Xbox 360 problems are way too common. Anyone who owns one has probably had a problem of some kind with his or her system. It is almost expected when the failure rating is more then 50%.

From “bricking’ to game freezes, the “Red Ring of Death” to scratched disks, the problems are common and often very frustrating. Anyone can have one of these issues, and they can happen at anytime without warning.

Though most come to accept it, having your favorite game freeze up on you in the middle of an important quest or right when you finally make it to that monster that you been working so hard to get to, it can be very frustrating. It’s even worse when you take out the disk to realize that it has been scratched to the point of no longer being playable. This is actually a fairly common issue. It is caused from either the disk not being secure in the drive or the pads at the reader missing. This happens more often when the console is positioned on its side, rather then laid flat.

You have probably heard of the term “Useless as a Brick”. This is from the fact that most electronics are in a brick like shape. Xbox 360’s are known for “bricking” when some dashboard updates are applied. The update causes a hardware failure, rendering the console “bricked”. When this happens, the only option is contacting Microsoft. You can either get a replacement or repair, but if the console is out of warranty, it could cost you $99 or more.

Probably the worst, and definitely the most common issue with Xbox 360’s is the “Red Ring of Death”. When you boot up your Xbox 360 and only 3 red lights around the power light come on, looking like what appears to be a red ring, you are experiencing the “Red Ring of Death”. This is from either a core digital or general hardware failure. This problem requires you to send in for a replacement or repair to Microsoft. Luckily since this issue is so common, Microsoft extended the warranty from 1 to 3-years from the time you purchased your console. It takes about 8 weeks to get a system back.

Because the Xbox 360 is so problematic and is known for failures, lawsuits are common. Not long after it was released, the first lawsuit was filed. When the November 1, 2006 patch was released, a lawsuit was file because of “bricking”. Applying the updated “bricked” many consoles.

One of the latest class action suits was filed October of 2008. California consumers who claimed Microsoft knew they were manufacturing and selling faulty consoles filed it. Though Microsoft will not release their actual failure rating, it is estimated to be over 50%. This probably will not be the last of lawsuits that Microsoft will see about their gaming system.

Only a 3-5% failure rating is acceptable in this industry. Yet the Xbox 360 has a failure rating over 50%! This is completely unacceptable.

Tags: computers, games, games repair, Hardware, hobbies, how to repair, recreation, xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 repair, xbox problems, xbox repair