"I'm no fanboy" he says, but there's no doubt he's a Xbox 360 fan. He purchased his 1st machine a month after the console launch, but since then Justin has not had a working system for longer than a month or 2. The list of problems is almost comically large: 3 "Red Lights Of Death" 2 with disc read errors, 2 Dead On Arrival, several with random audio and video-related issues & 1 that actually exploded.

His Xbox 360 broke in early January, just a few weeks after purchase. For the 1st 6 months, Microsoft customer service was polite & replacements sent very quickly. Since then, things have slowly but surely taken a turn for the worse. As the reported number of problems with the consoles increases (Microsoft writes them off as "vocal minority"), shipping has started taking longer & customer service less helpful.

As Justin garnered more experience with 360 repairs, he discovered something. The consoles consumers sent back by Microsoft are often refurbished, rather than brand-new. Justin found out that, with enough problems & by specifically making the request, Microsoft would send out brand-new consoles as replacements. Microsoft has compensated Justin to some degree. A month of Xbox Live service, replacement headsets, some free Microsoft Points & at least 1 free game were offered at various points. He claims to have never asked for anything beyond the Xbox Live time.

When his third Xbox 360 broke, 1 customer service rep suggested he look into the wiring at his house; electricity problems could have been causing the mess-ups. Problem: none of his other systems (not to mention his several computers and other electronics) have experienced any major problems, and his father is, coincidentally, an electrician. The specific suggestion was brought up by Microsoft customer service again after the 8th console repair. This time, just to be certain, Justin had a contractor come to the house and check the wiring, where he was told that everything was in order, with no abnormalities in voltage of any of house outlets. Nevertheless, customer service has continued to suggest this as a potential cause.

1UP contacted Microsoft before running this story. "We are disappointed any time we hear about a customer having a negative experience with our products or services. Justin Lowe's experience is highly unusual and we are actively investigating the situation further to ensure that we are taking responsibility where we need to," said a Microsoft spokesperson. "You will be pleased to hear that Justin is back to playing his favorite Xbox 360 games now that he has received a brand-new console."

Microsoft keeps denying about several hardware problems like the Red Ring of Death & scratched discs caused by the DVD drive.

Currently Microsoft tries to solve the heat-problems with adding an extra fan, as reported earlier: