Microsoft extends Xbox 360 warranty to 3 years @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on July 06, 2007

News: And they will refund the money of anyone who's already paid to have it fixed as well.

Microsoft has announced they will be extending the warranty of the Xbox 360 of "any Xbox 360 customer who experiences a general hardware failure indicated by three flashing red lights" (the dreaded "Red Ring of Death") to three years from the date of purchase. This announcement comes on the heels of another round of "dead Xbox" stories and a rumor that EB Games believes the failure rate could be as high as 33%.

Microsoft gave the following reason for the change to the warranty policy:

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.

This new warranty will allow Xbox 360 owners who experience the "three flashing red lights" hardware failure to get their system repaired or replaced completely free of charge, including shipping.

Microsoft will also reimburse any Xbox 360 owner who has previously had to pay for repair services resulting from a Red Ring of Death.

The total expected cost to the company of this new warranty program will be between $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion.

"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."

We'll have more on all things Xbox 360 related soon.