Remember the Red Ring of Death? Of course you do! It was one of the biggest low-points in the history of Xbox's 22 years in existence, and the vast majority of early Xbox 360 owners ended up experiencing it at least once.
The saga was documented extensively in the "Power On: The Story of Xbox" documentary a couple of years ago, with the team explaining that the issue was ultimately related to thermal stresses caused by regularly turning the console on and off over time, resulting in a 1.15 billion dollar cost to offer free repairs for every system.
It was an awful moment for the brand, but obviously things ended up turning around in the end, and later models of the Xbox 360 were far less prone to issues. By that time though, there's a good chance you'd experienced the Red Ring of Death and Microsoft's free repair process - perhaps even on two or three occasions!
So, what was your experience with the Xbox 360 and the Red Ring of Death? Do you remember the circumstances when you saw it for the first time? Perhaps you were one of the lucky ones who never had to deal with it?
Xbox 360 Owners, How Many Times Did You Get The RROD? (659 votes)
- I never got it, and I even had an old model!
- I never got it, but I had one of the newer models
- Yep, I got it once
- It happened to me twice
- Three times was the charm for me
- I got unlucky... it was 4 times (or more!)
We'd love to hear your memories about the RROD down in the comments section below.
Comments 69
I didn't, but had tons of durability issues. Disc ejector never worked properly. Controllers always fell apart. I actually traded it in a while ago.
Yup. Replacement process wasn't too bad at all from what I remember. Eventually sold it and got an Elite which is still going today. Think most of my controllers are working as well.
My launch Xbox, red ringed about a year into owning it. Not sure if the repair thing was available at the time, or I just didn't know of it then. Had to swap it out (bought the warranty) at Best Buy, and got a new one, that lasted me until I moved on.
Numerous times..ended up taking one apart to try and fix it ...didn't end well
@BobaTheFett the ogs were disc eating monsters. Lost a few games to mine. Fable 2 was the one that pissed me off the most. Had almost beaten it. Ended up swapping mine with a rental copy.
I had the original model for like 4 years without getting it. I like to believe that it got the red ring of death immediately after it was stolen from me in college.
I have the newer model and it is still alive and kicking.
My day-one 360 held strong for so long but I did have it in an open air location. Around the last year of 360s being a thing it finally Red Ringed and I was able to take advantage of a free repair and shipping from Microsoft. I really appreciated that extra free warranty once they realized the scope of the problem, even if they didnt always know how to properly fix it vs just shipping another unit and hoping that was good enough
I had it twice. So skipped Xbox for a while and came back with a series S
I got it every month
Never got it but I didn't own a 360 till after they solved that problem due to that.
Wasn't really bothered about it, Microsoft had a completely Free door to door replacement so if it happend your were covered,.
Sony had the Yellow Light Of Death though I think they tried to deny it, despite the console even appearing on consumer watchdog programs.
I remember when I took my first 360 (still pretty new for me at the time) on vacation to Colorado, excited to play Dead Rising in the down time. The first night I plugged it in, it red ringed after about 15 minutes and I was crushed 🤣
@NintendoByNature My controllers also “fell apart”. Usually when i was playing FIFA, weird that.
Not only did I never get it. But I still use my 360 to this day for non BC games like Spider Man Shattered Dimensions.
Twice for me.
First one was 6 months old, second lasted a bit less. Got a full refund from Argos. Thought I'd try for a third from Woolworths, got it home and it was dead on arrival. Got refund and got a scarlet red PS3 with 2 controllers. It still works like a charm. It's all a lottery really
I had the Elite and then an S and finally an E so fortunately never experienced it personally.
I did, however, work as a manager at a games retailer before and during the 360's lifetime and I had nothing but trouble. Our demo unit failed over 10 times before the system even launched (the enclosed casing definitely didn't help). I had around an 80% return rate on launch systems and people threatening to punch me when I told them that I wasn't allowed to accept their faulty machines and that they had to go directly to Microsoft for a return/refurbishment.
Not my favourite career highlight.
I got the red ring on one system, but it wouldn't pop up until the system had been running for upwards of 10 minutes, GameStop and their console testing process for console trade in use to be a lot faster, they booted up the system and it ran fine for the 3-4 minutes they "tested" it. I traded it in and ended up getting another system to replace it.
@InterceptorAlpha That's incredible luck! I don't suppose you'd like to share any lottery numbers with me? 🤣
Two RRoD that I remember. Once on a launch console, sent for repair. I am not sure if I still have it.
The other was on an Elite. For this unit, I bought the Best Buy 2-year(?) warranty. I replaced it once for a RRoD and again right before the warranty ended (just in case). It still lives.
Never happened one time to me and I had a launch system. Mine was well ventilated and I am not a game binger or a competitive player so maybe I never stressed it out enough
Never had an issue, and I even bought my as an old used one after it came out (I think a year or two after release). I was too poor at the time to buy it new lol. All I can say is that machine was so damn good and one of my fondest memories in gaming.
@Sifi The yellow light of death was a big issue but thankfully I was able to return faulty machines because PS3 was easily available compared to the Xbox 360.
The only other issue I had with PlayStation consoles was the shelf life. After 3 years or so they would really start to fail.
Three times. It was used lots n lots, but it was in an open place..
Very frustrating. At least the later hardware has been solid, not had any other issues..
@NintendoByNature The disc tray mechanism was initially very poor. It was literally a grey elastic band and flimsy as hell.
Three separate times for me. I kind of wish they released a RRoD shirt in the new 360 line of shirts they released. Embrace the mistake and make a joke out of it, I’d buy it.
I must've been lucky and to know, I bought a second one just to be sure because I have some many games. The second one was an Elite with Forza. Never had RROD and have one of the first batch.
I used to live next to a large park where we played softball, kickball and touch football leagues. Everyone always met at my house to pregame and sometimes bbq.
Anyways we had a sudden out of the blue storm that canceled the game. We ran in the rain back to my place to play RockBand 2 on the 360….but we got the Red Ring of Death.
Oh well…we still had fun
My lunch model was fine, then I upgraded to the hdmi model, then the S before I had an issue. The GPU fried on that one. It still switched on but was all garbled and pixelated.
I bought an E right at the start of the XBO generation as I wanted to be able to play my old games as well as the new gen ones. It was brand new and cheap as it was less desirable then. It's quite an ugly model but has been ok so far ..
I upgraded to a 360 S 250gb Forza 4 holiday bundle and that thing is still kicking!
I got it on my elite. We actually had an extra xbox in my friend group so whoever got the red ring would get the extra while we sent it off.
Yep, it either RRoD'd a month outside of the extended warranty or the particular model I had was too new to be eligible for the extended warranty and it was one month outside the original warranty.
Either way, it soured me off Xbox as a brand and I didn't come back until the Xbox One's golden years and I got a really good deal on the console, game pass and subsequently a Series X.
Yes, right in the middle of my Final Fantasy 13 play through.
It made me quit Xbox for a bit (couldn’t afford another one) and I just went to PC gaming before eventually getting a PS3 and then upgrading to PS4/Xbox One a few years later.
I still have my copy of FF13 and still haven’t finished it. Even though it’s now 40k 60fps on Series X.
One day I will complete it!
Never had a problem and even modded mine a few months ago, still going great 👍
It happened to me 5 times. I actually shelved my 360 for 6 months because I was so bummed out over it.
Never had the dreaded RROD, but I did trade mine in for an Elite a few years later as I wanted a Black console more - so maybe got lucky, I traded that in too later as well for a Slim...
Twice. Also the first Xbox One I bought had to be replaced as it had a clanky fan (sorry if my tech jargon is going over your heads). In fairness to Microsoft they replaced all of them in a just a few days. Old Box and Series S however, are apparently indestructible.
Yep, about 3 months after purchase. That was what moved me onto my first Sony console after owning nes, SNES, game gear, game boy, N64, gamecube without any issues on any of them. Then went PS3, PS4, PS5. Series X has brought me back though. Fingers crossed that survives.
I got it on the original white 360, three or four years after I bought it. And I used the blanket method to extend it's life as much as I could. Then I bought the black one with bigger hard drive and used the transfer cable. The times...
I had an Elite which was fine for a long time did an update for Street Fighter iv and after the console restarted got the RROD
I only had 1 360. It was a free gift my mum got with her contract phone. It got the red ring of death not too long after and I never got an xbox again. The PS3 came out shortly after and I got that.
Had 2 models a slim and an older styled model with an hdmi. Neither have had problems except having to replace the disc drives band so it would eject again on the older model.
Oh boy i was a kid and wanted to buy a used xbox360 and one guy was selling those the problem that he was fixing the issue temprary and i played 2 days before it broke....the worst expérience i had in my life
Got it in 2009 I think, could have been 2010. To be fair to MS they paid for everything, pick up, return and it was a new console I got back
@Deano_YTFC lol, I like it.
@Maddie47 interesting, too bad I don't have it anymore 😕
Unfortunately I will say I had the issue 5 times.... Each time I had to deal with Microsoft they were fantastic....though the last time I was like "I'm glad your fixing it, but this is getting stupid."..my last replacement they gave me an 360 Elite
My 1st one did, but much later after the issue was well known. The 2nd never one did, presumably it was from a batch that didn't have the defect. I sold both and they were still going strong.
MS made it so easy to send in and get a repair. I had my replacement in just over a week. They actually sent me a different one as a replacement. I remember there being a mild scandal as two of their distribution sites were inadvertently sending out new replacements with the same glitch that hadn't been repaired yet.
3 within about 15 months lol. Got a S and still have it today.
I see I was one of the unlucky ones, I had 8 360's. 😑
I take excellent care of my electronics, but my streak of bad luck with the 360 was record breaking for me.
My last 360 was the CoD Modern Warfare 3 edition console. It's been packed away for years, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the RRoD once again if I unpacked it and turned it on.
I had (still have) an Elite model and I had the RROD happen once around 2009 or 2010. Had it replaced or fixed (no clue if I got the same one back but it looked the same) and never had the issue again. I decided not to tempt faith and bought a 360 E last year to replace the Elite under my TV. It’s rare that I turn it on but there are still a few games in my backlog I want to play someday and would hate for my Elite to die for good.
I had a launch 360. One day stopped working. Can’t particularly remember if / how many red rings displayed, but thought the culprit was likely the 3rd party external fan (“Nyko Intercooler”) which was said to ‘steal’ power from the console. Pretty much had it confirmed when sent in for service.
When I my 360 all those years ago I told myself the red ring of death will never happen to me. I got hit with it twice. 😑
I owned an Xbox 360 LAN/Xbox Live store with 17 360s. I ultimately had 13 RRoD. To Microsoft's great credit, I never paid one penny for repairs or shipping, but boy what a pain in the butt, losing 10-15% of your systems every couple weeks.
After 7 RRoD, I wrote a whiny letter to Peter Moore at Xbox. The story about that went viral, which I hope is the only time I ever go viral.
Only happened to me once after 3 years, and MS fixed it, but happened to everyone I knew with an X360, except one who had a later model. It was, by far, the most prevalent I have seen a major console issue, both among friends and anecdotally online.
A long way behind was probably the PS1s laser misalignment which was pretty widespread too, but not close to RROD - but amazingly you could usually fix this just by turning the console upside down.
BTW Stick drift is a design flaw and annoying, but I don't consider it a major console issue in the same way, else joy-con drift would beat them all hands down, i'm on my fifth set of sticks and have fixed dozens for my niece, nephew and their friends.
During that and the previous gen I was just a casual PC gamer sailing the high seas therefore I missed that completely (I don't think I have even heard about red ring until 2017-18)
I think it happened to an elite I had way back, I detached the HD and bought a core to replace it.
Yes I had it and also the orange light of death for my first (fat) PS3. Microsoft replaced the 360 and I bought a new PS3 - both still working to this day 😃🤞
three of mine did my launch one and one I got just after they started including a HDMI port and then the black Elite mode one I had too honestly that turned me off of getting an XBox One. I often wonder if the number of 360's sold was inflated by people buying replacements as it was far too common in the first few years. I also had to have the disc drive replaced on the first one I had because it just stopped opening. The fact is it was poorly designed and was rushed to get it out much quicker than the PS3 and no amount of slight tweaks was going to fix the problem as the only way they managed to fix it in the end was completely redesign it in later models.
I got very lucky and never ever had rrod but I did have multiple disk drive issues.
Yeah, I bought the system a couple weeks after launch, no issue until a bit over two years, red ringed in January 2008. Got it fixed for free and had no trouble afterwards. Lasted me until I traded it in to help fund a purchase of a 250 GB Xbox 360 slim in 2011. Wanted wifi, more storage and all that good stuff.
I tried buying a used 360 from Gamestop in maybe 2009 that had it right when I tried starting it up. Bought a new one in 2010 that never had an issue. Used it regularly until about 2018 when I finally upgraded.
No word of a lie, 6 times then i kicked off and pretty much got a full refund from Microsoft and bought the slim version with was great. I will say, each time the support from Xbox was great and I also got a few free games out of it.
oh... I remember my 360 , like yesterday.
I bought it , DAY ONE, (brand new of course...) with.... Drum sound ....: Perfect Dark zero . I played 1 hour and 4 minutes (not 1 minute more ....) and.... RED RING OF DEATH....
I was raging like a maniac at that time !!
My 2008 pro just froze on the xbox sphere and had to be fixed. Never had the red ring though.
My launch model lasted about 4 years or so. Crazy I know.
I’m on my 8th 360 but never got RROD. They always broke for other reasons. Had two eat coasters into games despite being horizontal at all times. And had one just not power on after less than a month of ownership. Disc drive broke on my xbone as well. Promised myself that the series x is my last xbox.
Got the red ring once and microsoft sent me a new one with a extended warranty
I've been very lucky with consoles to be honest, never had any technical issues.
Started with a PS2 at launch back in 2000 and had that for about 7 years. I then bought a 360 in 2007 and bought a PS3 in 2009. I then sold them both in 2013 and used the money for a PS4 at launch. I had the PS4 up until 2022 (yes 9 years) and never had any issues at all. Decided it was time for an upgrade last year and bought a Series S and so far that has been great too.
Nope, that never happened to me. I guess I was one of the lucky ones.
I had the 360 Arcade. I wonder if that made any difference? Replaced my 360 eventually, of course. But I still have a few original games for it, around somewhere.
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