Your X-Box might burn down your House!

[Ladic]

Microsoft recalls Xbox cords

Minor burn injuries and carpet scorching force company to replace 14 million power cords.

February 17, 2005: 8:20 AM EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, said Thursday it will recall 14.1 million power cords for its Xbox video game console after a defect gave some users minor burns and scorched carpets.

Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer for Microsoft (Research), told Reuters the recall covered all Xboxes made for continental Europe before Jan. 13, 2004, and the rest of the world before Oct. 23, 2003.

Consoles built after those dates were designed in such a way that the failures no longer occurred, Bach said.

"It ends up being a combination of both things in the box and circumstances," he said. "It did take us quite a bit of time to understand that there was a challenge."

The recall represents a significant portion of the worldwide Xbox installed base of more than 20 million. Microsoft debuted the Xbox in November 2001 in the United States and subsequently rolled it out worldwide.

Based on reports to its customer service unit and warranty repair data, Bach said Microsoft had observed a failure rate of about 1 in 10,000 units.

In 30 of those, users suffered either minor burns or damage to property, including scorched carpets, he said.

Affected customers can request a new power cord free of charge via the Web site, Xbox.com (http:/www.xbox.com), or by calling toll-free numbers in their respective countries.

Microsoft said customers would get replacement cords within 2-4 weeks from the time of order, and in the interim it advised users to turn off their Xboxes when not in use.

In March 2002, Japanese retailers temporarily stopped selling the console just weeks after its launch there because some machines were scratching discs. The company made an unconditional offer to replace hardware and any damaged software.

Bach said some consoles on retail shelves in Japan and Korea were also affected by the electrical problem and Microsoft was working with retailers there to replace the cords in those units.

Microsoft is widely expected to release a successor to the Xbox this year. Rival and industry leader Sony Corp. (Research) is expected to launch the third version of its popular PlayStation console next year.

The Xbox Live service, which allows players to compete online from their living rooms, is expected to have 1.6 million to 1.8 million subscribers by the end of the fiscal year in June. The company had originally forecast 1.5 million users. 

http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/17/technology...dex.htm?cnn=yes

[zeo-mare]

my mother was just telling me about this, wow that sucks,

chris

[Ladic]

I already put in an order for a new power cable, I bought my X-Box used at gamestop last year, and in the bottom says made in 2002.

[Zentrandude]

old news, saw it on tv last week. good thing is m$ will replace the powersupply for free sony will proly tell you to stick it on an iron pan or go out and buy electrical tape.

[Hikuro]

I'll have to check mine, I'm pretty sure though I'm in the safe zone.

[Jolly Rogers]

old news, saw it on tv last week. good thing is m$ will replace the powersupply for free sony will proly tell you to stick it on an iron pan or go out and buy electrical tape.

Sony already got slapped with a class action and are repairing defective PS2s for free. M$ is only doing this recall in order to avoid similar lawsuits (maybe they've been sued already).

[Godzilla]

Whew. Good thing I bought mine in October 2004.

[Southpaw Samurai]

XBox Jr. died from this...just weeks before it came out publicly that Microsoft was doing a recall. At the time I thought it was just an odd power surge or something odd, but it does fit within the time frame and the results are what I've read described. Too bad I opened it up in an attempt to repair/curiosity to see the innards, so I can't go asking M$ for any kind of replacement due to a known issue.

But XBox the 3rd (imagine with Lupin III theme) is happy and I'm thinking of making a working Frankenstein monster out of Xbox Sr. (bad DVD Drive) and XBox Jr....and since I have to open both up, I might mod it just for grins even though I hadn't considered doing it to them before.

[BoBe-Patt]

yeah, i got an email about this from xbox live.

[VF-19]

old news, saw it on tv last week. good thing is m$ will replace the powersupply for free sony will proly tell you to stick it on an iron pan or go out and buy electrical tape.

Actually Sony had a similar problem with the cable on the Playstation. I'm a little fuzzy on the solution, but they offered a free replacement cable, and the newer Playstations came with the cable.

[Guppy]

I can't believe nobody has posted this yet.

Shock and Burnie

[Yang_Neumann]

old news, saw it on tv last week. good thing is m$ will replace the powersupply for free sony will proly tell you to stick it on an iron pan or go out and buy electrical tape.

You'd be surprised how Sony has revamped their Customer Service Dept. as of late. Example: A friend of mine had a PS2 which he sent to Sony to be repaired for free, and ended up getting a voucher for a new one when his system was mistakenly sent to Sallatin, Indiana instead of its intended destination of Gallatin, TN. Later the same unit was discovered to have a faulty power cable, so the system's cable was replaced. Gotta keep the customer happy by any means necessary.