YLOD again? FFS!
Is now the time for Sony to introduce an extended warranty to their service? What with our experience below, we feel it’s time Sony stepped up to the plate and recognised that the Yellow Lights of Death problem is starting to become more common place, what with the issue happening to us twice in a matter of weeks we’re just one of the growing number of users that are calling for Sony to take action before a possible cataclysmic PR disaster. Though we realise the widespread issues are nowhere near the echelon that Microsoft experienced during it’s introduction to the next-gen space, what confidence do PS3 owners have whom have experienced this problem repeatedly? It’s one of which you could argue that it is now more safe to be an Xbox 360 owner, thanks to Microsoft’s 3 year express warranty on any E74 errors.
Will it soon be easy G's?
First of all, I would like to clear something up, I am a Sony fanboy, if you look through all of my reviews on the site, you will notice that nearly all of them are for the Playstation 3 and no other console, this Is because my Xbox decided to pack up and leave me (before Microsoft put their 3 year extended warranty in place) whilst my Playstation stayed loyal and worked properly. Admittedly, after around 9 months of owning a Playstation 3 (since launch in 2007) My first console had a problem that was due to a poor game patch that hadn’t installed properly, and was replaced with a reconditioned unit in the early months of 2008.
One of many website images, offering repair
Two years on towards the start of this month, during an intense game of Hardcore Search and Destroy on Modern Warfare 2, my Playstation decided to switch itself off, and give me the warning lights for an overheating problem, this didn’t really scare me, I simply unplugged my console, and left it on my dining room table to cool off for a few hours. The following day, I returned my Playstation to my TV, where it belonged, and turned it on only to find that the Yellow Light Of Death had developed. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, I tried to restart the console, unplug and replug, check my cables and even tried to run a fan test, nothing worked. Suddenly, it dawned on me, I had owned the console for two years, and due to its warranty only lasting half of that time, I realised I would have to shell out some cash.
Reluctantly I picked up the phone to Sony’s technical support (who’s service is EXCELLENT if I may say) and eventually handed over my card details in order to pay the £130 sterling that I had been saving up for a gaming PC with. Within just two days of the phone call, I received another refurbished console, and the black tower arrived just in time for the launch of Square’s Final Fantasy 13. Happy that my console was working although still a little annoyed that I had lost all of my save games, I hammered through Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s story and managed to get back into my stride in both Borderlands and Modern Warfare 2. A few days went on and Final Fantasy arrived at my doorstep, I played it, got into it, and thoroughly enjoyed what I was experiencing, the beautiful landscapes, the decent characters and nice storyline were excellent and made me want to keep coming back for more. Unfortunately, Final Fantasy absorbed just ten hours of my life over my seven days of ownership due to education.
Why should we buy the revolting slim, to rest our minds at ease?
So, two weeks since my refurbished console arrived and I am sat here again, looking at yet another broken PS3. This was my third console from Sony, and without any mistreatment, very little playtime and no hard shutdowns whatsoever, I feel cheated. Some people may understand why I have lost a lot of respect for Sony, others will simply say I am over reacting when I say that it seemed pointless even bothering to have another console delivered to me in the first place, as it has simply caused my hassle. I have lost my Final Fantasy 13 game save (a game that I was meant to be reviewing) my level 61 character on Borderlands and all of the DLC that I had recently purchased with that and my Bad Company 2 save, just as I was rebuilding, the lot has been knocked down again.
Overall, I am genuinely pissed off that Sony’s technical support have simply sent me another 60GB launch model, as these are the ones that have failed me in the past, it’s not that I disagree with the fact that it is covered under the warranty, I just think that after three failures, some compensation should be deserved, especially seeing as it was my only console worth playing nowadays. One thing that Sony briefly mentioned to me over the phone was that reconditioned units only have a 3 month warranty – this is nowhere near good enough, and seeing as it has now been two reconditioned units that have broken, whats to stop that happening again further down the line?
Yesterday, I purchased an Xbox 360 from a friend, with the YLOD error cropping up more and more frequently, I am surprised that Sony has still kept to their one year warranty and not extended it at all.
So what if the 360 has a higher failure rate? It it is claimable under warranty due to Microsoft wanting to rectify the problems with their console, and not just releasing a ‘Slim’ version and making their customers buy it in order to have the safety of little to no failures.
Would it be too much to ask for Sony to make changes in line of Microsoft? If it restores product faith and gives peace of mind, in the long term surely it is most beneficial what with Sony’s ten year support span ethos. More importantly, we want to know your opinions on it, should Sony be waiting until the issue becomes a more prevelent problem, or should they act now to avoid embarassment. These issues are definately not subsiding, only getting worse. Food for thought.
Loading ...
Stop trolling, or take care of your consoles.
Brilliant article mate. I think it’s absolute bullshit that you only get 3 months warranty on refurbished consoles they send you. Noway wear enough!
Persue it to court, under the sales of goods act, if any replacement should have a fault within 1 year of replacing it you are entitled to a full redfund. The YLOD is caused by a known fault with the hardware and again if you had taken it to court you would have all your money back and been able to replace it with a brand new ps3. The issue is no one is fully aware of the law in the UK, but since its a common fault with PS3′s you can get your money back after the 1 year warranty period.
The reason MS did it was to avoid such lawsuits, Sony will have to do it soon, but for now keep all receipts and speak to consumer advice (in the UK) and they will tell you since its such a common fault you have grounds to protect yourself.
You are likely to receive all your money back including whatever you forked out for the replacement.
When my 60gb launch model broke with the YLOD a couple of weeks ago, I contacted Sony and they offered several options. £130 for a replacement 60bg mk1 model or pay an extra £20 and get a 120gb mk2 (without BC). Both options came with the 3 month warranty, which I felt was a bit poor considering the £130 fee. Like you, I did not want to lose my saved games so I took a different gamble and sent it to Console doctor for repair. This cost £69.95 and they had it for a week. The warranty lasts for six months.
It was only delivered yesterday so I have no idea how long the repairs to mk1 models last (that have been repaired professionally, I don’t mean by the amateur heat gun solder reflow method you often see on Youtube).
What I do intend to do this time around though is to use the PS3 in a cooler environment (it used to be stored horizontally within an AV cabinet next to an AV amp). As this problem is caused by heat, it will now be situated outside of the AV stand in the upright position with plenty of airflow around it. Does anyone know if the slim model fairs better with the YLOD or is it still too early to tell?
So should all consumer electronic companies extend their warranties? Because the PS3 seems to be abundantly under the average failure rate of any consumer electronic product. The fact that it happened twice to you doesn’t mean it’s widespread. You might want to watch your positioning and the usage conditions more than crying to the “cataclysmic disaster” that exists only in your head.
you could have bought a ps3 slim for a little bit more. the slim is super reliable. the fact that you bought A 360 from your friend makes no sense at all. this is about warrantys. the fact that you bought the 360 from a friend voids the warranty. so now your screwed completely. lol. the slim has a very low rate of failure. you cant say that its safer to be a 360 owner. i own both. my refurbished 360 already got the rrod. its simple. a refurbished unit, means that it was always broken once. if you buy a new system(which i did for my 360 and ps3) you wont have any issues.your launch ps3 lasted 2 years. why wouldnt you go out and get a new product and probably make it last longer than 2 years. bc doesnt mean anything anymore becuase i had to face reality. the ps2 is dead.get a slim ps3 and you get a new warranty also.
No. I for one hoPe and expect that Sony does nothing. It just seems to me that a select few Brits feel as entitled to free service as us idiot Americans. As much as one may hate large corporations, they are still a business and they will maintain that if you have two broken consoles you are the exception and not the rule until their own numbers say otherwise.
People who have had problems with a product are always going to yell louder than those that don’t, so even if it seems like the Internet has lit up like a Christmas tree with YLOD complaints, it’s just those most vocal folks trying to be heard.
I’ve had my 60 GB PS3 fir almost three years now with no problems, and that’s certainly not going to drive me to take the time to start up my “PS3: everything’s fine” website. It’s all about motivation.
So I guess my answer again is NO extended warranties for the PS3.
well slim version was said to be the safe version, but in my surprise i found a forum post in ps3′s technical support forum about a ylod with 120gb slim, however, i didn’t read the post.
btw, there are several ways for preventing a ylod, like cleaning the vents or using additional fans.
I feel your pain dudes. I got a 40 gb fatty for xmas 07, was great until march 08 when the blu ray drive stopped working during a game of cod4.
I was lucky enough to be in the warrenty period, so they gave me a brand new one.
I had the brand new one for around a year and a bit, and i traded that in for a 360. Played the 360 for 3-4 months – got bored of it, sold it, and now i have a 120gb slim.
I really think sony should have a 3 year warrenty period, and they should defo make the refurb warrenty 1 year at least. However the slim runs very well and i havent heard of any problems with them, and i got a launch one.
I think your just unlucky thats all. Thank god i still have my launch 60gig and its working fine, hopefully stays working fine. About the warranty they should extend it a bit more for the refurbished console, but other than that the ylod is not as big a problem for them to worry about it.
My original 60GB PS3 ended up with the YLOD but I just bought a PS3 Slim instead of fixing it. The PS3 was almost three years old. The early PS3s just put out too much heat. I don’t think you can expect electronics with that kind of power to last more than three years. Most things don’t come with more than a one year warranty, if that. At least Sony is starting to make it easier to move games to your new PS3.
Here’s my question for you. Should Sony make the case of the PS3 the size of a computer case to deal with the heat better? That’s what it would take if you want more life out of the PS3. I don’t think the Slim will have this problem though. It doesn’t put out as much heat.
the exact same thing has happened to me, right now my 60GB Backwards Compatible PS3 is red blinking overheated light, it happened to me the EXACT same way as you, playing MW2, I was in the middle of a match and its shuts off, This is also my 3rd system, needless to say I’ve lost respect for Sony’s costumer support, I’ve already had enough, I’m going to, reluctantly, get the new model seeing as it has so few failure reports, plus I’m not dropping $150 for a machine that will fail for no reason (I take full care of my ps3 and still it decides to commit suicide) 300 more undeserved dollars for Sony … bloody ridiculous.
ahhh I love my 500GB (60GB) launch console, which is still quieter and hasn’t had any issues compared with my 360 even post installing games to my hdd … lol.
it would kinda be pushin past the point 2 bother extending the warranty it seems mostly just the older systems hav this problem so i can really see them botherin with it when they want ppl 2 get the slim model which my guess is doin alot better & alot of the fat ps3 r well past even a warranty time frame,
but thats not 2 say i wouldnt be all on board if the did since i got a 20GB & an 80GB sittin here that i been 2 cheap & upset 2 replace & missing out on Heavy Rain & no offense 2 Xbox since he’s all i got sides the Wii right now but i still sneak over 2 my friends 2 play RPG’s on his extra PS3 but dont tell him cuz im not tryin 2 come home from a nite of sneakin out 2 be left on the couch lookin at Red Rings.lol
what an idiot, you dont move the ps3 when it overheates, the heat meltes the gpu and the cpu conections, so by moving youre ps3 you risk seperating them
Hey, you will never guess what! The repair didn’t even last 1 day. I’ve just switched it on this evening to play Heavy rain and the YLOD is back. Now ok, yes I have the six month warranty and will be contacting Console Doctor first thing on Monday to ship it back for repair no 2 but guess how much it cost me to ship it to them the first time (Recorded delivery)? £20!
I’m beginning to think perhaps this gamble was the wrong one now and I should have took up Sony’s offer of a mk2 replacement. Ouch.
To be fair to Sony, they did warn me that the Repair option was a temporary fix but I did not expect it to break this quick:-(
What a bummer.
I don’t know how it looks in the UK but in europe countries warranty for PS3 is 2 years.
It’s due to EU law and Sony can’t obey that. At least in countries which are in EU.
For some reason a lot of ps3′s have been dying due to MW2 (mine included)
Mine got the YLOD but i still had warranty from walmart so i got it repair took them 2 weeks it came back with all the data and it died again in a week probably because they dint repair it right it died 2 more times and walmart finally got smart and they sent me a 250 gb slim so i lost my 100% Gta IV files, Rockband , Mw2 , BF:BC, Resistance 1 & 2 , Burnout Paradise 101% elite license , COd W@W 100% , LBP 100% much more which took me so long to accomplish… oh and i almost forgot the ps3 that i had was a 80GB which i got on 2007 for $500 the new slims are $340 (250 GB) so i just got ripped off $200 im still waiting on a response from walmart
Obviously a fanboy made this or its just an attention seeker.
4 broken PS3s? Plus its an achievement and not a PSN trophy? What the hell is with fanboys? They are so delusional they make up and highly over exaggerate anything about PS3 they think sounds bad. PS3s failure rate is like 0.3% It had the slim come out which is even more reliable then the fat PS3s. BTW my 2 year old PS3 still works fine and I play it literally at least a total of half a week every week. If you want an extended warranty you will have to pay for it. They highly most likely will never extend it until it goes to at least 1 out of 20 ps3s break. And thats definitely not going to happen for a huge while. They wouldn’t do that probably 99% likely unless they have at least a 20% failure rate. If anyone has more then 2 PS3s broken then thats 97% at least their fault. Its a INSANELY low chance to have one, let alone two or more. This article is complete retardation.
I repair consoles for a living and one thing to note is that it’s best to play the PS3 horizontally and not standing up. Same for the 360 and even the Wii. Most people think that standing a console up will create more airflow around the console keeping it cooler, where as inside the console isn’t really getting mush temperature change. The chips still create enough heat to heat up the solder. The solder melting allows the CPU and GPU to move, but from what I experienced the worst part is when the solder moving and cools off. When it cools off and the ships moved, this creates cracking in the solder. Especially since they use lead free solder now, it is tin-based and cracks even easier.
Sorry if this is confusing, but here’s the simple way to understand it. If your console is standing up, gravity pushes the ships along the board… this using common sense makes it easier for the chips to separate from the motherboard. If the console is laying flat, then gravity pushes the chips onto the board into their usual place. This also makes it less stressful on the solder.
sorry for all the “ships”. They should be chips.
Hey Guys – regarding my newly repaired / broken PS3 after 3 hrs of use, what would you do? Send it back to console doctor for another repair or bite the bullet and take up the Sony replacement offer for £150 (for a mk2)? I’ve lost confidence in the repair method but it may be just bad luck. Console doctor had plenty of postive testimonials on their site (the cynic in me realises they would be pretty stupid to leave up the negative ones..!)
@wampdog – if you’re correct about standing the console up, I’ll definitely take your advice on board. The new place I’m using it has plenty of space around it anyway. I quite liked the look of the vertical position but can see your point. I’ll do anything to safeguard my precious save positions. The thought of having to plough through another 70hrs of Demon souls (and no where close to finishing the game) from the very beginning is too horrible to contemplate. I also have a 100+ hr fallout 3 file that I am loathe to lose.
The other thing I find amazing about this article and the N4G link is the amount of people who refuse to believe this issue exists because it hasn’t happened to them personally or to anyone they know! Well I confess to being almost as bad as that before the YLOD happened but not as extreme – I knew there was no smoke without fire and that there were too many reports from Sony owners to ignore.
I had mine for 3 yrs and used it every day not just for games but as a media streamer. It had a heck of a lot of use and I feel that I got my money’s worth out of it regardless. The repair cost was money down the drain though and Sony know that the repair method is not a long term solution. I ignored their advice (because I wanted my saved files) and have paid the price for it. Laugh all you want becuase I deserve it!
I got YLOD on a PS3 60gb. Modern warfare 2 killed it. Took the decision to buy a PS3 Slim rather than give Sony the money to give me another crappy fat PS3. I’m left with a €400.00 dead fat PS3, but I am going to gut it ,to get my Modern Warfare 2 disc out of it and then I am going to bury the fat piece of crap in the garden. I’m not giving Sony any more money than I need to.
I have a broken 80GB ps3 right now and I don’t know what to do with it. This is the second time my ps3 broke. If I send it in to Sony, I will lose my level 200 character in Demon’s Soul, my FFXIII level 40 character, and my Assassin’s creed 2 gamesave. I just need 1 more trophy and I’ll get the platinum for Assassin’s creed 2. Does anyone here know if gophermods.com is a legit website?
Surprisingly, my launch 2005 xbox360 never broke yet! And I used to play on it 24/7.
If you’re so worried about it buy an extended warranty from Sony.It costs much less than a repair.Microsoft only offered a 3 year warranty after over 50% of 360′s were failing.The ps3 is nowhere near that high.So stop complaining you baby.
I’ve never had any malfunction or breakdown problems with the PS3 ever. Absolutely none. I got mine 2 years ago and it hasn’t given me any problems whatsoever. I don’t know where the hell people are getting these faulty systems from.
The 360 has the RROD. The PS3 has the YLOD. The Wii has… no problems at all!
It may be inferior in terms of graphics compared to the xbox and playstation, but that doesn’t really matter considering they don’t actually work!
Furthermore, the Wii is made by nintendo meaning it gets all the great mario games and amazing family games as well. All this at only £164.99 means overall the Wii is a far superior console than any of its competitors – and the console sales for the past few years clearly shows this.
P.S. Nintendo also rule the handheld market – i mean who the fuck wants a psp?!? Also i don’t see any Microsoft handheld console which kind of helps us see Bill Gates’ point of view:
“shit, i cant believe we ripped off that many people with crappy console! What idiots! I think think we’d be pushing our luck is we made some shitty xbox handheld console though!”
The thing is… if sony extended their warranty they’d be losing money. Also doesnt it depend on whther its the original ps3s or the new ones getting the stupid YLOD (another fuckin geeky name)…
Well, I’m sending my PS3 back to Console doctor (they cover the shipping up to £15) for a re-repair. Crazy? Well, not exactly – I want my saves and when I get it back I am going to transfer them to my new PS3 slim. I bit the bullet and was getting fed up not being able to play Yakuza 3 – so I went out and bought another one. Hey – life’s too short and it’s only money. I wish Sony had longer warranties though. All the parts I put in my PC build have 5-10 yr warranties – now that’s more like it.
OMG I am so lucky!!!! I signed up for an extended warranty on my plasma TV, and the very next week it broke. Protection Headquarters, found at http://www.protectionheadquarters.com/ saved me thousands. Thanks again guys!