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IGN's on their defective PS4 [Up: Sony - less than 0.4% of shipped units affected]

Update:
A Sony representative has provided the following statement to IGN:

"A handful of people have reported issues with their PlayStation 4 systems. This is within our expectations for a new product introduction, and the vast majority of PS4 feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We are closely monitoring for additional reports, but we think these are isolated incidents and are on track for a great launch.

There have been several problems reported, which leads us to believe there isn’t a singular problem that could impact a broader percentage of systems. The number of affected systems represents less than .04% of shipped units to date, which is within our expectations for a new product introduction.

IGN system HDMI port failed after they attempted to download Netflix. That is three cases of failure while trying to download something. (Dylx: BF4 Update, Twitch guy: DCUO, IGN: Netflix, Twitter User: Downloading BF while playing Killzone.) Could be a pattern.

@yosp on the case:

Pre4zcs.png


EDIT: So I don't raise a panic. There are ten reported cases of defective Playstation 4 consoles. There were about 4000 winners of the Taco Bell contest. Plus media outlets that received a retail unit earlier in the week.

Defective Units:

NeoGaffer Dylx: Was downloading an update for Battlefield 4
2 or 3 from Reddit: Unknown specifics
Twitch Streamer: Was downloading DCUO when it stalled. He unplugged the console. It wouldn't work properly after that.
1 IGN unit: See Original Post. (HDMI failed after starting a download of Netflix)
1 Kotaku unit: "Here are the facts: In the past week, my Kotaku colleagues and I have used one pre-release PS4 and three retail PS4s with no problems. I've also heard from fellow gaming reporters who've used their PS4s with no problems. But the first retail unit that Sony provided me failed to work when I plugged it into a TV in Kotaku's office. A colleague and I were able to compare it to a second PS4 that did work and we found that the issue was rather simple: the bad unit had a faulty HDMI jack that we couldn't fully plug an HDMI cable into. It couldn't make a solid connection and therefore, apparently, couldn't transmit a stable signal to our TV. We tried different cables and monitors. The issue was with the console." http://kotaku.com/the-playstation-4-the-kotaku-review-in-progress-1463521231
Video from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCRxSh5zFcw&feature=youtu.be
Redditor Vine: Dead out of the box.
Twitter user: Downloading BF while playing Killzone


Original Post:

http://m.ca.ign.com/articles/2013/11/14/broken-playstation-4-systems

I thought it best to put this in a new thread since the other one is a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

IGN updated their article on defective Playstation 4 consoles. They added the story of one user's experience with Sony technical support.

More importantly, they added a little more information regarding their own defective unit and the potential cause/symptom. Their is nothing scientific here, just pure speculation.

Meanwhile, IGN experienced the same issue, but it happened after the console was already working. It may not have contributed to the issue, but ours stopped working the morning after we updated to version 1.50. You can find more details in the original post below. Furthermore, IGN had tried a wide variety of methods to correct the issue: new HDMI cables, new inputs, new TV, putting a disc into the system, connecting it to and from the Internet, and, of course, holding down the power button during boot-up for seven seconds to try to reset things. Nothing worked. Oddly enough, we tried adding light pressure to the top of console and it briefly flickered a few active home menu images on the television.

IGN received a response from Sony PlayStation PR, whose offices are based nearby our San Francisco headquarters. A representative was able visit and replace our broken PS4 with the goal of getting their hands on the seemingly faulty console and returning it for technical investigation. We should note, this retail system is a critical part of our ongoing review and launch coverage. We know what you’re thinking by now: IGN got its system replaced and this poor consumer didn't. Trust us, we feel just as compassionate as anyone would in this situation. IGN reached out to PlayStation again to ask if they could escalate Arogon’s issue. The representative understood the situation and promised, “We’ll look into it.”

There's no way to know for sure whether or not the 1.50 update had anything to do with the bricked console but it's something that should be considered. Albeit, putting pressure on the top of the console seemed to have an effect, which almost makes me think it was a hardware issue.

Anyways, just a little more info as we head into launch.
 

finalexit

Member
" Oddly enough, we tried adding light pressure to the top of console and it briefly flickered a few active home menu images on the television."

What kind of problem could cause that?
 

Clefargle

Member
Ouch, this and the South Park Black Friday episode? Could be a rocky start for the PS4. I hope not though, C'mon Cerny!
 
Ones an isolated incident, two is a coincidence, but there are reports coming from all over about busted machines. Sonys track record with admitting faults and firmware updates that brick consoles isn't great.

I feel bad but at least the US is beta testing my machine :(
 
" Oddly enough, we tried adding light pressure to the top of console and it briefly flickered a few active home menu images on the television."

What kind of problem could cause that?

Kotaku reported that their issue stemmed from a faulty hdmi port.
 

Pop

Member
Its a small percentage of consoles. I've seen plenty of people streaming already and they've have had no problems. Matter of fact, IGN reported what 4 consoles with problems. No videos, only walls of text that people are taking as if it's the end for Sony.
 

arttq

Member
" Oddly enough, we tried adding light pressure to the top of console and it briefly flickered a few active home menu images on the television."

What kind of problem could cause that?

Maybe cracked solder or otherwise broken motherboard.
 

BigTnaples

Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
Read this on the way home from work.


Could be a big issue, could be a small one. We will know In around 20 hours.
 
As consoles get more complicated, there's going to be teething problems at launch. The real issue will be if there's fundamental design flaws, like the original 360 design (and the PS3 to a lesser extent). Both consoles are designed to avoid this, so I'm fairly confident it won't be an issue.
 

T.O.P

Banned
Really hopeing for a smooth start from both X1/PS4


Getting a faulty console at launch after all the hype must be devastating
 
People really need to get into perspective here. these things will happen in a hardware launch, there'a absolutely no need for mass hysteria with what could be a relatively isolated incident. Wait until the thing has actually launched before the hysteria.
 

Zephyrus

Banned
Damn... things were looking so good for sony. I'm waiting for mine until they work out a few of the problems.

Xbox fanboys will have a field week, it seems.
 
The only surprising thing is that people are surprised by this. You always run a risk with launch consoles, especially if the hardware is ambitious.
 
" Oddly enough, we tried adding light pressure to the top of console and it briefly flickered a few active home menu images on the television."

What kind of problem could cause that?
I'm almost afraid to suggest it, but it sounds like a loose chip, which is briefly reconnected by applying pressure to the top, which presses it tighter against the mainboard.

This is what usually caused the YLOD...

Let's just all hope that it's a software issue caused by a bug in the update. :-/
 

Raxious

Member
considering it happend after updating, could it not be caused by the update? Considering theirs stopped working after 1.50.

Dylax had the same issue, after updating his PS4 stopped working too.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=715057

After playing a brief game of NBA 2k14 I quit and inserted my battlefield 4 disk. The system prompted for an update, so while watching the progress bar (Around 20%) my controller light turned from blue to white. Hasn't worked since...
 

News Bot

Banned
Queue GAF thinking that a 0.001% defect rate is somehow a clusterfuck.

Welcome to technology. As long as it's not RROD/YLOD/PlayStation 1 and 2 laser levels, there's not really an issue.
 

Midas

Member
I wonder what it can be... The holding it down part gets me worried. The heatsink over the APU is only fixed with two screws, but something that crucial must have been checked and testet a million times. So it shouldn't be that.
 

Rebel Leader

THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
No console is perfect especially launch

P:EASE BE PERFECT FOR THE LOVE PLEASE! I WANT NO TROUBLE GOD! =p
 
Queue GAF thinking that a 0.001% defect rate is somehow a clusterfuck.

Welcome to technology. As long as it's not RROD/YLOD/PlayStation 1 and 2 laser levels, there's not really an issue.

The consoles not out yet, the fact that multiple people who got it early as well as multiple game sites are saying their review models are being faulty doesn't bode well.
 

KAL2006

Banned
Lol I'll let you Suckers beta test and pay more money. While I hoard PSN+ games, buy a PS4 next year when hopefully issues are resolved with hardware and software as well as more features from firmware updates. Once I buy a PS4 I'll have a backlog of PSN+ freebies to play and won't even have to buy games for a while. Once I am ready to buy games they will be dirt cheap. Love being LEAP and being a cheap ass.
 
Goddamn, with the launch game delays, unfinished OS, poorly received launch titles and now potential defective PS4's, I am REALLY happy I am waiting on getting a PS4.
 
What is the standard failure rate of factory electronics? I'm honestly curious.

For LED/LCD TVs it's 100% failure. All of them have clouding and banding and look utterly shit.

But for everything else I think it's around 2-3%. But then it depends what period we're talking about - I mean over 100 years? Probably 99%.
 

z0m3le

Banned
How many broken PS4's is this? I mean the console hasn't launched yet and we are talking about multiple ones, just be careful and register your product and keep that warranty safe, I don't know the percentages but considering the above, I would expect it to be higher than average...

My plan is to wait a year, but I might wait for a redesign if failure is high, my 360 died 4 years ago and I'm not looking forward to that again.
 
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