have a replacement to hold you over until the broken one is repaired.

At least that's what I would do :)

Or give away/sell the repaired 360 console


Not bad idea
By mdogs444 on 8/6/2007 9:51:32 AM , Rating: 3
I dont own a 360, so i've never had the issues/hassle of trying to get one replaced. But IMO, this seems like a good idea to have a dedicated area for replacement, if not only to take off a few steps and hassle of being on the phone while playing the "press this number to:" game.




RE: Not bad idea
By IceTron on 8/6/07, Rating: 0
They need it!!!
By EglsFly on 8/6/2007 7:15:04 PM , Rating: 2
For all the problems the XBOX 360 has... their customers are going to need it all the streamlined support they can get!!!

Power cord recall, bricked from updates, RROD (33% failure rate reportedly on RROD alone), Scratching customer discs, on and on...

At this point its obvious the product hardware design has been poor to say the least. Microsoft has been doing the right things to try and keep their customers. Regardless though, I'd say the XBOX 360 qualifies on the list of lowest quality mainstream (high volume sold) consumer product since its inception.

If RROD is anywhere near 33%, then add to that percentage customers with 360s that scratch discs, and those that where bricked with that update... then what percentage of affected hardware is there? 35%, 40%, higher? That is an insanely high quality/design problem.

Obviously the 360 software titles have carried this product despite its hardware problems.

For example, could you imagine if Toshiba came out with a HD-DVD player that had a similar laundry list of problems!
A product with 33% (or higher) failure rate? Would you buy that product?




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