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MS Extends Warranty for Xbox 360 "E74" Failures

‘Microsoft to provide extended warranty for “E74” Xbox 360 Failures.’ -

Microsoft has extended its warranty to cover the “E74” error which saw an increase in occurrences being reported since November of last year. Joystiq broke the story after conducting a survey of its readers. The survey results showed a significant increase in customers suffering from the “E74” error since the launch of the “New Xbox Experience” which launched in November 2008.

When the E74 error, occurs one of the lights on the “Ring of Lights” on the front of your Xbox 360 console flashes red and you receive the error code and message: “E74. System Error. Contact Xbox Customer Support”. In addition to the bottom right portion of the indicator ring repeatedly flashing on and off, lines or snow will become visible across the screen. Microsoft conveniently lets the victim know in nine languages that they need to contact customer support when the error occurs.

Microsoft released the statement below:

While the majority of Xbox 360 owners continue to have a great experience with their console, we are aware that a very small percentage of our customers have reported receiving an error that displays “E74” on their screen. After investigating the issue, we have determined that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console. As a result, we have decided to cover repairs related to the E74 error message under our three-year warranty program for certain general hardware failures that was announced in July 2007.

Up until this point there was conspiracy theory that Microsoft may have changed the system diagnostics test to report Red Ring of Death error as E74 instead to save money. The E74 error was not covered under the 3-year extended warranty set in place for the Red Ring of Death issue. Customers were forced to pay $100 for the repair if the error occurred later than 12 months after purchase.

 According to Kotaku, if you were forced to pay for E74 repairs in the past, Microsoft will provide you with a refund over the next 4-12 weeks. Microsoft did not provide an explanation for why they have changed their policy with regards to how they handle the E74 issue.

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