The “Towel Trick” is an interesting solution to the 3 red lights on the ring of light (ROL). Supposedly, a user experiencing the 3 red lights on the ROL completely wrapped his Xbox 360 in a towel, with the red lights on, and let the Xbox 360 sit for about 10 minutes. He then turned his system off, then on again, and his Xbox 360 booted without issue. He was able to play for about 3 hours before the 3 red lights came back.
Sounds like an unlikely fix, but who knows? Well, I know, because I tested lastnight. The “Towel Trick” is bunk, total crap. You’re more likely to set your Xbox 360 on fire by doing this rather than fixing it. The best advice still is to contact Microsoft support. You can call them toll-free at 1-800-4MY-XBOX. They have an excellent support department lined up there for the Xbox/Xbox 360.
UPDATE: Here’s a video of the Towel Trick on YouTube.
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lol, i know… thats total BS.
I don’t even know HOW people can come up with such dumb “solutions” to fix a 360…. The next thing they will suggest someone to do will be to build an igloo around the 360 to keep it fresh…
Just send the damn thing to the support thing!
Im getting sick of this man, im going to start rolling out video tutorials pretty soon i think… Now that my site is looking ok…. (i think)
i cant even believe that you tried it out Tyler…. lol
Heh, I’m desperate and will try anything once. :)
Guess I’ll just give Microsoft a call again this evening. I’m gonna see if I can send my system in for repair this time, cuz this is getting ridiculous.
btw, did your system really got HOT after the stupid towel thing?
hehe, you know…. just making fun out of it!
Yah yah Jason, keep poking fun. :) Really though, my Xbox 360 stayed fairly cool even when it was wrapped in the towel. But, it was just sitting there idle so I wouldn’t really expect it to get too warm. I definitely wouldn’t want to leave my Xbox 360 wrapped in a towel while playing a game. :)
Interestingly, the towel thing might really do something to the chipset….. the heat could make something expand in the inside… at least thats what happened to me with my first custom PC…..
Anyways, i really hope that you fix it fast!
—————————
PS. Halo 3 is coming……
Jason, that’s really what I was hoping would happen. Something inside would get just warm enough to break it’s cycle of not working…or something!
Can’t wait for Halo 3. The screens/videos at Xbox 360 Fanboy are exciting. I’ve signed up for the beta, haven’t heard anything more on that from Bungie though. Getting my Xbox 360 fixed before Halo 3 comes out is a MUST!
The towel trick works fellas i left my 3 red ring xbox on wraped in a towel for 20 mins and it has worked for a week so frar with not a problem. So yes it does work.
Jared, I’ve actually tested this out a few more times and have had moderate success. I have managed to get the 3 red lights to go away, only for a short period of time though.
The 360 is a seriously high tech machine (multiple processors and such) and it cost enough. Mine is laid up right now and it sucks but theres no way I am wrapping a towel around my 400 dollar machine. I’ll just wait for the box so I can send it back. I’ve spent enough on games and stuff they cam make sure it works.
The towel trick works. I swear on my life it works.
so yeah, i tried the towel thing cause i was desperate, left it on for 15 minutes, turned it off and back on. it works now. who knows for how long though. thank you!
The towel trick worked for me too, for a while at least. Eventually the red lights came back and I had to send it in.
yeah im pretty desparate to try anything…i did the towel trick for only like 5 minutes and already started to work better….but not great…
hi all i brought a xbox 360 off some kid that was taking it to a games shop to sell it, i took it home plugged it in swithced it on and i have 3 red lights around the power button i have no idea about xboxes i have no box books or paperwork for my 360 WHAT DO I DO PEOPLE should i try the towel trick?, im not sure how i stand in getting it fixed can it go to MS even though i have no reciept or box? not sure? please someone help me! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO HELP!!!!!
Wow.I was i need of some crazy ppl like you guys to find out some crazy tricks. But it works. This is my second Xbox 360 that i got from microsoft after my origanl purchase was craped out. Thanks tons.
I have the same issue and the error code is 0020 which is ‘unknown’. Could it be possible that MS is causing these issues via the updates just to make a little cash on the back end? I hate to sound like a conspiracy freak but I cannot get them to take my machine since my warranty went out just over ONE MONTH ago!? How convenient.
it should work becuase the 3 red lights mean that there are cracks in the solder traces on the mother board meaning if you wraped it up in a towel restricting the airflow it wil gett realy hot and hopefully melt the solder traces on the board back to the normal state but about a day after it will do it again so yeah call microshit and get yourself a replacement ! theres no way yet found to fix this
How difficult would it be to solder the traces back to their uniform state oneself? Is it next to impossible for a non-skilled solderer?
Dave: Great explanation of why this towel trick may work.
Colin J.: If you want to solder the traces back by yourself, go for it. However, you’ll definitely void the warranty on your Xbox 360 by doing so. Simply opening the case will void the warranty, so take that into consideration before you decide to do anything. The safest bet would be to call Microsoft support and try to get your Xbox 360 repaired.
Also, I don’t think MS is intentionally breaking Xbox 360’s with updates. All the problems with updates are probably related to the specific game developer, not Microsoft. But who knows, I could be way off here. I don’t think MS makes any money from these repairs anyway, as long as the Xbox 360 is still under warranty.
it worked for me last night yeah !!!!!! thnx back to my tiger woods
hi all me again i didnt want to try the towel trick so i wrapped my xbox 360 up in my winter coat and waited for it to cook up (before this i removed the alloy cooling plates from ontop of the cpu/gpu and the grey thermal grease had run out from in between them so i put it back on the chips and put the cooling plates back on) after cookin it up for about 20 mins i removed the coat let it cool down for 1 min then switched it on hay presto i had tv output xbox screen half loaded/crashed, i switched it off for 3mins and switched it on again it loaded nfs carbon i played it for 2-3 mins and it crashed from over heating but the red lights have not come back so i guess i need some arctic silver 5 thermal grease as advised by a friend on the swapz site he was very helpfull and i thank him if hes reading this! thanks to all on this site advising the towel trick nice one people if only we all worked in the production center of microsoft they would be a reliable/stable games producer sorry MS but u know we are right on this one! lol
Ok well I tried the towel trick for 15 minutes and it worked fine for about 2 weeks before I had to do it again.
!!! THIS CAN BE DANGOURSE BECAUSE OF THINGS GETTING HOT SO BE CAREUL IT IS BEST TO USE OVENMITS OR WINTER GLOVES… JUST IN CASE!!!
The three light error is caused by faulty soldering on the motherboard. The best way I have found to fix this is to go the local hardware store and get a heat gun; then take apart your system. Take just the motherboard, pull the head sink off of the GPU only and place tin foil over the plastic pieces (on board). Then take the heat gun and place it on low heat and for 2 minutes trace the board in circular motions (front and back of board) focusing mainly on the GPU and RAM chips (4 chips around the GPU in rows of 2). Then place the heat gun to high heat and do the same thing for 2 more minutes. Then let the unit cool for at least 30 minutes. The unit will boot right back up. I have had successes with about 10 consoles so far. !!! THIS CAN BE DANGOURSE BECAUSE OF THINGS GETTING HOT SO BE CAREUL IT IS BEST TO USE OVENMITS OR WINTER GLOVES… JUST IN CASE!!! THIS WILL ALSO FOR SURE VOID ANY WARRANTY!
Its true ive tried everything to fans on heat sink every thing .Then i block all the ports for about 5 minutes heats up realy good then comes on .When i cool it it seems to go back to 3 red lights or freeze.i dont know ?going to change the thermal pad on heat sinks mine came out at launch
2005 10 18 pretty sure i got that dam pad on the gpu .
i would recomend gettin some arctic silver 5 thermal grease for your gpu/cpu’s and clean out the old sillicone or pad and a thin layer should sort it out and did u cook it up enought i wraped mine up in a winter all waether coat for 25 mins and let it cool for 1 min then tried it and no red light and then let it cool for 3 mins and turned it on no red light after letting it cool comletely it worked (before cookin it up i removed the heat sinks on both cpu and gpu and put them back again)but over heats so i need artic silver 5 thermal grease i have a tube on order so i let u know how it goes.
Worked fine for me - I didn’t even let it go high in temperature, so I doubt it remelded the soldering. It’s a low-cost and relatively safe alternative to shelling out $140 and waiting 2 weeks for a repaired box.
For the record - my box died right after and update as well. I wonder if that’s coincidence or if the fault is somehow associated with, say, the eFuses of the box.
This is my gamertag on xbl if anybody cares. Just thought is say that after i got the xbl updates for oblivion my 360 got the 3 red lights of doom.
Ok i don’t about you guys here but i can tell you one thing it worked for me.
My xbox 360 has been dead for about 2 months i was to lazy to return it but i planned on doing it this monday.
But then i stumble on this towel trick and i thought what the hell its the second time i get 3 red light of death, first it was on the very early xbox i got then i returned it got to microsoft got a new and then it happends again.
So anyways i try the towel trick with two towels covering the whole xbox 360 up, i left it for about 50minutes, turned it off and took the towels off. I let it cool for about 15mins and then i knew it was not working i had no doubt that this would not work, nothing like this ever works for me :P. But im dead serious about this, it actualy is working, atm its still running and its been about 10minutes and i can only say that im fucking happy :P.
Atm its still working for me.
Although sometimes when i press the on/off button it goes red so i have to press it again, but the it works again.
Maybe it would help abit more if you let it stay with the towel for abit more than 3-4 hours
3 Days so far and its still going strong, havent had the 3 red lights since the last time i posted
havnting even had my xbox 360 year yet and it has broke… and the towel trick don’ t work…. ill advise you not to buy a 360
Guys, really disappointing.
I bought mine pal version from UK and unfortunately it has died on me.. and the worst thing is i am in pakistan and sending it back is out of question.
I was first excited to hear about the towel trick, but it din’t work for me :( i m pissed on MS.
After 5 years of bashing ps2, i guess the next gen gamers will be bashing xbox 360 for its poor quality.
My 360 froze on me during Jade Empire. I got the 3 red flashing lights and tried the towel wrap. After 50 minutes of being wrapped while on and then a 30 minute cool down turned off my 360 has been revived. I’ve been playing Gears and Need for Speed Most wanted for the past 4 hours straight and you’d never know anything went wrong. This fix WORKS!!
yeah mine died like a month ago, i tried the air gun and worked for about 2 weeks, i changed the coolers to 12v when it happend to me the first time and this kept it very cool, but it happened again, i am trying the towel trick, i got nothing to loose because here in argentina 360 support doesn´t exist and all repair shops are doing the heat gun or the eraser trick on the rams, fuck it i will sell it for parts (power supply dvd drive cables and shit, and hope to get some money) and i will wait to ps3 to be cheaper in a year.Its in amazing machine, when it works, very sad thing, microsoft wont see no mo money from me. fuck them
Well I’ve had, Had My 360 for about 5 months and it broke down on me with this red light. If your xbox360 has that red light simpily turn off your xbox then unplug everything and from the wall and wait for about 5 mins then plug everything back. And it should work , if not just call 1-800-4MY-XBOX. Well good luck.
Just a quick head up it does work and it works because when the xbox has the three red lights its alot of the time because of the crappy soldering m$ uses! Soo when you heat up your xbox 360 it remelts the solder. Therefore it can fix some 3 red light errors. Just because it happens to you and it doesnt work just means that the specific error isnt solder related!
i’m gonna try this Towel Head Iraqui looking trick on my XBOX 399 and see if it works and if now i am going to flush it down the toilette and buy the ELITE with a whole bunch of BESTBUY warranties,,, not walmart anymore,,,, i called walmart and some Indian guy answered the phone and i asked to speak to the representative, he said “you work 4 o clock, ok .” and hanged up the fucking phone on me.
My xbox died last week and after scouring the web for possible fixes while waiting for Microshaft to send me a coffin, I came across the towel trick.
So last night I did it and after 15 mins my xbox automatically shut down from over heating. I let it cool for 45 mins and hey presto, was able to play on it for over 3 hours last night with no problems.
Hi Guys.
i woke up this morning turned on my 360.
and my heart broke as i see 3 red flashing lights on my xbox.
i thought omg. it happened the nightmare has come true.
well i looked on the net acctually i found the towel trick on youtube.
i rapped my little baby up well. then left on for maybe 20 mins maybe just a little bit more.
but the god damn thing works just fine now.
dont know for how long. dont even know why.
and iam not going to guess why.
all i know is it works again.
for the guys whio are saying why dont you just calll microsoft and get another.
no1 they charge you alot of doller. this is a fault of theres why the.f should we pay for there sloppy mistakes.
also when you are out of warrenty. and you always are when the red ring of death comes knocking on your door.
you are a little buggerd getting it fixed free.
i know people who have got a new machine from microsoft. and within 2 to 3 months they have had the red ring of death on the machines from microsoft.
so if you dont beleive this is a good idea.
then your a little silly
I also use an intercooler so really if it is a over heating problem. i should not have had a problem. yes.
i also clean my xbox free of dust regular. and keep the fans clean of dust too.
time microsoft admit there is a problem. stop charging us all for the faulty machine they have sold us.
and fix them free. we already paid you microsoft. grrrr.
£300 i paid on launch. the thing should last me and anyone else at least 6 years . and the rest.
it is not good. not good at all.
but hey. the towle trick is mint.
mine now works like a dream. no problems. yet.!!!!
dam you phill gates. how deep are your pockets m8.
P.S..
Been 3 days today since i toweled my xbox.
still going strong.
think i toweled mine for just over 20 mins.
i hope others have just as much luck as i have had.
maybe there is alot more to it..
and getting the xbox hot. well. its not such a bad thing if it fixs the devil rings.Lol
Hello all I bought a dead xbox 360 on ebay made in 12-05 so yes I will be getting it fixed for free thanks to Microsoft. I can 100% guarantee the towel trick does work. I got the dead console today in a ups box, I wrapped it up completely and left it on for 10 minutes. Then i shut it off and back on and Presto ! Worked like a charm. This method does work !!! Dead 360’s on ebay rule !!! got a dead one for 92 dollars. still sending it in though. anyone who doesn’t believe i promise you this does work !!!
The Towel Trick DOES WORK but it is gonna eventually burn out again after a couple of hours even if your not playing, YOU CANT ESCAPE THE THREE RINGS OF DEATH. Oh and PS3 STILL SUCKS!
not sure how much playstation sucks anymore.
sounds quite nice to me now.ps3.
mmmmmmmmmm
i think i will throw my xbox360 in the trash.
because to be honest.
i think it is trash.
trash trash trash trashhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
i had a ps2 when they first came out god knows how many years ago that was.
andf i have the same one today.
till works fine as new.
that is what you pay for.
up yours microsoft.
screw the 360,
anyway an extra terraflop sounds very nice. =P
I have returned to playing games on my PC as well as making an effort
to not purchase software put out by MicroSHIT.
lol
i like it microshit.
lol sounds good.
they should have recalled the 360’s and fixed them.
but no.
they have been too busy making the upgraded 360’s.
microsoft do not think about the customer.
they only think about there wallet.
and iam sure this was true at sometime with the old xbox.
i remember something about how microsoft are all for making money.
but i liked the old one.
it worked.
people can say what they like.
but when they have paid out £300
for a machine then had the red ring of death. after there warrenty.
then you dont really understand how annoying it is.
microshit. rings true to me. Lol…=p
omg man i am realy angry its show that stupid redlights so wot will my xbox360 not work ne more
dont worry too much
try the towel trick
but be pissed off.
we all should be
just think about how much your xbox cost you.
and how much it means to you.
i hope you can get it working with towel trick… good luck m8
Believe it or not the towel trick is not bullshit. It obviously is not the fix for all bad 360’s. Read in other forums about which 360’s it might work on. I happened to be one of those with 3 reds lights and error code 0102, which is who this fix often works for. This code means it is an unknown error but many believe it comes from bad connections, specifically the GPU. I just tried this out and it worked. I’m not sure it will work very long but for now my 360 is OK.
Hey, Fuckin Eh the towel trick works mericales. I was playing a demo and it froze turned it off then turned it on and got the red fuckin lights, thought all i could do was thro it out my window but i stumbled upon this towel trick and thought it was bull shit but fuckin shit it works perfectly just like it says try it out and it will work! BOOO YAHHH
The Towel Trick works to an extent, but whocares is right, it’s just a band-aid.
Cant believe it got the 3 red lights of bastard death yesterday!! £85 quid to get it fixed!!! mine was one of the first ones made and i got it on launch date, the wierd thing is i was playing pro evo 6 on line, got an update from microshit and the 360 doesnt work now!! coincidence or what? think this is one for mullder and scully! one thing i do know is im defecting and getting the ps3, my ps1 and 2 are still working all these years on!! ive only had the 360 for 18months and its fucked!! what does that say about microsoft!!! fuck you Bill Gates!!!
just a quick update, the towel trick works a treat! wrapped 2 towels around the xbox and left it running for 40mins with the 3 red lights of destruction (rol) on, turned it of and let it cool for 20 mins and its working!!! i think its only a short term measure but hey at least i can play lost planet now!!! still sending it off to microcash to be fixed properly then im going to buy the ps3 and use the 360 as a footstool or maybe an ashtray!!!!
The towel trick works, and as far as the person who claims XBox has excellent support, thats the real BS. I should of never bought an xbox 360 first week, shame on them for selling them knowing they’d break down coincidently when the warranty expired.
Screw microsoft. Screw the 3 damed red rings. AND screw the towel trick! Im taking a baseball bat to my xbox tonight!!! I cant wait!!!!
i already bought my PS3 and it rocks!!!!
IT ROCKS!!!
you now what?? ive always been a playstation person i knew i shouldnt have gone xbox…my bad
Guys this sounds like poor manufacturing, to say the least all of the fixes IE the towel trick; heat guns; etc are the result of cold solder joints on smt parts. The situation probably arises from the system overheating to some extent and creating these CSJ and then eventually breaking the circuit. They can only be fixed properly with high dollar equipment. I would say call Microsoft and complain about this. It is a simple design issue that should have been better addressed during design and testing. As far as calling microsoft I did, I wasn’t happy with the fact that my system even with the extended warrenty that I purchased was out of warrenty by 2 weeks, but there is nothing I can do about this. I wish someone that had access to good solder reflow oven would take advantage of microsofts screw up and fix these systems that are out of warrenty. It could be done for as little as $30-$45 per unit, if this is in fact the only damage that has been done to the system.
cant we sue microsoft….?
i been thinking about it, going to talk to my solicitor.
they should have recalled our machines,
and i think we all know it,
it is just poor service on there part,
they want to deny there is a problem.
and are spinning the bull shit, that every machine is look at on a base to base service or what ever it is they say.
it is just bollocks,
these machines should be recalled.
and it is really as simple as that.
these machine should last us years.
at least 3 to 4 years. maybe more.
but most machines are lasting just over a year.
now that to me is a very serious fuck up on there part.
and we need to do sometrhing about it.
i just sat down again, to play gears of war on my already toweled xbox and got the bloody lights yet again.
so as i speak i am toweling my xbox again. for the 7th time.
any body agree that there is a chance we can sue microsoft and get another machine. because we have all paid our £300,
WE HAVE ALL SPEND SERIOUS CASH. And for what.
for 3 red lights thats what. its damn shittty =p
Trotskii,
That’s sounds like a superb idea. Check out this link and let me know what you decide to do:
http://www.lawinfo.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/Client.lawarea/categoryid/63
A class action suit is definitely possible, I’d be surprised if one isn’t in the works already.
Honestly though, I’d just sue Microsoft individually, by myself. If you hire a class action lawyer, his firm will end up with 70% of the settlement while the rest of us get screwed.
A class action lawsuit is probably the way to go though since so many people are affected, I just don’t wanna help some lawyer retire early.
Id love to see it in the press, Microsoft sued by millions of xbox users!!! it would make my day!!! i have actualy put some serious consideration into sueing microshit and i think it would be worth it if enough people decide to act! i look at it this way, if a trades man did a job at your home…lets say an extension and after 6-12 months it fell down…what would you do? you wouldnt wrap a fuckin towel round it and put up with the damage!! you would sue for compensation AND get the repairs done free!! microshit thinks that because it has a choke hold on the computer world it can take us all for mugs! my xbox has just this minute been picked up for repairs, i had problems the night i brought it home on launch night, with it scratching my game cds!! which brings me swiftly onto the subject of game prices! why are the games £50? whats special about them to justify £50? even when you trade them in after a week of owning a new release the price you get is shit!! i love gaming and always will and unfortunatly ill pay the prices, but when millons of us are getting ripped off with shoddy made consoles and over priced games just because its a passion of ours, then i think its time to take it to the top and let our voices be heard!!! rant over!! (LOL)
Benny,
A lawsuit is the way to go but I do not believe you could afford the attorneys that Bill Gates can unless you go the way of class action. Lawyers are motivated by money and let’s face it none of us here have pockets as deep as MicroSHIT.
With that in mind let’s consider what this website has to offer:
http://www.lawinfo.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/Client.lawarea/categoryid/63
I would be interested in pursuing this however only if there are enough of us to make it worth our while. Being thirty and having a business background means I understand how people start something but let the troubles of life bog them down. We need to commit to this course and take MS to the bank. I think the best bet would be for some of us (all of us on this forum) to start a print campaign.
CJ, you’ve sparked my interest. Look for an email from me later on tonight with some ideas about how we could proceed with a class action suit.
This page has some good info as well:
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/faq.html
hi
im aving the same problem my xbox360 is only 8 months old
and 3 red lights were flashing when i turned it on i was propper pissed off my dad nos people who can fix xbox360s and chip them and he sad they all call the lights the def lights he said he fixed one befor but he had to get a new mother bord put in it he said xbox360 are shit only becouse 3 ov his have blow up if i get a new one and it does the same i will just sell it and us the money to put to for a ps3.
Pursuing a print media campaign again MS would be easy enough if we could get written testimonies from thousands of 360 owners stating the problem. I have a friend who owns one that just started doing the 3 lights of death last week and let me just say he is pissed.
Print campaigns are easy. I really believe a t.v. show like Dateline NBC would take something like this on making the world aware of the scam MS has in producing a product with a guaranteed repair bonus cash flow built into the back end. And I believe this could be proven by the right attorney
The problem with pursuing a class action lawsuit in this realm is that most of the owners of these systems probably wouldn’t respond the mailer informing them of the class action lawsuit and therefore make the lawsuit less valid.
no i just read about the towel trick and tryed it AND IT WORKED!!! i no haw to get rid of the def lights do the towel trick then leve it for ten mins on then tern it off for ten mins reset to factory setings and it shold work evry tme u turn it on sorry a bout the spelling but im just exsited because i but the xbox brocken 8 moths a go for £10.oop what a bargen.
THANKS A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!
We may be too late. I did an Google search and came up with this article.
Good news is we can speak up and get in on the action. So let’s look at how to best pursue this course of action.
cj if my xbox360 does it agen i will do that thing wiv ya ok
i still have not had time to see my solicitor.
and i have already had thoughts about how good there solicitors could be.
also i had my firmware flashed on my drive so that could def. go bad for me.
but petition sould be a good way to go.
and trust us nahar it will happen again. and again and again.
have toweled mine 8 times now.
cj what do you think is the best action for us to take.
and we really need all of you and more to help us with this.
even friends you have the whole point of this is.
the machines are faulty very very much so.
and they cant get away with this.
we deserve a recall.
and microshit soft shit ass mudder lickers. grrrrr.
are shaking in there boots. of the thought of a recall.
they are money grabbers. they are not interested in our interest.
only theres.
i have emailed Dateline NBC
maybe we could all email them
is a good start i guess.
i also sent them the link to this forum.
fingers crossed.
we need to be heard guys.
microsoft are taking the piss out of us all.
Trotskii has the right idea. We should all start by going to Dateline NBC’s website and letting them know what the deal is through countless emails. The more emails they receive the more seriously they will take us. On that note, go and recruit anyone you know in our same predicament.
Some strategy on this whole campaign.
1. Emails should approach the subject in a mature and professional manner; “Just the facts ‘mam.”
2. NO questionable language. Do not refer to MS as Mirco-SHIT when emailing a outside source like Dateline NBC. Words like ass, bitch, bastard, etc… are uncalled for in any type of professional correspondence.
3. The hook? We are innocent hard working, tax paying, family supporting Americans who have spent a lot of our hard earned money on a product that has an obvious defect from the factory and we deserve to be heard. This situation is UN-American. If Microsoft refuses to acknowledge us then they obviously value the quick nickel over the long dime.
4. This is a classic case of the invincible corporate mogul using the poor working American as their whipping boy.
Anyway, you guys get the idea. Use your own words since typical tract letters aren’t really that powerful. Hand written is a little corny but typed with a ‘handwritten’ signature at the bottom is ideal.
Here is the email I just sent, so that those of you shrugging have a general idea what to write. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Simple is better than complicated. It should be easy to digest in less than a couple of minutes. This way they actually read them.
Hi,
I will keep this brief. I am a thirty year old, hard working, tax paying, American with a wife and three kids. I like to unwind by playing my $500.00 Microsoft manufactured XBOX 360. Problem is, shortly after the warranty expired my XBOX downloaded an updated from XBOX online and then refused to work any longer. Xbox wants $150.00 to swap mine with a refurbished model. After countless hours of net research and finding that I am just one of thousands of others, including a friend of mine down the street, experiencing this same issue, I believe this is a recall issue that MS is capitalizing on to make more money.
Who stands up for hard working Americans when corporate America spits on us?
Dateline NBC, that’s who.
Thanks,
Colin J Jeffcoat IV
Owner/Builder Network of Charleston
Be Your Own Builder
$ Save Thousands $
We Make It Simple
http://www.obnonline.com
Office: 843 414 4893
Fax: 843 414 4888
Cell: 843 200 8174
Okay, I am starting over-write my welcome on this forum but here is the response I just received from Dateline:
Thank you for your E-Mail to Dateline NBC. We are very pleased with the enormous response we are getting. Although we cannot write a personal note to each of you, we do print out our messages, look at them and discuss your comments and reaction, and we do sometimes quote your E-Mail on the air in our ‘feedback’ segment. If your correspondence is in reference to a specific segment, that letter will be forwarded to the segment producer for review.
If you have a specific story suggestion please send it to:
STORY SUGGESTIONS
Dateline NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
Okay gents and ladies (I am guessing some of us might be ladies ;) ) I am going to sit down this weekend and actually type up a short letter explaining my hubris and send it to the address above for STORY SUGGESTIONS with Dateline. Tomorrow morning I have to rip my BMW’s engine apart in order to change the valve cover gasket and spark plugs out and since I need my car tomorrow afternoon, I think the letter is going to have to wait at least until the evening.
If it is not too much to ask I would like to have at least half of those posting here do the same. Who knows, perhaps they will give some of us a phone call wanting a, live and in person, interview. Perhaps some of us will actually be on the tele one of these days.
When I get it in the mail I will give you all a shout out.
No disrespect to you cj..
its not just americans m8,
iam english. and i know of 6 people in my town who have all had the red rings of death. i live in bridlington. its only a small village just a sea side town.
this is not just an american issue. but a world wide issue.
i am glad you have my back on this, much respect to you m8.
i really hope others will follow us on this.
i email dateline too. with resonable words, no swearing of any kind.
i received the same response as you have.
so i will write a letter too.
please, anyone who is reading this, we really need all your support.
are you going to just sit back and think or well’ i will send them the money for my machine fixing.
which will have the same problems after 1 year and a bit.
or are you going to use your voice.
its time to rise guys.
it brakes my heart my xbox 360 has broken.
i wanted it to last forever. or at least 10 years.
round abouts.
i at least expect my moneys worth.
and non of us have got what we deserved.
a great console. without big faults. that we have to pay out for.
what microsoft have done here is discusting.
its just more money to them.
and it is going to be massive money to them.
because imagine how much money they are going to make each year as everyones xbox needs fixing again.
its not right. it is very bad customer service indeed.
they cant deny this issue, they are trying to though.
it is up to us to try and do something about it.
god damn them. money grabbers. they are a very rich company.
but not a very plesant one.
what was bill gates words at e3.
i forget now. something about being a big family,
you know all that stuff.
he talked like we were the ones that matter to microsoft.
that our interests was his.
well if thats true. give us all a console that works. thats reliable. thats a good start mr gates. and pls. dont charge us extra for it.
we already paid you. =P
My xbox was finally dead when I turned it on last night. The last time I played it I had been playing guitar hero II and noticed that it was even hotter than usual (as in alarmingly hot). After reading this I’m thinking that when it cooled down the solder joints hardened in a bad way. Going to try the towel trick tonight and I’ll post the results.
I wish someone would start a lawsuit concerning this. Microsoft has taken away their previous offer to fix launch date consoles for free after already admitting that there were “manufacturing problems” with them. Now, because my xbox didn’t break until recently because I don’t play it that much, I gotta shell out $150 bucks?
Guys. The tower trick does work and I had fun playing my xbox 360 last night. However, when i was playing the new game that i bought, Spiderman 3, I was quite scared that the 360 would screw up half way and leave my poor disk inside. Some people can’t even open their disk tray after the red rings of death show up. So can anyone give me a direct answer how long with the towel solution last? Anyone?
graffitz.
my machine always opened ok when i had red rings of death
so hope yours does too.
i was talking to some techno geek yesturday.who beleives it all has some thing to do with the coolng system inside our 360s.
which makes alot of sence.
he rekoned by heating it up.
you got rid of anyair bubbles that could be in the gas cooling system. i thought it was water cooled but thios guy tells me it is a type of gas.
and when it heats up it flows around and cools your system.
anyhowwwww.
dont know how long will last for you m8.
can only say ….???????
How many times can i do the overheating trick? Coz my replacement is in 2 weeks. Its under warrantee. Is it possible to do it more than once?
pls graffitz
if you read our comments you will see .
that me myself have done my xbox 8 times.
but now 9.
bloody thing. is really pissinmg me off.
especially now forza 2 is out
ive posted on here before and im only gonna say we have all be ripped off by microshit, the 360 is awesome in principle but shit in practice. im a good old british gezzer and im going to email DATELINE NBC and i urge everyone wherever you live in the world to email these guys. we are all hard working people and microcash has taken us all for our hard cash and ripped us off, lets embarrass them through media coverage!!!!
DAMN RIGHT
the one thing ive noticed in a lot of the cases for the 3 red rings of death is the online download, a lot of people including myself got a microcash download and the next thing is….well you know the rest…my 360 had been fine since i bought it on launch night and then i went online with pro evo 6, i hadnt played online for around 6 months and then the 3 red lights came on a day or so later, is microcash doing this on purpose?? enquirinq minds want to know!! £85 to fix mine and the americans have to pay $150 this is big easy revenue for microsoft!!!! i thought it was illegal to have a monopoly!!!!!
My 360 screwed up for the 3rd time. This is so disappointing. I have done the towel trick like 4 times already and in 1 day it stops working. Are there any other solutions?
yes
sue microsft.
or
hammer your xbox. sledge hammer would do a better job.
or piss on it. or piss on bill g.
another option buy a playstation 3.
keep toweling. but do at 10 mins at a time try and if not working give it 20 mins. in time problem gets worse.
after trying to towel and having no joy.
give it a rest and try again later.
ask an electronics shop if they know anything about gas cooling systems.
or if they can check your machine see if they can attain the problem.
microsoft are not going to tell us what this problem is.
they want the money for fixing it.
when they should be fixing it for free anyway,,
after all the damn things are faulty.
sue. sue sue sue sue sue sue sue sue sue. xbox360 is very faulty.
why should we have to pay for it.
already paid lots of cash already.