Reader Jeff writes in with yet another tale of Xbox woe: After sending in his third Xbox 360 for a third Red Ring of Death, he was surprised to receive a package from Microsoft only seven days later. “I figured Microsoft was so efficient and concerned about their loyal customers that the quickly delivered me another 360,” says Jeff. That’s not what happened.
Instead of repairing or replacing his console, Microsoft sent Jeff a letter informing him that his console was not repaired because it had been tampered with. Jeff called Xbox customer support and was told that his tampering had voided his limited and extended warranties, and that a supervisor wouldn’t be available to speak with him for at least a few days. In the meantime, Jeff took his Xbox to a friend who runs a video game store. The friend showed Jeff how Xbox checks for tampering by removing the faceplate and inspecting the holographic “Microsoft” sticker; if the sticker is removed, the word “VOID” appears. Jeff’s friend also told him that his store would buy back Jeff’s console, meaning that in their assessment, the seal had not been broken. Here’s a picture of the sticker in question:
A little smudged, but obviously intact. Jeff talked to a higher-up CSR using the executive customer service number that we posted, but it was no use: “It was his impression that I tampered with the Xbox due to the smudged seal . . . I was also told by him that if I didn’t do then someone I know did. (Yeah, probably my wife or 14 month old daughter- they are big into ‘modding’).” If Jeff purchased his Xbox with a credit card, he might try initiating a chargeback or using his card’s buyer protection program, but the sadder issue remains: “I was an unabashed Microsoft supporter. I have no interest in “modding,” don’t know how to “mod” and don’t care find out. I didn’t even know that seal existed before my buddy showed me. All in all, I am out almost $600 on a broken seven month old Elite (which I bought brand new in a sealed box). Their crappy product fails and I get blamed for it.” 
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Hopefully the power of the consumerist will step up, but thats baloney.
I won’t buy this crap. I bought a Playstation II from my wife years ago. We’ve had no problem with it. But I’ve heard nothing but trouble about these newer systems. They all sound like they are manufactured and engineered like shit.
And the markings of what looks like a missing sticker above the 2 USB ports? Is there supposed to be one there too?
small claims court!
It is precisely because of Consumerist stories like this that I bought a PS3.
@jblake1: On the high-res pics, it just looks like some scratches. I don’t know what good a sticker would be there, as it’s not on a seam like the Microsoft sticker is, so its removal wouldn’t be evidence of an attempt to open up the console.
Time for you to get a PS3
Sounds like Microsoft’s bad luck (3 RRoD’s on 1 customer) turned into their excuse to find a reason to deny service.
To be fair, let me just say that there are people out there that are well versed with the sticker that have the ability to take it off without breaking the sticker. In fact, it would look 100% perfect when putting the other half of it back on the other half of the console.
Microsoft could have looked inside the model, seen the tampering, and saw through this Xbox user’s ploy to get a new Xbox.
I gave up on next-gen systems as soon as my then-new GameCube froze up on me after a couple of weeks. Replacement, same thing. And now I hear all of this noise about these $400+ systems screwing up constantly.
The worst tech support issue my NES, SNES, and Geneis ever faces was how hard to blow into the cartridge.
I’ve had a Wii for just over a year. Never had any problem with it.
Would never spend the amount they want for a PS3 or Xbox.
Issues like this have converted me from “early adopter” status to “wait and see” status. If other people take on the same sense of caution, the gadget companies will start to take notice. And this isn’t a blame the consumer opinion, just my personal philosophy.
I’ve had 3 360′s as well, and all 3 have RRoD’ed… MS is no help. Buy a ps3.
I’ll stick with my PC (& the PSP I bought used) for gaming, thanks. At least if the PC breaks I can fix it myself & I’m not beholden to some faceless corporation. Or out $600.
@Alex Chasick: I’m just guessing, but I think it’s covering up a screw. I’ve seen electronics with stickers over screw holes to hide them from view (and to give an obvious clue as to whether the person tried to crack it open).
@Ash78: Ah the good old days. I also remember having to “jiggle” the cartridge sometimes.
@NikkiSweet: I couldn’t agree with you more. I had ongoing problems with MS not long ago, and they seemed to go out of their way to be unhelpful. I’ve stuck with my PS3 since and couldn’t be happier.
There is always the email directly to Bill Gates…it still gets things done…
I’m glad by wife got me a Wii.
I had a launch 360 that died 2 weeks prior to that whole extended warranty for RRoD. I really enjoyed my 360, but after I did a little research into how poorly these things are manufactured I decided to just stick it out with my PS3. I’ve had a great experience since, save for all of my friends who own a 360 and I can no longer play with.
My advice would be to just cut your losses, save up and get a PS3. They pretty much have the same content these days anyway.
The sticker has been tampered with. There is no doubt. When you take the sticker off part of the silver flaking stays on the Xbox which leaves those white marks.
I can’t say who did it but someone did. This is why it was returned without being fixed. I don’t know where you bought it but the Xbox has been “tampered” with.
@adamsummers: At least until you have a problem with it…Sony’s customer support typically makes Microsoft’s look like heaven…
@MyPetFly: This is almost 3 years in to the ‘next’ generation. Buying one now no longer makes you an early adopter.
half the price of your “elite” xbox are removable accessories. in reality, guy is out the cost of a minimum spec xbox arcade (which he can attach the hard drive to in 10 seconds) which is about $279
(yes, they all have HDMI now)
And people say PC gaming is dying. Pfffft.
This is way past the Internet’s ability to make a shitstorm out of a nuisance. There’s no way in hell Microsoft would have extended their Xbox warranty without a flood of criticism. I believe each and every story about the problems with these new consoles. What I can’t understand is why people keep wasting money on them. Go buy a $1000 gaming desktop, and merely upgrade the components as they go bad/become obsolete. I expect the next round of consoles to skyrocket past $600, and I foresee the same problems (companies selling them at a loss [Sony], crappy, buggy systems [360], supply issues [Wii]).
My concern is that a 7 month old 360 had a rrod. I thought this was all fixed.
Are the new consoles still defective, just less so?
How am I ever going to be able to buy a used 360?
@Techguy1138: Well you can just buy a refurb with an updated set of problems and a warranty that will expire just a little too soon. I don’t think the newer ones are biting it in droves, but some are still going down.
@MyPetFly: Yep, buying consoles at or close to launch anymore is such a crapshoot. I’ve stuck to waiting until at least one or a couple really games I really, really want to play come out first before I even think about it.
@RST1123:
Ever hear of the Just World fallacy?
i work for Game Crazy and although we are not required to check the seals I always do. Most seals like identical to that and we can still take them in for trade no prob. In fact one of my personal ones looked identical and it was repaired by MS.
The mess at the bottom above the USB ports is a missing sticker. Not sure what the sticker is for though. I checked on my 360 and the numbers on the sticker didn’t match any other serial number or numbers on the xbox.
Once again now, with feeling: “IT’S MICROSOFT! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT??”
@jblake1:
I am the Jeff in this story. The sticker there was a serial number sticker. It does nothing for “tamper-protection”. Thanks for the feedback. FWIW, I call a call from MS today for a follow up to a BBB complaint I filed. We’ll see.
Worst Console Ever!
My friend just got a PS3 because his Xbox RROD all the time. Apparently you can mod the PS3 (add a larger HD) and that won’t void the warranty, hell it’s encouraged from what I understand.
So, save yourself some headaches, get a PS3. Gears of War 2 doesn’t even look that much better than Gears of War 1, so you won’t be missing anything… plus Metal Gear Solid 4 is coming out soon, that’ll more than make up for any exclusive Xbox games you might miss.
to the OP, why would you remove the serial number sticker?
@SuffolkHouse: Well, the 360 was designed poorly enough that thousands of people are getting the RROD everyday.
I bought a Wii two months after launch and have had no problems whatsoever. I also own a DS (phat) and a Gamecube and neither of those has malfunctioned. I just think that Nintendo, like most Japanese companies, has extremely high QA standards and will not ship an inferior product.
@BlackWolf2000:
OMG, did you just admit to opening and removing a sticker? And then you act suprised when MS denies you warranty? LOL. You did ‘Tamper’ even if it was just a sticker. The point is you can peel and replace stickers and make them look untouched.
I cannot hold this against MS as I would have surely done the same thing. MS can’t be held responsible for your potential failed modding. And even though you may not have, it appears you may have.
Its a crazy world when Consumers think companies owe them everything. I have an AT&T Tilt I unlocked and put custom rom on. I know if it fails I’m screwed and its just as wrong for AT&T to scam me as it is for me to scam them.
domestic consoles. meh
I’ve had a Wii since December of 2006 and had absolutely no problems with the system.
I’ve been holding out to get a PS3 once the new MGS4/PS3 bundle is released next month. Deciding on a new “next generation” system has been a difficult one for me. The idea of the Gamer Tag and achievements on the X-Box 360 made me really want to get the system, but with all of the horror stories of failure rates & Microsoft’s customer service I’ve decided to set up my fanboy flag in Sony’s camp. I have to hand it to Microsoft though- Despite the way they treat their customers and manufacture absolute garbage for a game console, people keep buying their systems and swear by the Microsoft name. Must be something in the water maybe?
@RST1123: There is no internal modification that is visible to the naked eye. The mod is a firmware switch which cant be detected without testing but if they notice any issue with the seal which I might add is made of incredibly sticky material then they will deny the repair.
A smudge one of those types of stickers is an indication of tampering and while I do love to always side with the consumer…how do we know he hadnt tried to open his 360 at some point?
Also where did he buy this $600 elite? last I checked they were cheaper then that, in fact about $150 cheaper.
Hey Guys,
I have an identical case to Jeff’s. I have photos of my sticker, and everything. I’ve been fighting with XBox tech support since Friday. They said I would receive photo evidence that I tampered with it but it will take 3 to 5 business days for that to happen. . I’ve contacted the BBB via phone but their site is down today, so I won’t be able to file a complaint until the site is back up. Just thought that it was interesting that another person happens to be going through the same thing I’ve gone through.
How can I submit my photos to add to this story?
I honestly don’t understand how Microsoft is as successful as it is in the gaming market (albeit certainly not the most successful of the next-gen console companies) with the shoddy track record its latest offering has.
In the last two generations of consoles, we’ve had an up-to-date PC, a PS2/PS3, and a GC/Wii, and I can’t at all say that I feel like I’m missing out on anything other than the RRoD or scratches on my disks. We really are gamers, too, not just “hard core” or “casual”, but of everything.
Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re all about to start shouting about Halo or something. Bah. Nothing justifies the chance you’re taking on a hardware headache and then reportedly poor customer service when it does occur.
(And yeah, I’m not an Apple fangirl or anything taking a random shot at Microsoft. I have Microsoft operating systems on my PCs and have no pre-existing axe to grind with them.)
Whenever one of these stories comes up, I try and always reference back to my story [consumerist.com] and encourage filing in SCC if you can handle waiting 2-3 months.
@LJKelley: You don’t have to open it to access the serial number on the front. There is a flap on the faceplate that opens to reveal it. But there is a serial number on the back also, so I don’t think that was the reason. You can’t tamper with the one on the back.
[games.gearlive.com]
I’ve seen Xbox 360s with tampered warranty seals and that looks nothing like it. However it is very unlikely an Elite would Red Ring and would most likely be from a very hot environment. If the console is in a closed media cabinet, it’s possible the glue failed on the sticker.. and also caused the RROD.
There are a lot of people claiming the Wii does not have issues, but that is not the case.
I own all 3 next gen systems and my Wii’s graphics card went bad after 2 months. It is a known issue and you can see other people had the same problem if you poke around message boards a bit.
My PS3 (20 GB launch model) is the only one that has not had a problem. My launch 360 lasted more than 2 years before it red-ringed out of the clear blue sky a few months back.
The morale is that all electronics can break, sometimes for no reason. 360s just seem to fail more often. To say that Nintendo is immune from it is fan-boy rediculousness.
Serial Number has been removed. Regardless of the console has been opened, it voids the warranty.
Just like if i tamper with serial number on my tv, i void my warranty.
Dont ask why, this is just the way it is.
The upper right corner of the seal looks like there was an attempt of lifting.
@mrkniceguy:
[thenproject.com]
Oh yeah, them Elites never RRoD!