As we interpret the data, there's been a sharp increase in the E74 error since the
New Xbox Experience was
released in November
of last year. The obvious conclusion is that the system is being taxed
by NXE in such a way that it's more prone to E74. Alternately, a more
sinister theory is making the rounds on forums that Microsoft has
changed the diagnostics of the system to report the
Red Ring of Death error as E74. This, however, seems unlikely as many in our poll are still reporting RROD failures post-NXE.
One
oddity is that there is no correlation between the dates on which the
systems in question were purchased and when they went belly up. The
error usually occurred after anywhere from 12 to 36 months of use, with
many of you claiming that trouble arose on consoles that have already
been repaired for Red Ring of Death. Whatever modifications Microsoft
has made to the console to improve its reliability in the past years
seems to have no bearing on the likelihood of E74.
Further
evidence for a recent E74 increase comes from our (again, unscientific)
poll. Of those claiming to be have gotten the error, only 42 percent
said that they had received it before the NXE update. To put that
another way, 58 percent of the reported E74s have come in the last 12
percent of the console's life. Again, not scientific, but do
a Twitter search for "E74" and you'll find five new reports of the error since yesterday.
So, why isolate the E74 error? While
Red Ring of Death is covered under an
extended three-year warranty, those who get the E74 later than 12 months and one day after their purchase are forced to pay more than $100 for a repair.
We
reached out to Microsoft, asking what causes the E74 error, if it's
been on an uptick, and why it's not covered when RROD is. Here's the
official statement:
"E74 is a general hardware error on Xbox 360
indicated by a single red flashing light in the Xbox Ring of Light and
an error message visible on the television. This error is unrelated to
the three flashing red lights error and there is not a single root
cause. We encourage anyone who receives this error to contact Xbox
Customer support through www.xbox.com/support or 1-800-4-MY-XBOX. The
majority of customers who own Xbox 360 consoles continue to have a
terrific experience from their first day, and continue to, day in and
day out."
Right, so, Microsoft is not really answering anything.
We aren't asking unfair questions here, we're asking the things that
those who own Xbox 360s (and those who might consider buying them or
even Microsoft's
next
console) would want to know. The company seems to want to rebuild a
relationship with hardware consumers after losing the trust of many
with the RROD debacle, but not talking about something that's clearly a
widespread problem seems like a terrible way to start. (Maybe Microsoft
thinks that if
RROD didn't hurt brand preference, neither will E74.)
Sorry,
but Microsoft's current stance on E74 isn't good enough for us. We're
not going to let this go until we find out why Microsoft lends a hand
to
some of those
inconvenienced by an admittedly shoddy piece of technology, while
others have to take a hit in their pocket books. You keep
sending us your stories, and we'll keep pursuing the answers.
