Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Red Ring of Death?

A: An in-depth summary of the Red Ring of Death (RROD) and it's causes can be found at my Xbox 360 Red Rings of Death article. But in short, the RROD is an error that is generally associated with overheating. There are numerous reasons why your system can over-heat but the over-heating problem seems to be a vital flaw in the Xbox 360's construction. Unofficial reports and statistics place the rate at which Xbox 360's experience the RROD, at 1 in every 3 consoles. These numbers are extremely high and unofficial reports have been conducted to verify an unusually high number of problematic systems, signifying this issue is more serious than the Manufacturer might lead us to believe. Again, all of this information and more can be found in the article posted above.

Q: I heard the RROD is impossible to repair, that is why it is called the Red Ring of Death -- Is this True?

A: To put it simply, no. This is not true and is complete and total disinformation. The fact remains that there is now an actual repair for this problem, and has been around for over 2 years. I personally recommend this repair method over any other way to repair an Xbox 360 because it's safe, informative, easy, and permanently resolves the RROD.

The only problem for some people here, is that this is a self-fix-it method. You will be required to repair your system yourself, but this is often an over-exaggerated fear for people as the repair process is completely and thoroughly laid out in my most recommended repair guide, The Xbox 360 Red Light Fix Pro Repair Guide

Q: I noticed that you recommend against sending a system with the red ring to the factory to be repaired; can you explain?

A: This is a question that I tend to see a lot, and I'm glad it gets asked because the more and more people that become aware of what seems to be really going on, the more and more people will actually have an opportunity to fix their systems.

The reason why I recommend you don't sending your system into the manufacturer is because of a few vitally important aspects that tend to get overlooked or people just don't seem to know about.

1. People all over the world, since the time the RROD first started coming around, were sending their systems to be repaired. When they got their systems back, it wasn't long after that the RROD would come back. Ok, thats fine for maybe a small amount of Xbox 360's. Perhaps the manufacturer made a few mistakes; no big deal right? We'll when you start to see posts of people on the internet who have sent their systems in several times, and each time their system came back UNSUCCESSFULLY repaired it really starts to make you wonder if the manufacturer even knows what they are doing.

Here are a few example of a couple chaps discussing this problem on an internet discussion board who had to learn this lesson the hardway:

From: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/

 From: http://www.gamespot.com

2. Sending your system into the Manufacturer can take weeks and in some cases months, depending on your physical location. I find this to be simply unnecessary waiting time when the proper repair to be made to the Xbox 360 takes only 1 hour to do. Think about it.

3. If your warranty has expired, or you never had one to begin with it's going to cost you an arm and a leg in order to get your system repaired. Look forward to forking out over $160 to send your system in. And taken point number one into consideration, this seems more like you would just be throwing that money away; quite literally.

4. It seems custom now for the manufacturer to just send you a new system in the mail if you send your console in for repairs. This sounds more like a positive thing than a negative one, doesn't it? At first glance yes. But think about this for a second. Since the manufacturer themselves has not OFFICIALLY and PERMANENTLY resolved the RROD, what good is that brand new system of yours? What I mean by this, is the fact that that new system is still susceptible, and vulnerable to getting the RROD. So what will you do once that console get's the RROD and you find yourself in the same situation you're in now?

Aside from these major points, I would also like to point out that some people actually have had success sending their system in. But if you want to take that risk then by all means, do so.

Q: What is the difference between 1, 2, 3, and 4 Red Lights on the front of the Xbox 360 are these all the Red Ring of Death?

A: In short, the Red Ring of Death is only when the front of your Xbox 360 displays 3 red lights. As for the other errors:

- 1 red light means your system has overheated and the GPU has possibly detached itself from the motherboard.

- 2 Red Lights means that your system has overheated.

- 4 Red Lights is telling you that the AV Cable is not properly plugged in. You may want to check it to verify that it is.

For more information on these errors check out the Xbox 360 Error Codes section.

Q: Please Help! I've got the RROD. What do I do!?

A: If you've happened to get the RROD then don't worry. I always recommend to people who ask me this question to repair their consoles themselves. This is the easiest, safest, surest, and if not the only known method to repair the RROD. For those with the RROD I generally recommend The Xbox 360 Red Light Fix Pro Repair Guide as the guide that you will want to use. However the different Xbox 360 Repair guides all solve more than one problem and most of them solve different errors that you may also be experiencing/have experienced. Go ahead and take a look at my Xbox 360 Repair Guides section and choose which one is best for you.