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Microsoft Corp. today announced that it will expand its global Xbox 360 warranty coverage. Any Xbox 360 customer who experiences a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights will now be covered by a three year warranty from date of purchase. All other existing Xbox 360 warranty policies remain in place.
As a result of what Microsoft views as an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles, the company conducted extensive investigations into potential sources of general hardware failures. Having identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures indicated by three red flashing lights on the console, Microsoft has made improvements to the console and is enhancing its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers.
Microsoft stands behind its products and is taking responsibility to repair or replace any Xbox 360 console that experiences the “three flashing red lights” error message within three years from time of purchase free of charge, including shipping costs. Microsoft will take a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 for anticipated costs under its current and enhanced Xbox 360 policies.
“The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize,” said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division. “We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come.”
For any customer who has previously paid for repair expenses related to the three flashing lights error message on the Xbox 360 console, Microsoft will retroactively reimburse them.
Also Xbox.com just posted an open letter from Peter Moore, announcing that we’re enhancing our existing warranty worldwide, to cover any console issues resulting in three flashing red lights, for three years from purchase.
We’re all very proud of the success of the Xbox 360, but we also deal with Xbox 360 owners who are frustrated because they’ve had to send their console in for repair. We find the level of repairs unacceptable. Whether you feel like you’ve had to jump through hoops to get a console repaired, or you’ve been frustrated in having to deal with customer service, I want to join Peter in offering our apology, on behalf of all of us who spend our time with community members every day.
We are taking responsibility by enhancing the Xbox 360 warranty for consoles that experience general hardware failures, indicated by three flashing red lights on the console, to cover repair costs and shipping for all related repairs for three years from purchase. The existing console warranty remains in effect for all other issues. We are retroactively arranging refunds for anyone that paid for out-of-warranty repairs of a console that had three flashing red lights. Additionally, we’re enhancing some of our customer service processes and systems, and you should continue to see improvements with the experience you have when you call for support.
We have been following this issue closely, and through ongoing testing we’ve identified several factors that can cause a general hardware failure. We’ve already made improvements to the console to address this, and by offering this specific three-year warranty we want to show that Microsoft stands behind its products, and is taking responsibility to make sure every Xbox customer has a great experience.
I want to point out how important the community has been to everyone involved. I’ve been directly involved representing our community in meetings with executives, and everyone else behind the scenes in making this decision. At every step, we’ve all been paying close attention to what you—our community—are saying. Taking care of our customers has been the most important thing we hope to achieve, and we’ve all been doing everything we can to earn your ongoing trust.
Please be patient over the next few days as we roll out these changes. Because of the financial commitment we are putting behind this effort, we couldn’t communicate our plans broadly in advance, even to internal teams like our call centers. As a result, there are some processes that we’re putting in place almost real-time, and there will be some questions that we won’t be able to answer immediately. You should know that we’re doing all we can to address any issues or concerns, and we’ll keep the FAQ updated when we have additional information. We’ll also be keeping an eye on comments here, on Xbox.com’s forums, and other community sites.
All of us sincerely appreciate your passion for the Xbox 360, your patience when things go wrong, and your dedication and support as we make improvements.
Xbox 360 Expands Warranty Worldwide (For Red Ring of Death only)
