Since the product's introduction in November, 2005, a significant quantity of Microsoft's Xbox 360

game consoles have experienced a field malfunction that is indicated by three flashing red LEDs on

the front of the console. This error function, which designates a critical hardware failure and

renders the unit inoperable, is known among gamers as the "Red Ring of Death" and has spawned

numerous user forums and web postings that claim to offer easy "fixes" for out-of-warranty units

or for users who lack the patience to return their systems to an authorized repair center.

Obviously, if there were an easy fix, Microsoft probably wouldn't have announced, last Thursday,

July 5, their intention to spend more than $1 billion to extend warranties to three years for the

nearly 12 million game consoles it has sold worldwide.

Having become aware of the Xbox failure issue prior to the Microsoft announcement, Manncorp

has been actively spearheading a research effort into the causes of the problem for the purpose of

providing not only a technologically sound and reliable solution, but one that is also practical and

timely given the scope and magnitude of Microsoft's predicament. Research has been conducted

in affiliation with Bernhard Martin, Managing Director of our SMT rework equipment manufacturer

in Germany, who has been involved in similar, high-profile, troubleshooting and repair applications

for high-volume consumer products with companies like Siemens and Nokia.

While our research continues, we have decided to publish our findings and conclusions thusfar, as

well as our recommendations for the proper equipment and techniques needed to repair the

consoles, in order to eliminate future recurrence of the problems.

Discussions with independent electronic repair shops and an evaluation of the extensive

information available on internet user forums and bulletin boards quickly pointed toward the eleven

BGA and CSP devices on the Xbox 360 motherboard as the likely source of the problem. The

locations of these devices on the top and bottom sides of the board are shown below in Figure 1.

The solder joints that connect BGA and CSP devices to the contacts on the PCB are made when

arrays of dozens, or even hundreds, of tiny spheres of solder attached to the bottom of the device

are melted during the reflow soldering process. Because these connections are located

underneath the components, visual inspection is nearly impossible.

When we subjected several motherboards (from Xbox 360 consoles that suffered the "Red Ring of

Death" failure) to microscopic X-ray inspection, it was determined that a substantial number of the

solder joints beneath the BGA and CSP devices appeared to be of questionable quality. This was

especially noticeable towards the centers of the main CPU and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit),

both of which are plastic BGA components, and both of which include additional integrated

components mounted to the top of the device. The additional mass of the main chip on the top of

the plastic BGAs appears to have prevented sufficient heat from reaching the solder joints closest

addition to being a dangerous fire hazard, one can only imagine the additional damage to the

console.

We are also of the opinion that, although some of the more rational repair approaches may appear

to correct the problem, albeit temporarily, the issue is probably exacerbated by causing additional

damage to other components on the motherboard that may have been working perfectly in the

first place. Even some of the most experienced electronics repair professionals have expressed

their frustration with the problem and are now refusing to perform Xbox 360 repair, claiming that

the problem is too deeply rooted and going so far as pointing specifically to the lead-free solder

used for attachment of the GPU. It also appears that warranty repairs performed by Microsoftauthorized

refurbishment centers still may be a problem for precisely the reasons we've stated. A

bulletin board posting on a website dedicated to the "Red Ring of Death" issue, submitted the day

after Microsoft's July 5th announcement, indicated that an irate customer had recently received 3

defective refurbs from Microsoft's repair center in Texas.

Based on our tests so far, we don't believe the problem is, at all, as bad as it sounds. First of all,

the time and temperature parameters of the thermal profiles used for reflow soldering at the time

of initial manufacture were probably not too far off from where they should have been. This is of

course an assumption, but we base this on the fact that not all of the units are defective and that

most of the problems seem to be traceable to a few specific components. It is also quite possible

that the composition of the solder spheres on the BGA and CSP components and the geometry of

these devices necessitated a thermal profile that did not exactly match the remainder of the

motherboard. In any case, we feel that most problems related to poor solder joint quality beneath

the BGA and CSP components can be rectified by very precise, very localized, controlled-profile

reflow soldering of these devices on the defective boards without having to remove, reball, and

replace the components. According to Bernhard Martin, who has developed nearly identical

solutions for cell phone repair, the key is preventing damage to neighboring components, not only

from excessive heat, but also, from board warpage and thermal stress due to improper

underheating. While these words may sound trite among SMT rework manufacturers, there are

certain intricacies to the process that have resulted in Martin's numerous successes and other

manufacturers' inability to provide viable solutions.

In tests conducted on actual Xbox 360 motherboards we have already proven that, by using the

proper techniques in conjunction with the proper equipment, precision preheat, reflow, and cooling

can be performed on selected components in less than 200 seconds total without any deleterious

effect on adjacent parts.

Figure 3 shows the same GPU component that was shown in Figure 2, after localized reflow using

our equipment. This view appears to indicate complete reflow, as all of the connections have

nearly identical diameters, eliminating the possibility that the sphere volume was inconsistent

beforehand. In our opinion, this view shows a considerable improvement in quality and

consistency, which is why we are so encouraged by our tests.

Above you can see the XBOX 360 printed circuit board populated with its components including the critical GPU, CPU and Memory Chip chips.

And shown below is the XBOX CPU component which is Ball Grid Array (BGA) styled package