Xbox 360 reliability survey

[fatoy.japa]

Bet it was from the last dash update - that was bricking new machines wasn't it?

Yeah, something about an earlier iteration of the update bricking consoles that didn't have the previous 'summer' updates installed. They patched it relatively quickly, but it's pretty inexcusable regardless.

[Harsin]

My launch 360 managed to last for a valiant nine months before constantly freezing up on games with the trademark checkerboard pattern on the screen.

Second 360 lasted a month before the red lights kicked in.

I was unlucky enough to get my replacement third 360 during the 48 hours that connecting to Live and updating would 'brick' any machine that had not had the previous firmware update.

Fourth 360 is ticking along at the mo but I get occasional freezes on games out of nowhere.

[Cappuccino Kid]

Perhaps I'm missing something glaringly obvious, but... considering the problems that various updates have been causing, wouldn't it be sensible for there to be some kind of safe-mode you could start the 360 up in, together with a disc for restoring it all back to the initial set-up? Hence, if you do download an update that buggers up your machine, you've got a chance of retrieving the situation, rather than having to send the whole thing back as if the hardware itself is broken. And when they've remedied the situation, you can re-download the updates. It seems simple. Almost too simple...

[zxcvbnm]

Ever thought of working for Microsoft?

[Harsin]

Ever thought of working for Microsoft?

What amazed me was how little attention the update fiasco got. Microsoft release an update that kills a £200+ piece of hardware stone dead and hardly a peep. Some cack-handed plebs throw their wiimote at their telly and it's on the 6 O'Clock news.

[Kryptonian]

[footle]

I can officially say that the failure rate for xbox 360's is "statistically significant" (your survey counts my 3 failures as one and same with anyone else on their 3rd +) so its WORSE than 47%!!

You can't, because the survey is somewhat self selecting.

You're always going to get those who've had a problem replying, and you're less likely to get people who haven't had a problem replying.

Looks like a pretty rubbish build quality though!

[A Hen]

You can't, because the survey is somewhat self selecting.

You're always going to get those who've had a problem replying, and you're less likely to get people who haven't had a problem replying.

Yes. My 360, I suspect, is on its last legs. I don't want to take the survey and say it's working OK, because I'm pissed off that it probably isn't, and I don't want to add to the "working fine" figures. However, it would be disingenuous to say that it's actually died.

Incidentally, of the other people I know who have a 360, 100% have had their console die. However, that's 100% of one person, and I'm not sure that's such a good sample size.

[Sir DangerM]

Was greeted by 3 nice red lights the last couple of times i turned my 360 on (not the first time they've appeared...). Luckily it's still well under warranty, but i think it's on its last legs...

[zxcvbnm]

UPDATE:

1. Do you own an Xbox 360?

Yes 99% 194

No 1% 2

Total Respondents 196

(skipped this question) 1

2. Has it ever broken down and needed to be replaced?

Yes 44.3% 86

No 55.7% 108

Total Respondents 194

(skipped this question) 3

3. How many times have you had problems with your 360 and needed to get it replaced?

1 67.4% 58

2 16.3% 14

3 10.5% 9

4 1.2% 1

5 3.5% 3

6+ 1.2% 1

Total Respondents 86

(skipped this question) 111

4. Approximately how long did your 360 last before it needed to be repaired?

1. 45 minutes

2. 2 months

3. seven months

4. Six months

5. 2 months

6. no time at all

7. 3 months

8. 4 months

9. 11 months

10. 4 months

11. 9 months

12. 1 year 1 month

13. 9 Months

14. A year

15. 6 months

16. ~11 months

17. 3 months

18. straight out of the box, broken.

19. 3 months

20. 1 month

21. 1 day

22. 1.5 week

23. 6 months

24. Six months.

25. 9 months

26. 1 month

27. 1 year, 4 days

28. 3 months

29. 6 months

30. 9 months

31. Still works after 13 months

32. 1 Day

33. 7 months

34. shortest life was 2 days. longest was 3 months

35. 13 months

36. 6 months

37. 4 months

38. almost 14 months

39. 8 months

40. 1 year 4 days

41. 8 months

42. 11 months

43. 2 month

44. Still on first since October

45. 10 Months

46. 11 Months

47. Dead on arrival on launch day... Replaced

48. 9 months

49. 9 months

50. it hasnt been replaced

51. 1 year 7 days

52. seven months

53. 1 month, then died again 12 months later to the day!

54. 6 Weeks

55. 6 months

56. 6 Months

57. 11 months

58. 2 minutes

59. n/a

60. 6 months

61. 11 months

62. 8 months I think

63. 2 months

64. 13 months

65. 12 months

66. 2 months (avg)

67. 1 week

68. 13 months

69. 5 mins for the last one

70. 2 days

71. 6 months

72. 6 months

73. 11 Months

74. 6

75. 7 Months

76. N/A

77. 4 months.

78. 13 MONTHS

79. 12 months

80. 6 months average

81. 1 year

82. 9 months

83. 6 months

84. 9 months

85. 6 months

86. 6 months

87. 3 months

88. 12 months

89. 4 months

90. 2 MONTHS

91. 5 months

92. 1 year 2 weeks

Total Respondents 92

(skipped this question) 105

5. How do you have your 360 connected?

SD 24.5% 47

HD 60.9% 117

VGA 24% 46

Total Respondents 192

(skipped this question) 5

6. How do you keep your 360?

Horizontal 60.1% 116

Vertical 41.5% 80

Total Respondents 193

(skipped this question) 4

[Eoin]

Does SurveyMonkey allow you to do correlations? Can you, for example, tell what percentage of people who have had to replace their 360 had it horizontally/vertically?

[Wallpaper]

2 minutes!?!

I wonder if they got it replaced?

That was mine, I got half way through the initial setup menus and it died, and I had to go through Microsoft and it was at launch and their were none left at the shop to replace it with .

[zxcvbnm]

Well UPS picked mine up today. At work I printed off some sticky labels which I put on my call ref#, name & address and in bold lettering "For repair - no refurb unit", and put three of those on the 360.

Mind you, they can't really re-use my old one for anyone else as it has my postcode written on the back of the case in permanent marker.

[zxcvbnm]

UPDATE:

1. Do you own an Xbox 360?

Yes 98.5% 203

No 1.5% 3

Total Respondents 206

(skipped this question) 1

2. Has it ever broken down and needed to be replaced?

Yes 44.1% 90

No 55.9% 114

Total Respondents 204

(skipped this question) 3

3. How many times have you had problems with your 360 and needed to get it replaced?

1 66.7% 60

2 16.7% 15

3 10% 9

4 1.1% 1

5 4.4% 4

6+ 1.1% 1

Total Respondents 90

(skipped this question) 117

4. Approximately how long did your 360 last before it needed to be repaired?

1. 5 months and 1 month

2. 6 monyhs

3. 2 Weeks

4. 3 months

5. 45 minutes

6. 2 months

7. seven months

8. Six months

9. 2 months

10. no time at all

11. 3 months

12. 4 months

13. 11 months

14. 4 months

15. 9 months

16. 1 year 1 month

17. 9 Months

18. A year

19. 6 months

20. ~11 months

21. 3 months

22. straight out of the box, broken.

23. 3 months

24. 1 month

25. 1 day

26. 1.5 week

27. 6 months

28. Six months.

29. 9 months

30. 1 month

31. 1 year, 4 days

32. 3 months

33. 6 months

34. 9 months

35. Still works after 13 months

36. 1 Day

37. 7 months

38. shortest life was 2 days. longest was 3 months

39. 13 months

40. 6 months

41. 4 months

42. almost 14 months

43. 8 months

44. 1 year 4 days

45. 8 months

46. 11 months

47. 2 month

48. Still on first since October

49. 10 Months

50. 11 Months

51. Dead on arrival on launch day... Replaced

52. 9 months

53. 9 months

54. it hasnt been replaced

55. 1 year 7 days

56. seven months

57. 1 month, then died again 12 months later to the day!

58. 6 Weeks

59. 6 months

60. 6 Months

61. 11 months

62. 2 minutes

63. n/a

64. 6 months

65. 11 months

66. 8 months I think

67. 2 months

68. 13 months

69. 12 months

70. 2 months (avg)

71. 1 week

72. 13 months

73. 5 mins for the last one

74. 2 days

75. 6 months

76. 6 months

77. 11 Months

78. 6

79. 7 Months

80. N/A

81. 4 months.

82. 13 MONTHS

83. 12 months

84. 6 months average

85. 1 year

86. 9 months

87. 6 months

88. 9 months

89. 6 months

90. 6 months

91. 3 months

92. 12 months

93. 4 months

94. 2 MONTHS

95. 5 months

96. 1 year 2 weeks

Total Respondents 96

(skipped this question) 111

5. How do you have your 360 connected?

SD 24.9% 50

HD 61.2% 123

VGA 23.4% 47

Total Respondents 201

(skipped this question) 6

6. How do you keep your 360?

Horizontal 60.4% 122

Vertical 41.1% 83

Total Respondents 202

(skipped this question) 5

[Initial K]

So basically out of 203 owners the survey says that 137 machines in total have been replaced/failed.

[zxcvbnm]

Yep - a 44.1% failure rate.

Of course, we can't be sure that all 360 owners with working machines on this forum have answered this so it's about as factual as one of those pikey loans ads on daytime TV, but even still it must give an indication of a failure rate higher than the 5% MS reckon there is.

I'm amazed no magazine has picked up on the failure rate of this machine and questioned MS on it.

[Initial K]

Its a higher failure rate than 44.1% because the original question doesn't take into account the number of machines each person has had thats failed.

The true failure rate going by your poll is

67.4%

[zxcvbnm]

Holy crapness Batman, that's a shocking stat.

Even if you said that half of the 360 owners on here who have never had a problem didn't respond to the survey thats still a hell of a lot of broken consoles.

[metallicfrodo]

Its a higher failure rate than 44.1% because the original question doesn't take into account the number of machines each person has had thats failed.

The true failure rate going by your poll is

67.4%

Not if they were all refurb units though. It could still be 44.1%, it's just the same ones keep breaking down again

The stats are shocking though.

[zxcvbnm]

How are MS getting away with this without any magazine, or BBC watchdog pulling them up over it?

[Lerschumbo]

Well at least we should credit Sony for doing one thing right: a machine that despite its flaws actually works (reliably). So far.

[metallicfrodo]

How are MS getting away with this without any magazine, or BBC watchdog pulling them up over it?

Who knows, maybe the real figures spread out over the entire userbase are actually at 5% and it is just a loud minority on the Internet. I'm not overly convinced though.

[Doc NI]

You can't, because the survey is somewhat self selecting.

You're always going to get those who've had a problem replying, and you're less likely to get people who haven't had a problem replying.

Looks like a pretty rubbish build quality though!

I said in an earlier post that all surveys are inherently biased.

i can say its statistically significant, based on his sample size (I am a stato, its my job)

[zxcvbnm]

What's statistically significant? The crap build, or the fact that people complaining make more noise than happy people?!

[Doc NI]

by statistically significant I mean the failure rate cannot be explained away by people complaining / not complaining etc in its entirety (there is some significant factor causing this.

Ie the rate is most likely a lot lower, I think about 10% in honesty, but its not all down to other factors (internet people complain more, people treating their 360s badly etc)

Basically the build quality being pants is statistically significant.

[Sprite Machine]

I know about five real life people with Xbox360s. Most of them got them on or near launch day. Every single one of them has had theirs replaced. I am the only person I know with an Xbox360 that hasn't died. I got mine in March, though; maybe that's outside of the 'danger zone'.

This simply cannot be explained by loud gatherings of Internet people.

[zxcvbnm]

Well I've posted a link to this on the gamesTM and xbox.com forums, so hopefully we'll get more replies and then I'll be forwarding the results onto BBC watchdog to see if they can get MS to talk to them about it, and the fact that a lot of the refurb consoles they send back to people are also dying.

And is there anyone here who still has a working launch console?

[daveodeth]

I've received my 360 a few days ago and already I'm having trouble reading the disc sometimes. It tells me to clean the disc but the disc is spotless, am i doomed already?

[zxcvbnm]

Is it one that MS sent you or bought new from a shop?

[Sprite Machine]

I've received my 360 a few days ago and already I'm having trouble reading the disc sometimes. It tells me to clean the disc but the disc is spotless, am i doomed already?

What disc is it? My copy of Oblivion did that loads, but my machine lives on regardless.