Jeff,

I feel your pain. I too own a few Xbox 360's, purchased extended warranty and own several games. I went through the exact situation. It was actually a relief reading your post as I recall the same feelings of emotion as I waited for up to 30 min. at a time as they looked into my case, and looked for a manager. When I called back the last time I stated that "I'm being wrongfully accused, and feel helpless. Can you provide me with any suggestion of what I can do?". The person's response was to write a letter to Microsoft's Legal department stating that all I want is for my Xbox to be fixed. Also to include photo's of all my Microsoft products (not sure what that's all about). I have yet to write the letter however after seeing that my case was not an isolated one I feel much more compelled to proceed. I will post again if I'm successful in my efforts.

Not saying the OP did that, but I've seen this done before and it looks very much like the OPs picture.

@Papa Midnight: Don't you have to have a heart to change it?

Secondly, who wants to bet Consumerist will have an update later on displaying Microsoft's generous sudden change of heart?

I'll stick to my old school nintendo system... to get my system to work, all I gotta do is blow into do the door and the bottom of the game... insert.... BAM!

As much as I love newer crap, nothin beats my Mega Man 3 game, getting lost around the map of Zelda, or watching Mario being able to fly in Mario Bros 3. After 20 years.... I'm more amused with those games and fightin that darn sandstorm in Mario Bros. 2, then I am playing GTA or Gran Turismo.

Call me crazy!

@Krycek: I have a PS3 and would NEVER buy an XBox console. However, even PS3's now are getting their share of 'deaths.' Mostly though, its the blu-rays not being read. Unfortunately... it's the blu-rays not being read. Heh.

And I remember Sony being NOTORIOUS when it came to warranty issues (then again, every company is nowadays, right?).

...and if you're reading this thread and still thinking about buying an X-Box 360.. what is wrong with you?

Also, the serial number sticker above the USB ports has been removed.

Fraud.

As for the missing stickers, if they had serial numbers on them, they would be removed during refurbing since refurbs get a new serial number.

We bought my son a new laptop a few months ago, he came home from school a few weeks ago and had to do a report, the trial version of Microsoft Office had expired. Normally we would have gone down to the local office supply store and bought him the new copy. *HE* stopped me, reminded me about his X-box and the RROD. "Dad, we are going to give more money to Microsoft?"
We had no problem when he had to send his in to be repaired, but now he doesn't want to play it on ot days for fear it will blow. Microsoft is handling this entire thing wrong. I never had a problem except the usual cursing of MS and large corporations, but this is straight out robbery. They fucked up, they make my kid afraid to play his game system and they make you feel afraid to call for a repair. Afraid they will deny it or treat you like a thief. What's going to happen when this extended warantee period ends and ALL of the XBOX 360 start shutting down? Lawsuits are number 1, ton's of lost customers is number 2. If it hadn't been for the XBOX, MS would have gotten another couple hundred bucks from me this week on software, instead my son used some free downloadable word processor.
BTW, when we sent his XBOX in for repair, I pulled out my old Sega Genesis and N64, I've had these since I was a teen (now married with a 16 year old son!). Me and my son had a blast playing the old games! He never knew that the old man could play video games. hehe. We've pulled them out a few times since, on hot days when he can't use his XBOX and even blew out the Cartridges a few times (had to explain why ;) ) Too bad he won't be sharing his Xbox with HIS kids!
Microsoft is acting like they are doing us a favor by extending the warantees, boy is it going to cost them. A Lot more than replacing their faulty crap. The only reason we are using them now, because we paid for them and they still run most of the time. When the warantees are up, XBOX DIES. That's why we rent games instead of purchasing them. We won't be getting another, EVER! They could have saved themselves by putting out the cash and replacing them, it would have paid off in the end.

@parad0x360: If you buy a MS Wireless adapter, add $100 to the cost of the Elite, plus any other accessories and bam, you're there in no time. Maybe he's figuring those costs in as well?

Just kidding.

@mrkniceguy:

I have no idea when the sticker was removed, but as previously mentioned, that has nothing to do with it. That sticker is above where you plug the usb's into, hence all the scratches around it. The usb's are used frequently for plug and play charges, charges for my wireless headset and the wired controllers I use.

But as Baukie said, the serial was tampered with, so I guess I would agree he's sol. OP, was serial removed for the photo or before shipped to M$?

@LJKelley:

I did NOT remove ther serial number sticker. That sticker is not nearly as durable as the holographic one, anyway. I have no idea why the sticker is gone. The reason MS denied the fix is because of the holographic label anyway (Per Wali, Escalated Customer Service), it has nothing to do with the other sticker. The holographic one is "industrially glued" to the console. Heck, it is probably the most durable feature of the 360.

Oh, the Elite was $479 when I bought it. Plus, the roughly $60 extended warranty from MS I purchased puts me out ~$550 for this one console.

It also would be extremely foolish of me to buy the extended warranty if I were to try and "fix" the machine by myself or try to modify it in anyway. Neither of which I could do, nor would want to. The other times I have dealt with MS re: broken consoles the have been decent to deal with. I thought this would be a similar experience.

[thenproject.com]

Oh yeah, them Elites never RRoD!

The upper right corner of the seal looks like there was an attempt of lifting.

Serial Number has been removed. Regardless of the console has been opened, it voids the warranty.

Just like if i tamper with serial number on my tv, i void my warranty.

Dont ask why, this is just the way it is.

I own all 3 next gen systems and my Wii's graphics card went bad after 2 months. It is a known issue and you can see other people had the same problem if you poke around message boards a bit.

My PS3 (20 GB launch model) is the only one that has not had a problem. My launch 360 lasted more than 2 years before it red-ringed out of the clear blue sky a few months back.

The morale is that all electronics can break, sometimes for no reason. 360s just seem to fail more often. To say that Nintendo is immune from it is fan-boy rediculousness.

I've seen Xbox 360s with tampered warranty seals and that looks nothing like it. However it is very unlikely an Elite would Red Ring and would most likely be from a very hot environment. If the console is in a closed media cabinet, it's possible the glue failed on the sticker.. and also caused the RROD.

In the last two generations of consoles, we've had an up-to-date PC, a PS2/PS3, and a GC/Wii, and I can't at all say that I feel like I'm missing out on anything other than the RRoD or scratches on my disks. We really are gamers, too, not just "hard core" or "casual", but of everything.

Yeah, yeah, I know. You're all about to start shouting about Halo or something. Bah. Nothing justifies the chance you're taking on a hardware headache and then reportedly poor customer service when it does occur.

(And yeah, I'm not an Apple fangirl or anything taking a random shot at Microsoft. I have Microsoft operating systems on my PCs and have no pre-existing axe to grind with them.)

I have an identical case to Jeff's. I have photos of my sticker, and everything. I've been fighting with XBox tech support since Friday. They said I would receive photo evidence that I tampered with it but it will take 3 to 5 business days for that to happen. . I've contacted the BBB via phone but their site is down today, so I won't be able to file a complaint until the site is back up. Just thought that it was interesting that another person happens to be going through the same thing I've gone through.

How can I submit my photos to add to this story?

A smudge one of those types of stickers is an indication of tampering and while I do love to always side with the consumer...how do we know he hadnt tried to open his 360 at some point?

Also where did he buy this $600 elite? last I checked they were cheaper then that, in fact about $150 cheaper.

I've been holding out to get a PS3 once the new MGS4/PS3 bundle is released next month. Deciding on a new "next generation" system has been a difficult one for me. The idea of the Gamer Tag and achievements on the X-Box 360 made me really want to get the system, but with all of the horror stories of failure rates & Microsoft's customer service I've decided to set up my fanboy flag in Sony's camp. I have to hand it to Microsoft though- Despite the way they treat their customers and manufacture absolute garbage for a game console, people keep buying their systems and swear by the Microsoft name. Must be something in the water maybe?

@BlackWolf2000:
OMG, did you just admit to opening and removing a sticker? And then you act suprised when MS denies you warranty? LOL. You did 'Tamper' even if it was just a sticker. The point is you can peel and replace stickers and make them look untouched.

I cannot hold this against MS as I would have surely done the same thing. MS can't be held responsible for your potential failed modding. And even though you may not have, it appears you may have.

Its a crazy world when Consumers think companies owe them everything. I have an AT&T Tilt I unlocked and put custom rom on. I know if it fails I'm screwed and its just as wrong for AT&T to scam me as it is for me to scam them.

to the OP, why would you remove the serial number sticker?

So, save yourself some headaches, get a PS3. Gears of War 2 doesn't even look that much better than Gears of War 1, so you won't be missing anything... plus Metal Gear Solid 4 is coming out soon, that'll more than make up for any exclusive Xbox games you might miss.

@jblake1:

I am the Jeff in this story. The sticker there was a serial number sticker. It does nothing for "tamper-protection". Thanks for the feedback. FWIW, I call a call from MS today for a follow up to a BBB complaint I filed. We'll see.

@Techguy1138: Well you can just buy a refurb with an updated set of problems and a warranty that will expire just a little too soon. I don't think the newer ones are biting it in droves, but some are still going down.

Are the new consoles still defective, just less so?

How am I ever going to be able to buy a used 360?

This is way past the Internet's ability to make a shitstorm out of a nuisance. There's no way in hell Microsoft would have extended their Xbox warranty without a flood of criticism. I believe each and every story about the problems with these new consoles. What I can't understand is why people keep wasting money on them. Go buy a $1000 gaming desktop, and merely upgrade the components as they go bad/become obsolete. I expect the next round of consoles to skyrocket past $600, and I foresee the same problems (companies selling them at a loss [Sony], crappy, buggy systems [360], supply issues [Wii]).

(yes, they all have HDMI now)

@adamsummers: At least until you have a problem with it...Sony's customer support typically makes Microsoft's look like heaven...

The sticker has been tampered with. There is no doubt. When you take the sticker off part of the silver flaking stays on the Xbox which leaves those white marks.

I can't say who did it but someone did. This is why it was returned without being fixed. I don't know where you bought it but the Xbox has been "tampered" with.

I had a launch 360 that died 2 weeks prior to that whole extended warranty for RRoD. I really enjoyed my 360, but after I did a little research into how poorly these things are manufactured I decided to just stick it out with my PS3. I've had a great experience since, save for all of my friends who own a 360 and I can no longer play with.

My advice would be to just cut your losses, save up and get a PS3. They pretty much have the same content these days anyway.

I'm glad by wife got me a Wii.

There is always the email directly to Bill Gates...it still gets things done...

@NikkiSweet: I couldn't agree with you more. I had ongoing problems with MS not long ago, and they seemed to go out of their way to be unhelpful. I've stuck with my PS3 since and couldn't be happier.

@Alex Chasick: I'm just guessing, but I think it's covering up a screw. I've seen electronics with stickers over screw holes to hide them from view (and to give an obvious clue as to whether the person tried to crack it open).

I'll stick with my PC (& the PSP I bought used) for gaming, thanks. At least if the PC breaks I can fix it myself & I'm not beholden to some faceless corporation. Or out $600.

I've had a Wii for just over a year. Never had any problem with it.

Would never spend the amount they want for a PS3 or Xbox.

I gave up on next-gen systems as soon as my then-new GameCube froze up on me after a couple of weeks. Replacement, same thing. And now I hear all of this noise about these $400+ systems screwing up constantly.

The worst tech support issue my NES, SNES, and Geneis ever faces was how hard to blow into the cartridge.

Microsoft could have looked inside the model, seen the tampering, and saw through this Xbox user's ploy to get a new Xbox.

Time for you to get a PS3