MS slapping new warranty stickers on Xbox 360 but what for?

When Xbox 360's are repaired now, MS seems to be slapping on a new revision of its warranty sticker. The new version features a black strip as well as a 'REEL' followed by a lengthy number. By contrast, previously repaired 360's did not feature such elements so what's the deal here?



News Source: Logic-Sunrise.com

"so what's the deal here?"

C'mon, it's a big conspiracy. That's the deal!

*rolleyes*

It's no doubt just make it more difficult for hackers to open 360's without leaving a mark, no big deal especial given how many seals i've seen on the clips that are not even properly attached. It's suprising just how many are like this and can be hacked, then returned to stock if there are problems, so that they can be returned to MS for replacement with no sign of tampering. I wouldn't be suprised if the number is somthing that is matched the seal with the console serial, as it is easy to just switch cases and transfer the serial sticker to a case with the non sealed seal for return to MS as well (I know a few people that have done this and in return gotten themselves several free 360's, tho obviously this only works with the same models).

The new decal is made to be heat resistant, once heat has been applied the decals black strip will change color.

lol i have done that trick several times had about 4 new 360's

Easier to tell if its been tampered with and is probably electronically scannable.

well i just had a look at the one i got back from ms on monday its just the normal one

I gotta go with breakfast4 on this one. I'll bet you that if you use a heat gun to remove the warranty seal, you will now see a noticeable difference on the seal after applying heat.

I have a lady that lives in my neighborhood that manages the customer service department at Wal Mart. She said that they get a ton of returned "broken" xbox's every week. (someone has red ring and can't fix so they buy a new xbox, remove the guts and swap with the broken one and then return the broken one to Wal Mart as if it was the xbox they just purchased)

Microsoft no doubt sees a bunch of these come back and is attempting to mitigate that with a new warranty seal that show evidence of tampering.

Just my thought.

Quick, wrap it in tin foil and lock it under the stairs. MS is spying on YOU.

Its about time they did something about the seals, too many consumers get ripped off by loosers returning "working but banned" consoles to retailers with the justification that whatever retailer deserves it or can just write it off as a loss....the problem is that if it "tests" good which normally just means it powers on..it gets put back on the shelf.

Originally Posted by ant16151189

lol i have done that trick several times had about 4 new 360's

It's not a trick. It's a crime. I believe it's called fraud.

I think instead of playing this cat and mouse game, if microsoft focused more on making consoles which did not break, and accepted the hackers as a by-product of the system, they would fare far well.

The xbox360's original budget had a 60% allocation (reportedly) towards making it secure and unhackable. We all know how that turned out.

Start being more of an entertainment company MS, and less of a government. It just goes in your favor at the end of the day. You're already almost 3rd. Um, congratulations?

Im sure it is a heat strip. wonder what color it turns or if there is a wording that shows up. Also wonder if an xbox sitting in the back seat of a locked up car in the summer would get hot enough to turn these seals. Looks like a black sharpie may just be whats needed to turn the strip back to black. I knew a guy who use to open PS2's and the warrant sticker would say voind on it. when he was done modding it he would sharpie the sticker and put it back on, could never tell the diffrence.

I'm betting the black strip fades revealing the word "VOID" once heat is applied.

You can probably bypass it by heating up a small needle or pin and try to pry it from under the sticker. Keeping the black bar intact.

Looks like the start of a new reel of stickers to me. "REEL 403664" is most likely just a print run number (or batch code) for the reel from which this sticker came.

This particular sticker should have been disposed of rather than used, I guess the operative in the service centre might not have been paying attention.