Microsoft Extends Xbox 360 Warranty Again

**VampDude** · July 6th, 2007, 21:38

Via: switched.com

Posted Jul 6th 2007 10:36AM by Tim Stevens

Xbox 360 owners are on the receiving end of a second extension to their Microsoft consoles' warranties. Coverage on Microsoft's new hotness was 90 days when it launched, but after reports of issues with the launch boxes, that got upped to one year last December. Now, on the heels of reports that the Xbox 360 is suffering 33% failure rates, Microsoft has decided to extend the warranty to three years, something all but unheard of in the gadget industry.

That said, the extended warranty covers only the reviled "red ring of death," the most common issue users are reporting. The "ring" is generally believed to be caused by the 360 overheating. Additionally, this warranty change will be retroactive, meaning anyone who has already paid for fixes should get in touch with MS to arrange a reimbursement.

The cost of all this? Estimated to be roughly a billion dollars. Thus the price of failure -- hardware failure, that is.