What happens if you buy a Live-banned 360? (Also, warranty question.)

[DeputyMoniker]

Two questions:

1: What happens if you buy a used 360 and it had been banned from XBOX Live?

2: So, MS offers a three year warranty regarding the RROD. I keep reading about systems that "have just gotten back from MS and come with a 90 day MS guarantee." What does that mean? MS will cover the RROD if it fails within 3 years, then when it's returned to you, you get 90 days from there...regardless the amount of time you had remaining on your 3 year? Or are these systems that did not qualify for the free repair, so they had to pay to have it done, and it now has a 90 day warranty?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I would imagine that if it's an XBLA account/local IP that's banned ... if there's no mods done to the hardware that would cause it to be a banned unit that you might be able to call them and get it back online.

They should be able to see that it's coming in off a totally different IP address in most if not all cases.

Of course you should verify this with their tech support, but it's a logical assumption if you ask me.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I thought they banned the hardware ID so that console couldn't be used online anymore.

[TonyTheTiger]

There has to be a way to unban a 360 though. Otherwise Gamestop and other retailers couldn't sell them second hand.

[TonyTheTiger]

(double post)

[carlcarlson]

1. Yeah, what they said. You'll be in for a headache but I would guess you could get it unbanned.

2. This is what I've never understood either. You DO get 90 days after you get a refurb for the RRoD. The first system I bought was broken and after I got it back the warranty only lasted three months. It makes no sense and seems extremely shady, but that IS how it works.

[LucidDefender]

They're banned for life; there's no chance in hell you'll ever get Microsoft support to unban the console ID.

They also have no warranty, as they've been opened to be modified.

[Skelix]

OK first don't buy it used, I'm quite sure if its banned you're screwed. You might be able to check it to see if it was obviously tampered with. If it appears that the case was opened don't get it.

I'm quite sure Microsoft doesn't care, you might be able to work something out with Gamestop talk to a manager, and possibly return it as "defective". But I personally recommend new.

As far as warranries, 3 years for RROD 1 year for anything else (DVD drive etc). If you mail it in under warranty I believe it's 90 days from when it's sent in for that same problem. So you wouldn't necessarily lose your 3 for a DVD problem.

Once you exceed the 90 days you can buy a warranty, I want to say its $100-130 depending on how much you bitch. + 30 for warranty?

After it breaks outside of warranty I recommend buying a new one. If its a DVD drive change it out and mod it, if its a RROD throw it in the trash.

Note last 2-3 store bought ones I've had fail were DVD drives. One was 4 days outside of 1 year warranty and thery refused to help me.

[Slate]

They're banned for life; there's no chance in hell you'll ever get Microsoft support to unban the console ID.

They also have no warranty, as they've been opened to be modified.

Gamestop must send the banned units back to Microsoft if that is the case... I wonder how many banned 360s are out there?

[s1lence]

They ban the console ID so there is no way they will get the system back online.

As for modded systems, my brother swapped the case on his 360 and had the RR0D. He swapped the case back around and they still warrantied it.

There is no benefit of buying a banned 360, especially with the new dashboard that is coming out.

[Gabriel]

There has to be a way to unban a 360 though. Otherwise Gamestop and other retailers couldn't sell them second hand.

Gamestop is well known to sell consoles that don't even power up. I don't think selling a banned one would bother them in the slightest.

[Nirvana]

Wow. I actually never knew that Microsoft banned the hardware ID. That's messed up.

[dao2]

Wow. I actually never knew that Microsoft banned the hardware ID. That's messed up.

not really, tons of people have dynamic ips so banning ip would be thoroughly useless

[Hitman Tyler]

I was reading a long time ago online, you can unban by getting/ finding another 360 serial number. Then some how you enter that in the system, I forget how exactly how to do this.

[Hitman Tyler]

Then again maybe Joe, would know more about this topic since he gets them traded in.
I am sure Joe, sends them in to Microsoft to get them unban for selling. Unless Joe just refuses to accept them at all or sells it cheaper since it's banned from Online.

[Mayhem]

Then again maybe Joe, would know more about this topic since he gets them traded in.

I believe they actually test them in store before handing over cash/credit to people to make sure they work fine and haven't been banned online.

[Hitman Tyler]

I believe they actually test them in store before handing over cash/credit to people to make sure they work fine and haven't been banned online.

no offense but read below, I kinda stated that.

[icbrkr]

Two questions:
2: So, MS offers a three year warranty regarding the RROD. I keep reading about systems that "have just gotten back from MS and come with a 90 day MS guarantee." What does that mean? MS will cover the RROD if it fails within 3 years, then when it's returned to you, you get 90 days from there...regardless the amount of time you had remaining on your 3 year?

Right. You have 3 years for it to RROD. After it RROD's, you have 90 days or the remainder of your *normal* warranty (1 year), whichever is longer. I found this out the hard way when my RROD'd, then the replacement's DVD drive died after about the 120 day mark and also 30 days after my 1 year was up. Thanks Microsoft!

[DeputyMoniker]

Why do so many people around here defend that deplorable warranty? Have they just been so lucky as to not yet receive the short end of it? Excuse me for calling those members out like this but that warranty is total bull shit. The games are wonderful, I'm sure, but the cost of owning the console is supposed to be the entrance fee...not a subscription.

[ProgrammingAce]

i don't think anyone is defending the warranty, they're just answering the question. i'm sure everyone here would prefer a lifetime warranty on everything they own...

as for unbanning the console, it doesn't happen. if you buy a used console that's banned, they're going to tell you to return it as defective.

note, a banned console will not even finish the connection to live, which means you can't even get patches let alone the arcade.

if your gamertag tries to log into live from a modded (or banned) console, your tag is put on to a special list where your hardware will receive extra scruteny every time you log in regardless of the hardware ID. playing with modded consoles is bad mojo

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

i don't think anyone is defending the warranty, they're just answering the question. i'm sure everyone here would prefer a lifetime warranty on everything they own...

as for unbanning the console, it doesn't happen. if you buy a used console that's banned, they're going to tell you to return it as defective.

note, a banned console will not even finish the connection to live, which means you can't even get patches let alone the arcade.

if your gamertag tries to log into live from a modded (or banned) console, your tag is put on to a special list where your hardware will receive extra scruteny every time you log in regardless of the hardware ID. playing with modded consoles is bad mojo

So, out of curiosity, if you buy a banned console used at a gamestop with no prior knowledge, will MS let you send it to them for (paid) "repair"?

Of course the easier thing to do would be to return the unit to the Gamestop where you bought it and have them swap it for a non-banned unit ... but I'm interested if MS will take the banned units in for "repair".

[ProgrammingAce]

officially, no. they won't repair consoles which have a broken seal. in reality, as long as you don't tell them it's been banned and you can induce a RRoD, they might replace the motherboard without checking. i wouldn't count on it though.

[DeputyMoniker]

i don't think anyone is defending the warranty, they're just answering the question.

I don't mean in this thread. I'm talking about the "MS is making it right...what do you want from them?!?" posts I always see.
I want a 3 year warranty that covers the top three failures and a 1 year on everything else. None of that "90 days after the first repair" crap.
I hope all this trouble teaches MS a lesson. If you can't get it right before you wanted to ship it...don't ship it until you get it right. I don't know how they would learn that lesson with sales figures the way they have been. I guess the court has to step in. Maybe those Cali residents have the right idea.

[PapaStu]

I hope all this trouble teaches MS a lesson. If you can't get it right before you wanted to ship it...don't ship it until you get it right. I don't know how they would learn that lesson with sales figures the way they have been. I guess the court has to step in. Maybe those Cali residents have the right idea.

Nope, They shipped Vista as it was, numerous other OS's as well. They took a market gamble and put position over system reliability. Honestly, its worked for them. I know far more people who have had 360's die on them and buy new ones, while waiting for their warranty repairs than to go and say F-off Microsoft.

I won't even bring up what i'm dealing with right now for my newly dead refurb unit, and them having voided my Microsoft purchased extended warranty when they shipped me the POS refurb unit earlier this year.

They ban the consoles, because they want the user's money. They might pirate games, hack, glitch ect, but they've got to pay for the consoles and XBL services, there is no way around that. They won't let that money go away. Not like a XBL banning is going to stop them either, those individuals will just go out and get another system and keep going.

[s1lence]

I just find it interesting all the problems people have with the warranty, Stu's recent run through especially.

I have had no issues with them taking care of me, but then again I'm one of those crazys that when a system died on me I went and bought another.