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The Xbox Elite controller 90 day warranty is too short.

Xbudz

Xbudz

Member
The Xbox Elite controller is fantastic, that is until it breaks and you realize that it only has a 90 day warranty and Microsoft won't repair it.

Here's mine after just 6 months:

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Click to expand...

I contacted Xbox Customer service and they said I should just hold onto it, and suggested that I vote for a longer warranty on the Xbox User Voice site here:

https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/251650-console-hardware-accessories/suggestions/8556751-1-year-warranty-included-for-elite-controllers

90 days is too short for such a "premium" product.

I tweeted about it here:https://twitter.com/Xbudz/status/742228072271777792

I'd appreciate some retweets to help spread the word and hopefully convince Microsoft to extend the warranty for the Elite Controller.

It's a sad day.
 
All these reports about build quality are starting to worry me. I mean, it feels very sturdy to me (owned one for about a month and two weeks now), I just can't see how it'd fall apart like in all the photos I've seen...

90 days is a joke for such a "premium" product indeed. Does your government not have any kind of mandatory warranty that has to be provided by the vendor?
 
Australian buyers have 2 years minimum on their elite controllers. Depending on the retailer they should be able to do a straight swap in store for a good portion of that also.
 
That's why in the EU we have a mandatory minimum of two years warranty for these products.

All the stories about the build quality of the Elite controller push me further and further away of buying one even with the consumer protections laws in the EU.
 
Thought everything brand new would have a years warranty these days. Think in EU two years is forced. Is the standard warranty on normal controllers 90 days as well? Never thought about this, just assumed 1 year standard for any electronics I buy.
 
Caayn said:
That's why in the EU we have a mandatory minimum of two years warranty for these products.

All the stories about the build quality of the Elite controller push me further and further away of buying one even with the consumer protections laws in the EU.
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That's amazing. I wish that was a thing here
 
floater6 said:
Australian buyers have 2 years minimum on their elite controllers. Depending on the retailer they should be able to do a straight swap in store for a good portion of that also.
Click to expand...

Sadly I bought it from Amazon Canada as they were the only place that had it in stock, they won't accept returns of electronics past 30 days.


K' Dash said:
Those controllers tend to break like that
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OMG, The regret is strong. Wishing I didn't buy into the hype of the controller.
They need to fix that 90 day warranty for sure.
 
My elites been fine BUT my sons Lunar one the RB broke similar to that had to order Chinese parts off amazon and fix it myself.

Between that and my large supply of DS4 replacement triggers and springs it really pisses me off that these controllers $60 or $150 is too much for these quality issues.

They should be built better!
 
Caayn said:
That's why in the EU we have a mandatory minimum of two years warranty for these products.

All the stories about the build quality of the Elite controller push me further and further away of buying one even with the consumer protections laws in the EU.
Click to expand...

The envy I feel when I see claims like this, in my country we have one month of warranty for most electronics. If it happens to break under that month they won't give you a new item, they'll send yours for repair and you'll get a "refurbished" item instead of just giving you a new one. Also you have to wait until they finish repairing your stuff, which coult take a month or more.
 
Dang, the Elite's premium parts were its main draw for me. I had at least hoped that stick drift would've been resolved.
 
Just curious OP, what type of games do you tend to play? I've had mine for 8 months, and use it about 40 hours every 2 weeks, and it still works like a charm. Only problem is my regular sticks are no longer as magnetic from how aggressively I move the sticks, but they won't fall off unless I put some slight pressure, which I tend to do since Counter-Strike is such a demanding game.

I'm constantly pressing it thousands of times a day probably, and it's still good as new. I'm guessing I'm just lucky and got a really solid one.

What type of games do you play that you aggressively use the LB so much?
 
Speedy Blue Dude said:
Just curious OP, what type of games do you tend to play? I've had mine for 8 months, and use it about 40 hours every 2 weeks, and it still works like a charm. Only problem is my regular sticks are no longer as magnetic from how aggressively I move the sticks, but they won't fall off unless I put some slight pressure, which I tend to do since Counter-Strike is such a demanding game.

I'm constantly pressing it thousands of times a day probably, and it's still good as new. I'm guessing I'm just lucky and got a really solid one.

What type of games do you play that you aggressively use the LB so much?
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From what I've read, it isn't aggressive use or people mistreating the controller that's causing the issue. Not to mention, how damn aggressive can one even be with that button? The controller seems like it's well taken care of after viewing the images the OP provided.
 
Speedy Blue Dude said:
Just curious OP, what type of games do you tend to play? I've had mine for 8 months, and use it about 40 hours every 2 weeks, and it still works like a charm. Only problem is my regular sticks are no longer as magnetic from how aggressively I move the sticks, but they won't fall off unless I put some slight pressure, which I tend to do since Counter-Strike is such a demanding game.

I'm constantly pressing it thousands of times a day probably, and it's still good as new. I'm guessing I'm just lucky and got a really solid one.

What type of games do you play that you aggressively use the LB so much?
Click to expand...

That controller was used primarily for Destiny and The Division. Action oriented games for sure, but every other controller I have didn't have bumper issues. With a little research, it seems like the Elite controllers have build quality issues for some people. I was unlucky.
 
I've heard multiple people complain about broken bumpers. What a bummer. I'm praying for mine to hold up at least another two years.
 
Thank god for the socialist utopia that is Europe, I guess. That shit would have been covered under warranty for years.
 
I can only agree, 90 days for a premium product is ridiculous
I would contact Microsoft nonetheless and ask for a replacement , I have seen this issue so many this within the last few weeks
Must be a mass problem


Thanks to European consumer laws everyone gets a least 1 year, the majority gets 2 years of warranty
 
I've logged ridiculous amounts of hours on mine and it's in like new condition. "Normal" use does not apply to people who abnormally large meat tenderizer mits. And that bumper can be placed back into the controller assuming you didn't break the internals. In which case you are lying about not dropping it.

That said it should be a longer warranty period.

psyfi said:
I've heard multiple people complain about broken bumpers. What a bummer. I'm praying for mine to hold up at least another two years.
Click to expand...

Odds are definitely in your favor.
 
I purposefully got my elite at Best Buy so I could get a two year, no questions asked warranty. I play with no shits given now.
 
Xbudz said:
That controller was used primarily for Destiny and The Division. Action oriented games for sure, but every other controller I have didn't have bumper issues. With a little research, it seems like the Elite controllers have build quality issues for some people. I was unlucky.
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Damn. That sucks. :(

I was thinking maybe you were really into Fightning games or Overwatch or something where you use LB so often.

I agree, a $150 controller should have at least a 1 year warranty from MS.
 
Ooh I had an Argos giftcard and nothing else I wanted to guy so I was thinking I'd get this controller for my pc.

I think I'll pass.
 
It probably sucks living in a country without consumer laws that grant you a 2 year (or more) warranty. Sometimes you have to wait a bit if all the repairs are done abroad, but at least you don't have to worry about losing your money. Just because something's expensive and called elite doesn't mean it's well-built or that it has great quality control. I learned it the hard way with a lot of hardware manufacturers (especially with Razer ;)).
 
I'd post those images on Reddit, and tap up Major Nelson. He's reasonably good at responding to stuff like this.

This week may not be the best time to do it, though.

King Gilga said:
Ooh I had an Argos giftcard and nothing else I wanted to guy so I was thinking I'd get this controller for my pc.

I think I'll pass.
Click to expand...

You're protected in the UK.
 
My 1st Elite had its LB go bad after just a few weeks. Had it replaced under warranty by M$, but cost me shipping. Normal use, never dropped, LB just stopped responding.

I love the Elite overall, but internally they're no better than regular controllers. I never had a controller go bad on me before. Kinda funny it took a $150 controller to do it.
 
My Lunar controller broke exactly like that when it had a short fall from my chair and must of landed perfectly on the LB button. You could grab the LB button and just pull it out like in your picture, Any way I fixed it by opening it up and snapping everything back in to place - something that couldn't be done without opening for some reason.
 
K' Dash said:
The envy I feel when I see claims like this, in my country we have one month of warranty for most electronics. If it happens to break under that month they won't give you a new item, they'll send yours for repair and you'll get a "refurbished" item instead of just giving you a new one. Also you have to wait until they finish repairing your stuff, which coult take a month or more.
Click to expand...

I think in EU it varies by product. Some might just give you a new one and in other cases like smartphones you might get a refurbished one but I guess it will have to be like new. To be fair a refurbished one might end up being better because it has had more attention to it.

The Elite controller was bullshit right from the start with the kind of pricing it had. Now that it's not even better quality than your bog standard controller it is even more so.

Honestly I hope this blows up and ends up biting MS in the ass big time. Not that it matters to them financially but they certainly don't need more bad PR.
 
The right stick on my first Elite started making a clicking sound when I rotated it, after less than a week. Got a new one, which is better, but the left stick is almost showing the same symptom. The controller is nice, but it's not as fantastic as all the reviews had me believe.

Luckily I didn't pay full price for it, even though it still was expensive.
 
WadeitOut said:
I've logged ridiculous amounts of hours on mine and it's in like new condition. "Normal" use does not apply to people who abnormally large meat tenderizer mits. And that bumper can be placed back into the controller assuming you didn't break the internals. In which case you are lying about not dropping it.

That said it should be a longer warranty period.
Click to expand...

That controller was treated very well. Of all the other controllers I've used, this was the first one to have broken... and it just happens to be their premium elite product.

If it's so premium, they need to back that claim up with a 12 month warranty if they truly believe in its quality.

Sadly, it won't snap back into place. I'm tempted to dismantle it (if I can) and replace the bumper with one of my other controller bumpers.
 
Xbudz said:
That controller was treated very well. Of all the other controllers I've used, this was the first one to have broken... and it just happens to be their premium elite product.

If it's so premium, they need to back that claim up with a 12 month warranty if they truly believe in its quality.

Sadly, it won't snap back into place. I'm tempted to dismantle it (if I can) and replace the bumper with one of my other controller bumpers.
Click to expand...

I can confirm this as well, as I have posted about it before, those bumper do Break with use, Ever since the Elite was released I have gone trough 3 different elites, and all of them broke on the left bumper
 
Sjefen said:
90 days is outrages, here in Norway we are luckily protected by consumer law.
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Corporations rule things here in the states we need better consumer laws. This is also the same 90 day warranty scuf controllers offers on its products. So atleast here In the USA the elite has the same warranty as its competitor.
 
MS may only offer a 90 day warranty, but most stores should let you replace broken stuff for a year. that's at least the case here in the UK
 
Did you buy with a credit card? Depending on the card you might be able to get them to replace it; Amex and Mastercard both have warranty doubling programs.


90 days is completely absurd for a $150 controller though. Was considering buying one, but there's no way I'd do so now.
KORNdoggy said:
MS may only offer a 90 day warranty, but most stores should let you replace broken stuff for a year. that's at least the case here in the UK
Click to expand...

I can't think of a single store that does that in the US. Costco, I guess, but that's more of a lifetime return policy.
 
I'm highly disappointed of the build quality of the Xbone controllers (not the elite, but in general).
It seems the changed the design of the LB and RB on the newest controllers (the ones with a headphone jack). We bought 4 controllers to replace the ones we have at the office because the stick started to get stuck.
The controllers we bought last for 3 months and a week, the LB broke up on ALL the controllers in the SAME day (we only play Fifa).
I opened up one of the controllers, and compared it with the old ones. There was some kind of support on the old controllers that kept the LB in place, but that support isn't on the new controllers. There only a weak piece of plastic that keeps the button in place, and is normal that at one point it breaks up.
I know that all companies want to reduce the costs of production, but at least they could build something that is designed to break up so easily
 
I agree OP. Month 4 of having my controller and the left stick can be spun around. It doesn't lock in place. Called MS and they offered to help for a fee.

I don't understand how they messed up such an expensive piece of tech.
 
SiegePhalt said:
Really? TWO years minimum? I thought we only get 12 months warranty from the retailer?
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It depends on the country but yes 2 years for a lot of them.
Heck in my country there's even a "reasonable life expectancy" warranty on top of that, which basically means shit like a washing machine should last way longer than 2 years and thus the warranty gets upped by a couple more years.
 
Some states have consumer protection laws that might help you out. Maine, for example, has some laws that require companies to back their products for I think at minimum a year or maybe two - and the law is written in such a way that sneaky EULAs and T&C agreements can't void those rights.

Try contacting Microsoft support, and mention those words - consumer protection laws. Plenty of companies and their support have different procedures to follow when customers simply mention those words.

Also, you may do well to let Microsoft know you'll contact BBB and possibly the FTC.

90 day warranty is absurd. Companies should pay for it when their products are built sub-par and don't hold together.
 
I think we in Switzerland have two years minimum aswell. I just checked it on a bunch gaming peripherie, so I'm not sure it's really the minimum.

90 days is ridiculous, I'd never buy an Elite Controller if that was the case.
 
Sorry to hear OP. For a premium product they should really offer a much longer warranty. I'm hoping mine holds up alright.
 
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