The PS3 infamous Red Blinking Light Of Death

[Soulstorm]

So I was playing Condemned 2, when the PS3 just shut down and the light indicator became a flashing red. I try to restart the system, and the light becomes green for a second, then yellow for half a second, then it beeps and becomes flashing red again.

I was searching in many forums, and I discovered that this was a known problem with PS3s. Well, Sony has disappointed me once again. My Bravia was broken when I bought it, and so was a DVD player, all by Sony.

I have the 60 Gbyte model, and I bought it March 2006. So... 150 dollars to Sony, for fixing a problem that's theirs... I just hope they don't tell me to buy a new one, or make me pay for something that will break again in some time!

EDIT: And I forgot to tell you about the best thing of all...

 

[Alexwithad]

Compared to xbox 360, never heard of it.

 

[Soulstorm]

Compared to xbox 360, never heard of it.

Well, that's what got me suspicious in the first place. So I did a bit of google searching, and came up with many results. You can perform some searches for yourself, if you don't believe me. Many people in official playstation forums, and also on other gamers forums state that the first party of 60Gbyte PS3s began having problems 1,5 - 2 years after purchase.

I called Sony today first thing in the morning, and they told me that the PS3 is not fixable, but is replaceable. So, at the expence of 190 euros, they would give me a new one with one year guarantee. They said that these were the instructions given by Sony. No one is to open the device and try to fix things up. If your PS3 has this blinking red light, you will pay 190 euros to get a new one while returning the old one! (I have a reason for writing that in bold).

So, I went to the technical support store, and gave up my old PS3. Ahead of me, there were two people. They were waiting for their ps3 to arrive to them. Both of them had the exact same problem with me, and for both of them it was the second time they obtained a new playstation 3 because of this problem!!

That got me worried. The tech support guy couldn't help me any more, but it seems that this is a well known problem with PS3's and no one even talks about it. Sony just refuses to look into the problem, and forces you to buy a new one... or maybe not? When talking to a guy that used to work in that area (I won't tell who, or where, or when) he told me that the old machines you give will be bought as new ones for other people who have the same red blinking light problem. And probably, the cause for the PS3s to malfunction after 1 year, even if they are replaced, is because they originate from an originally faulty hardrware.

Since that happened to me, I began asking people who have PS3s to tell me if they have faced such a problem. 2 of them have. But it happened while their warranty period had not expired so they had them replaced free of charge.

That's very dissapointing. Sony has been a big dissapointment in hardware for me, and I am very afraid that this malfunction will reoccur, like those 2 other guys in front of me in the playstation support store...

Anyway, just wanted to share my experience with you, guys.

 

[psxguru]

Maybe a bit late but is 'Continuous Play' available in your country?

https://continuousplay.co.uk/Default.aspx

 

[Soulstorm]

Didn't know this plan existed. Maybe it is supported... but I can't find anywhere the supported countries! Is there a page that refers supported countries or this thing is supported in the UK only?

Since I have purchased a new PS3, maybe they let me sign up, if it is supported in my country!

 

[Chone]

Don't worry, all hardware have problems, even super-reliable stuff like iPods and MacBooks (hey this is an Apple forum right ). Don't let that bring you down.

PS3 are not known for breaking down, you can find a lot of cases if you set yourself to find them but then you'll find millions more than simply don't have any problem, Sony had concerning hardware failures during the PS2 era, Microsoft had concerning hardware failures with the 360 but PS3s and Wiis aren't known to break down (and yes, you'll hear failure stories for both systems, even the "this is my 6th wii/ps3" kind).

My point: Don't let paranoia get the best of you, enjoy the system.

 

[psxguru]

Didn't know this plan existed. Maybe it is supported... but I can't find anywhere the supported countries! Is there a page that refers supported countries or this thing is supported in the UK only?

Since I have purchased a new PS3, maybe they let me sign up, if it is supported in my country!

I guess it may be UK only?

http://uk.playstation.com/ps3/news/articles/detail/item68849/Protect-Your-PlayStation/

check for a similar announcement on gr.playstation.com ?

 

[Soulstorm]

Don't worry, all hardware have problems, even super-reliable stuff like iPods and MacBooks (hey this is an Apple forum right ). Don't let that bring you down.

PS3 are not known for breaking down, you can find a lot of cases if you set yourself to find them but then you'll find millions more than simply don't have any problem, Sony had concerning hardware failures during the PS2 era, Microsoft had concerning hardware failures with the 360 but PS3s and Wiis aren't known to break down (and yes, you'll hear failure stories for both systems, even the "this is my 6th wii/ps3" kind).

My point: Don't let paranoia get the best of you, enjoy the system.

I will... but all my saves are lost