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Saturday, March 3, 2007

Xbox 360 Three red lights ( The Ring of Death )

One of the most common Xbox 360 problems ever is the three red lights that appears on the Xbox 360 console ROL (Ring of Light) around the power button or what we call in the gaming community the ring of death, when you receive this three red lights it's a hardware failure with the actual Xbox 360 console or with the power supply (the gray box connected to the wall outlet).
So, if you have these three red lights always check the colour of the power supply light first, & there are 3 colours for it:

1. Xbox 360 power supply light is Green.

Well, that's the normal case here, this means that there is no problem at all with your power supply it's all with the actual console, the console is faulty & you need then to contact Xbox 360 customer support to send your console to get repaired because most of the retailers will not be able to exchange it for you unless you are still in the first month of your warranty, but you know you'll lose nothing if you give it a shoot with the retailer & try it there first that would be really better for you & quicker even.

2. Xbox 360 power supply light is Orange or yellow.

Usually when the Xbox 360 power supply light is orange it's on standby so there is no problem with your Xbox 360 console but the power supply can't supply it with power!

You have first to try unplugging the Xbox 360 power supply from the console & unplug the power cord from the wall outlet also unplug the Xbox 360 power supply from the power cord, wait for a minute then reconnect it all back also try it on another wall outlet without any extension cord at all, and if it's still doing the same it will be definitely a fault with the Xbox 360 power supply.
So, In this case please contact the Xbox 360 customer support to fulfill the Xbox 360 power supply.

3. Xbox 360 power supply light is Red.

There is something wrong with the Xbox 360 power supply connection so, try unplugging the Xbox 360 power supply from the console & unplug the power cord from the wall outlet also unplug the Xbox 360 power supply from the power cord, wait for a minute then reconnect it all back, also try it on another wall outlet without any extension cord at all.

If it's still red that would be for sure a fault with your Xbox 360 power supply so then contact Xbox 360 customer support to fulfill your Xbox 360 power supply.

4. Xbox 360 power supply light is not illuminating at all.

That usually means that the Xbox 360 power supply is not connected to the wall outlet correctly, but even though it might be a fault with the power supply or the power cord.

Try unplugging the Xbox 360 power supply from the console & unplug the power cord from the wall outlet also unplug the Xbox 360 power supply from the power cord, wait for a minute then reconnect it all back, also try it on another wall outlet without any extension cord at all.
You have to contact Xbox 360 customer support to fulfill your Xbox 360 power supply.


45 comments:

Anonymous said...

nothing worked

Unknown said...

Hi there,
What do you mean by "Nothing worked"!!
You got three red lights, so what is the power supply light?? is it green, orange, red or even not illuminating at all??
If it's green that's a fault with the Xbox 360 console, but if it's orange, red or not illuminating it's a fault with the Power supply unit, check the power supply connection by unplugging it and reconnecting it again in another wall outlet.
then contact Xbox 360 customer support to even send you a new power supply or to send your console to get repaired.

If you have any other question just leave me a comment,
Cheers.

Anonymous said...

ok i have three red light and when the xbox is on the power supply is green but when off it is yellow so is it my power supply or my xbox
thanks

Unknown said...

I believe it is the console itself as the power supply should be green when the xbox 360 console is on and yellow/orange when the xbox 360 console is off. You need to contact Xbox 360 customer support to service your Xbox 360 console.

Anonymous said...

thanks

Anonymous said...

I just need some help identifying whats wrong with mine. It turns on ok, but as soon as i put a game in, the "ring of death" shows up. The supply light is orange. Also, do they charge you for calling support?

Unknown said...

Hi there,

Actually when you get the three red lights "Ring of death" this means that there is a hardware failure in the Xbox 360. But when that happens and the power supply light is orange, this means that it's something wrong with the power supply. So you need to check it first. Try to turn off your Xbox 360, unplug the power supply from the console and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet. Then reconnect everything again.
If you did so and the power supply light stays orange this means the power supply is faulty.
But if you do so and the power supply light turns to green but you still get the three red lights. This means the Xbox 360 console needs service, So you'll need to contact Xbox support to service your console.

Regarding your phone call to Xbox support line. If you are calling from a landline it's free of charge but if you call from a mobile you'll be charged.

Anonymous said...

I have the problem with three flashing red lights, i've tried all the suggestions and nothing's helped. I just wanna know what address to send it to get it repaired without having to wait on the phone for an hour to find out.

Unknown said...

Hi there,
If you've tried all stuff & nothing worked, you must send your console to get repaired, but you don't want to wait that much on hold for a customer service rep. to do it for you.

Microsoft has launched the new Xbox repair website just for a case like this one to make it easier & even faster for all of us to send our beloved Xbox or Xbox360 to get repaired.

This is the link to our announcement about the Xbox repair website on our blog, I wish it helps.

http://xbox360help.blogspot.com/2007/08/microsoft-xbox360-repair.html

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to thank you. I went thru the diagnostic process you explained above, disvovered it was a pin in the plug for the power supply. I took apart the plug, fixed the pin, and now it works like a top! Would've otherwise cost me $100 for a new power supply or even might've sent it back for repair. Thanks again, you're a lifesaver!

Anonymous said...

i dropped my connector while playing and my ring was pure red middle green i turned it of after 2 miniutes turned it on and i have not had that problem since but it just froze why is that it works now

Unknown said...

Hi there,

Good news that your Xbox is not facing the red lights again.
It might be that this was a temporarily issue.
Actually one of the steps to resolve any issue with the Xbox 360 is to turn it off and turn it back on.

And if your Xbox freezes again try to view this link on the blog and I believe it will help :

http://xbox360help.blogspot.com/2007/03/xbox-360-screen-freezes-crashes.html

Bye now,

Anonymous said...

I got the dreaded ring of death. The strange thing is that the power brick used to get very hot and now it stays extremely cool...but the light on the power brick is green. This is kind of confusing because the green light would indicate that the power supply is working, but the fact that the power brick isn't heating up anymore would indicate that it isn't working. Any ideas?

Unknown said...

Hi there,

Actually if the power supply is illuminating green that's fine
as the green light indicates that the power supply is correctly functioning.

So don't worry whether the power supply is hot or not Microsoft said that :
"The temperature of the power supply is well within the standards for consumer electronics products and is nothing to be concerned about.
Just to deliver high definition gaming experiences, the Xbox 360 packs state-of-the-art processing power into a small package. In order to create an optimal operating environment for hardware with that kind of power, special considerations were taken to regulate the temperature of the power supply unit."

Cheers,

Anonymous said...

Hi,

My xbox has the three rings that keep coming up but after two minutes off its fine,

and the xbox keeps making a beep sound then it freezes during movies and games, and goes to the three rings,

what should i do?

Unknown said...

Hi there,

For the three red lights issue, you can follow the steps on the above page : http://xbox360help.blogspot.com/2007/03/three-lights-ring-of-death.html

And for the issue of the screen freezing you can check this link on the blog:
http://xbox360help.blogspot.com/2007/03/xbox-360-screen-freezes-crashes.html

If that didn't resolve your issue you'll need to contact the Xbox support to service your Xbox.

I hope this helps,

Anonymous said...

yo! After 6 months ish of calling our 360 dead, my brother had another try at turning it on. The strange thing is, altough we still have the ring of death and the middle light green, it is functioning perfectly (it seems) and he's playing on his game now! How is this happening? and should we do anything with the xbox?

Unknown said...

So Wierd.... ;)
But my advice is to try contact Xbox support as I think you'll face an issue with your Xbox 360 again.

Just to be at the safe side call them to service it for you.
"The warranty for the three red lights issue is three years so try get advantage of this."

Cheers now,

Anonymous said...

the first time I turn on my xbox I get the ring of death... disappointed with ms, going to get my money back and get the ps3, according to this blog, it's the hardware issue, what a waste of money... brand new, straight out of the box too.

na said...

I tried all this stuff that it sais here and none of it worked, I still had the orange light till about 1 hour ago when I bought a little video online that teaches you to fix it,
This it the video:
Orangelightfix.com

All I can say is I reccomend this thoroughly, it works like a breez, 1 minute transaction, 30 second download, 3 easy steps and I am now complete with Assasins Creed

Anonymous said...

hey i got the three red lights so i unplugged the power cable for around 20 minutes and it worked but then every time i turn it on again it is red again so what number do i call to get in touch with microsoft

Anonymous said...

hey i got the three red lights so i unplugged the power cable for around 20 minutes and it worked but then every time i turn it on again it is red again so what number do i call to get in touch with microsoft

Unknown said...

Hi xboxer,

- Go to xbox website: xbox.com
- Choose your country
- Then go to Support then Contact us and you'll find the phone number for Xbox support in your country.

Cheers now,

Unknown said...

hey there...i just got the ring of death almost two months after happy playing times but i think it was my dog tha pul out the cord that connects the xbox with the power supply...the question here is...should i be worried because it happen and it has internal damage and still going keep happening or is it never going to happen again if the situation with my dog doesnt repeat again??...thanks

Unknown said...

Hi Daniel,

Could you remeember what was the colour of the light on the power supply? If it was something other than green so you don't have to worry, it was the dog :)

Any ways if you faced the same issue without the dog being involved you'd better contact Xbox Support. But try first the above steps in this page.

Cheers now,

Unknown said...

i really cant remember because until i saw your blog i didnt know i had to check out the color of the power supply...but i guess that if you say that the cord was unplugged and that it wont happen again i guess i got nothing to worry about...i got another question so i can get it out of the way without making you writte every time...i unplugged every night the power supply from the xbox and leave the power supply plugged into the outlet...is that ok??...thanks dude

Unknown said...

Hi Daniel,

Nice to hear from you again.
It's ok if you unplugg the power supply from the xbox and leave the power supply plugged into the outlet.
No worries.
Cheers now,

Anonymous said...

I have been having the same problem but except when I turn it on it flashes 4 red lights for about 10 seconds and then switches to blink 3 red lights but the power supply is yellow. What is the best thing to do.

Unknown said...

Hi there,

The best thing to do is the steps on this page under:
2. Xbox 360 power supply light is Orange or yellow.

Anonymous said...

I did exactly what it said but I am still having the problem.

Anonymous said...

i cant believe this! well to start off i already had the problem with the game oblivion. see if you use a certain cheat in that game it freezes up your 360 and then after a while it gets the ring of death. the one where the power source is green. then after a while it started working. then today i got guitar hero 3 and OMG! it had the hated ring of death! but when i send it out... does your hardrive get wiped out 2?

Unknown said...

Hi there,

You mean you'll send it for repair.
If so make sure you don't send anything with the console (NO Hard drive, no cables, no accessories or games) coz you might lose it or even lose the saved games on your Hard drive.

Cheers now,

Anonymous said...

I have had my XBox 360 for about a year and a half. My son only gets to play it when he's done doing all the required chores around the house..something he really looks forward to. He doesn't get to play with it much, but when he does, he's in heaven. But when we got the 3 rings..he was devistated. The 90 warranty had already expired and I had already opened the unit to try to do one of the many temporary fixes out there. I tried the eraser method and worked for about month and now we see the same 3 rings. So now I'm basically out of 300-400 dollars that only lasted me about a year for a game console, my son is crushed (which I don't think Microsoft or Xbox support will ever cure), I have games that I poored hundreds of dollars into and now can't play and now I need to sent my unit in for repair which i'm sure will cost an arm and leg, plus shipping...I minus well go get me a new console..it's just too bad it won't be an XBox with Microsoft. This was badly and poorly planned with the unit. I have not more words...i just want someone from Microsoft to tell my son that his XBox 360 is nothing but a pile of junk!

Unknown said...

Hi there,

I have some good news for you.
Basically Microsoft extended the warranty for the three red lights only for three years from the date of purchase so check this link and I believe it'll cheer you and your son up:
http://xbox360help.blogspot.com/2007/08/microsoft-extends-xbox-360-warranty.html

Cheers now,

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

heres a great guide that gives plenty of xbox 360 help to repair the most common xbox 360 problems goto fix xbox 360 problems

Anonymous said...

Hi,

My 360 succumbed to the ring of death some time ago, but haven't had the time (nor a TV) to sort out the servicing until now. Good thing MS extended the warranty on this.

If I'm not mistaken, I can set up a service request online via
http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/support
but does it also necessarily mean that I *have* to register my box too? I'm thinking along the lines of selling it second hand in the future... what happens then? (I also bought it second hand, but don't think the original user ever used xbox live or any related service.)

Also does anybody have experience with servicing in the UK (specifically service time)? Just read about some pretty awful service (times), but that was almost a year ago now..

Any info would be very much appreciated. Thanks :)

samfaro13 said...

Hi there,

My xbox has the 3 red lights showing on the front of the console. I have already sent it off for repair and it has come back and worked for an extra round about 6 months and now it is back to the red lights again. I am a little disapointed that my xbox has a hardware failure again. Can i do anything or does it have to be sent back again??

Thanks

Anonymous said...

Hey,when i was playing my 360 it got the 3 red rings.when i turned it back on,it worked fine.is there anything else i should worry about?

Anonymous said...

hey,my xbox 360 got 3 red rings while i was playin my game.when i turned it off and turned it back on it worked fine.Should i be worried?

Unknown said...

oh f**K my 360 rol is flashing 3 red rings and it has the green power button in the middle that is still green its just like the picture at the top at first i thought it had over heated because i put it on my subwoofer so i took it of there and put it on some dvd cases so it might cool down but it still showed the lights so i checked the power suplly and it had a green light on it so it was my 360 but I think i might have ran out of waranty about a week ago and i dont want to tear my 360 up into little shreds please help me!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Turned on the xbox this morning and the 3 rings appeared. The light on the power box remained orange. I have disconnected the power cord and re-plugged and now the xbox is working again. Have I fixed the problem by doing this or does the box still require repair, is it just a matter of time before they appear again. Should I still contact xbox support now. Thanks for your help.

Anonymous said...

If your console is not in warranty you can still send it to microsoft, but you'll have to pay about £50-60 for repair work, I bought mine off a friend, after a while it started going wrong so I phoned them and got it sorted!

Anonymous said...

X-box knows about this problem. They will fix your x-box for free. There is a printable free mailing label you can get off a website. Not sure where but my son and his friend had to send theirs in.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I got the red rings months ago and a couple weeks ago i sent it to the repair center. I just got it back a week ago and it was working fine. But today i got the red rings once again; i tried all the things above and i even moved the console to another place. it just refuses to work. Any ideas?

Anonymous said...

The power supply light on my 360 has EVER been green.The only color I've seen since the day I took it out the box is orange.I got the rings of death two days ago,nevertheless I have never had a problem with my xbox going on almost 3 years,untill 2 days ago.Now,when I turn the xbox on the orange light turns red for a second and then back to orange!!????Is this still the power supply or the console??