Red Ring of Death

AAAsnwbordr

New Member
So me and two other friends chipped in and got a used xbox 360 with 2 controllers and 3 games. It was $200. We found it on craigslist and met the guy at Wal Mart. When we brought it home, we turned it on and all the lights except the first quadrant were blinking red. After looking it up, we found out that this meant that there was a general hardware failure. Is there anyone here that was had the "red ring of death" and have been able to fix it? If so, it'd be helpful to know how. We're super mad because the guy totally ripped us off. We have his phone number but i don't know if we'll be able to work something out. Please help!

Thanks.
 

brian

VIP Member
no. there is a HUGE flaw in the 360. they over heat them selfs and kill them. microsoft finaly gave in and isued a 3 year extended warnity. but i would go to the skub bag that gave it to you and make him eather buy you a new one or fix it. because i think he know it was broken.

if you dont get hit to get you a new one eather a) sue him or b) call the cops b/c that is illegal to sell a defective product (i think)
 

g4m3rof1337

Active Member
OK.
If the 360 got a ring of death, that was probably unpredictable.

But if you bought it, and the first time you turned it on you got the ring of death, contact the seller.

And Brian, you keep bashing the 360, but yet, the PS3 doesn't stand a chance against the 360.
 

AAAsnwbordr

New Member
Alright, ya, we're going to try and contact the seller and if we can't and he really is a total jerk and completely jipped us off, then it sounds like we'll be covered with the new 3 year warranty. Thanks guys for the input.
 

g4m3rof1337

Active Member
Are you sure he didn't mention anything about it?
Cause, you said you paid $200. And when you turned it on, it was broken.
 

hermeslyre

VIP Member
If the guy sold it to you broken, I.e. The first time you turned it on it got the red ring of death, Then he has no intention of replying to anything you may send.

The good news is the Red ring of death is fixable. It requires you to take apart the 360 and use a heat gun on the motherboard Processing units.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjjinHmEoss&mode=related&search=

There are video instructions all over the net, If this specific video isn't helpful (I didn't watch it)
 

Bl00dFox

New Member
The best go is to send it back. Trying to fix it yourself will only get yourself into a worse situation.
 

hermeslyre

VIP Member
The best go is to send it back. Trying to fix it yourself will only get yourself into a worse situation.

He bought it second hand for $200. He can't send it back, he was swindled. If you mean to M$ I'm don't think they'll repair it without a receipt or warranty, something of that nature. (Nintendo will sometimes, they're nice though)

The two options he has, As I see it, is to toss it out and buy a new one or fix it.
 
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hermeslyre

VIP Member
Sue him? If this guy was afraid of getting sued he wouldn't have done it. The chance OP is going to sue him is extremely small, the scam artist knew this. And this isn't even taking into account the large possibility that the purps identity/location Is probably unknown.
 

bigsaucybob

New Member
He could simply claim that he didn't know it was faulty. Buying through craig's list isn't like eBay, there is really no buyer protection.

The situation with MS is complicated, you will probably need some form of identification to prove it is yours. So you might just need to get the guys name and information, if he has registered it.

OR

I personally have found MS customer support to be VERY helpful. The customer service people are generally very understanding. So you could explain your situation to them, give them a serial number and prove you have a valid 360. And then they could fix it for you anyway.
 

Deepblue

New Member
Since you are not the original purchaser the warranty is not valid to you.
if the unit have been registered by the original purchaser you can not lie.

Sueing wont help and if it would is not worth it, you should hav got a new one
for 80 more bucks at walmart.
 

Cromewell

Administrator
Staff member
MS is more helpful than a lot of you give them credit for, before you try fixing it yourself give them a call and see if they will repair it for you. Explain the situation, they might offer to repair it under warranty, they will probably make more by fixing it so you buy the games they publish then then the cost to send you a new one anyway.
 

apj101

VIP Member
no. there is a HUGE flaw in the 360. they over heat them selfs and kill them. microsoft finaly gave in and isued a 3 year extended warnity. but i would go to the skub bag that gave it to you and make him eather buy you a new one or fix it. because i think he know it was broken.

if you dont get hit to get you a new one eather a) sue him or b) call the cops b/c that is illegal to sell a defective product (i think)
Its a civil matter so calling the cops wont help :)

OK.
If the 360 got a ring of death, that was probably unpredictable.

But if you bought it, and the first time you turned it on you got the ring of death, contact the seller.

And Brian, you keep bashing the 360, but yet, the PS3 doesn't stand a chance against the 360.
He didnt mentions anything to do with the PS3, he just stated the fact that the 360 does have hardware issues.

Alright, ya, we're going to try and contact the seller and if we can't and he really is a total jerk and completely jipped us off, then it sounds like we'll be covered with the new 3 year warranty. Thanks guys for the input.
You need to call M$, if it was me id tell them you bought it new a while ago, didnt keep the reciept and didnt register the warrenty (no one does that anyway so its not important).
All you need to prove is that you bought the item within its current warrenty period. Since all 360's have 3 year warrenty then its clear that you meet this criteria, they may get fussy and say you need proof of purchase, but if you are firm with them and say that the proof of purchase is not necessary as the items must still be covered by warrenty then you may make progress.

If the guy sold it to you broken, I.e. The first time you turned it on it got the red ring of death, Then he has no intention of replying to anything you may send.

The good news is the Red ring of death is fixable. It requires you to take apart the 360 and use a heat gun on the motherboard Processing units.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjjinHmEoss&mode=related&search=

There are video instructions all over the net, If this specific video isn't helpful (I didn't watch it)
That wil almost certainly invalidate the warrenty.

I agree the guy will probably not reply, but thats no reason not to try :)
He bought it second hand for $200. He can't send it back, he was swindled. If you mean to M$ I'm don't think they'll repair it without a receipt or warranty, something of that nature. (Nintendo will sometimes, they're nice though)

The two options he has, As I see it, is to toss it out and buy a new one or fix it.
like i said, you should be able to play the argument about dates, in that all 360's are still covered by a warrenty so proof of purchase (which is essentailly proof of date of purchase) shouldnt be essential

its against trading standards to sell a known faulty product so yes, you could sue him
and as an extension its against consumer law to sell a faulty product whether you know is faulty of not. And refund/exchange should be offered in such cases.
Sue him? If this guy was afraid of getting sued he wouldn't have done it. The chance OP is going to sue him is extremely small, the scam artist knew this. And this isn't even taking into account the large possibility that the purps identity/location Is probably unknown.
id sue him if he (and m$) refused. Ive done it a 2 ebay sellers and 1 highstreet retailer (Argos), they always back down in the end. I agree he may not have been affraid of it when he sold it, but thats no reason not to do it :D

He could simply claim that he didn't know it was faulty. Buying through craig's list isn't like eBay, there is really no buyer protection.

The situation with MS is complicated, you will probably need some form of identification to prove it is yours. So you might just need to get the guys name and information, if he has registered it.

OR

I personally have found MS customer support to be VERY helpful. The customer service people are generally very understanding. So you could explain your situation to them, give them a serial number and prove you have a valid 360. And then they could fix it for you anyway.

Regardless of where you buy from the laws are the same, it's statute. if i sold you a Rolex Watch in the pub you would have the same rights as if you bought it from a highstreet retailer (minus any high street warrenty - not the same as manufacturers warrenty)
Ive havent had to deal with M$ in a while, but they are friendly. Proof of ID shouldnt be necessary, i mean if you had legit bought it from a shop 2 years ago you'd have trouble proving it was yours now. And hardly 10% of warrenty registration forms are filled out, they arnt needed for the warrenty to be valid


Since you are not the original purchaser the warranty is not valid to you.
if the unit have been registered by the original purchaser you can not lie.

Sueing wont help and if it would is not worth it, you should hav got a new one
for 80 more bucks at walmart.
Warrenties float over the item, not the vendor or consumer so it will transfer with the item.
 

Deepblue

New Member
MS is more helpful than a lot of you give them credit for, before you try fixing it yourself give them a call and see if they will repair it for you. Explain the situation, they might offer to repair it under warranty, they will probably make more by fixing it so you buy the games they publish then then the cost to send you a new one anyway.

I disagree with with this I have one of the first Xboxes with the bad Cd Drives and M$ would not fix the issue for me unless i paid to have the drive replaced.
It was one month out of warranty and i had service calls to them
about the same issue 6 months before the waranty expired.
i know they had a record of my service calls and the M$ rep had me do this and do that and it would work for a week or so and then crash again.
when the waranty ran out they told me to send it to them and they would replace the CD for a price. I told them to " go blank yourself "
its still in my closet needing a new CD drive.
 

apj101

VIP Member
I disagree with with this I have one of the first Xboxes with the bad Cd Drives and M$ would not fix the issue for me unless i paid to have the drive replaced.
It was one month out of warranty and i had service calls to them
about the same issue 6 months before the waranty expired.
i know they had a record of my service calls and the M$ rep had me do this and do that and it would work for a week or so and then crash again.
when the waranty ran out they told me to send it to them and they would replace the CD for a price. I told them to " go blank yourself "
its still in my closet needing a new CD drive.

ill give a tenner for it
 

Deepblue

New Member
Warrenties float over the item, not the vendor or consumer so it will transfer with the item.

This is untrue.
Unless noted that the warrenties are transferable only the original purchaser
can claim the right for repairs.
That what the registration cards are for to prove you are the original purchaser.
 

AAAsnwbordr

New Member
alright, well we're going to try and fix it and use that towel method. Surprisingly, that guy replied to oiur email and said that he was selling it for someone else and he didn't know anything about it. I think the guy was honest, it's his friend that's a cheap ____! He said that his friend wouldn't take it back. I think this towel thing might work though, i'll keep you guys posted.
 
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