Refurbished One X/Series X frustration

[phoenixdownita]

So three or four months ago I bought a “premium renewed” OLED Switch from Amazon (sold and shipped by) and I was pleasantly surprised by it being very clean, no scratches and perfectly working. With 1y to return it I thought no matter what I wanted to try it. That system is still going very very well. I saved only 40$ total compared to buying new but why not?

 

A couple of months ago I bought from Amazon a refurbished Xbox One X (shipped by Amazon but sold by 3rd party for about 200$). It came with a 30 day time to return. I tried it lightly for a week and loved the 4k (even if at 30fps) and the upgrades to Halo MCC, Halo 5, Infinity and other games I had in my aging (9y old) std Xbox One (no S or X). Then I purchased at a 90% discount Panzer Dragoon Remake and already at Episode 3 it would overheat the One X. It did it systematically within 4 mins of play. So back it went and had to wait for 3 weeks for a refund but hey … in the meantime I read around that the One X is actually prone to overheating and needs thermal paste work done eventually, so decided NOT to risk buying another refurbished. Note that the one I got was able to play DVDs just fine and the occasional 360 Daytona USA race. Didn’t have time to try actual One games until later when I purchased Panzer Dragoon Remake, my wife is the Halo fan (yup it’s her Xbox One) and she was busy.

 

Still having been impressed by 4k I started reading about Microsoft Series X refurbished program and how nice they repackage everything. But at 449$ it was too expensive for me (50$ off new is ok it’s the total a little out of my range) until this last week Prime days when Amazon sold the thing at 399$ (better for what I am ok-ish spending). I didn’t know it was the exact same Microsoft offer but with 90 days to return why not? So I got one and it came in a sealed Microsoft refurbished package, with the unit wrapped in the black plastic and a seemingly new controller. So far so good. I received it 3 days ago. For the first 2 days I just tried things lightly and 4k 60hz (my TV can’t do 120) is so nice. I then decided to play some Panzer Dragoon Remake (the console killer at this point), finished Episode 4 one day with no overheating, great, then last night passed Episode 5 and while watching the intro to Episode 6 the Series X shutdown … uh oh … I thought here goes overheating again … but nooooo it was worse, now  the refurbished Series X won’t turn on. 
Well technically it turns on and then immediately off. I tried unplugging it. I tried keeping the power button pressed for 30 secs, I tried a different outlet … all to no avail … it seems it’s a common problem with the power supply (according to Reddit) of at least earlier models (the service date on this unit says Mar 2022 but obviously it was manufactured earlier).

 

So now this refurbished Series X goes back … what a pain. 

 

 

Thanks to Amazon I can buy with the confidence that I can get my money back but outside the OLED Switch I have not been lucky with refurbished XBox One X/Series X. I wanted to replaced my aging Xbox One and enjoy 4k games and I DO want a disc reader (around here I can still find cheap disc games, for example a week ago I bought Minecraft XBOne Edition for 10$ as the kid is going nuts at school over it). 
 

I am not sure I want to try more refurbished stuff now … frustrated.

For my use likely a One X would do … Series X was more of a chance.

 

What are your experiences?

Was I just unlucky?

Are the One X and Series X just not well enough engineered to withstand the heat they produce?

[Zoyous]

On 10/15/2023 at 1:24 PM, phoenixdownita said:

What are your experiences?

I had a One X for a few years that one day, suddenly, its power supply died. There weren't any noticeable signs leading up to it. IIRC, at that time I couldn't find any official replacements so I tried getting an aftermarket PSU and it didn't work either, plus it made a weird high-pitched noise. So that was that. I have a weekly online game night with some old friends that we've had going on Xbox Live for almost 20 years now, so I was motivated by that to get a new console. By that point, the Series X was out but very hard to get. I didn't really feel excited by any of the newest games for the Series X, but used One X's were also very expensive due to the same shortages that were slowing production of the Series X. So eventually I jumped on an online deal to get a Series X with two years of Game Pass Ultimate. My Series X has been working fine for about 2 1/2 years now.

 

I haven't really heard of these problems being widespread, at least not to the degree that the RROD was for the 360. But at the same time, I don't doubt it. These consoles pack a lot into a small form factor. Build quality seems better than what I've seen with cheaper PCs, but who knows really.

[Austin]

I have had multiple One X systems and had zero issues. I have had a Series X for two years now and have also had no problems. I kept both consoles vertical however, somewhat out in the open.

[phoenixdownita]

Guess it’s the refurbished market then that carry more risks.

[Zoyous]

Yeah, unfortunately these days it seems some "refurbished" items are really just returned items that are re-packaged and shipped out again with no work done on them at all. I tried buying a refurbished PC earlier this year to save a hundred bucks or so but it had a faulty power supply, which would have cost the same amount I had saved to replace. And it presented this problem so quickly that I'm sure no one at the seller had really taken a look at it, because it would have been easy to catch and diagnose.

[Metal Ghost]

On 10/19/2023 at 10:15 AM, Zoyous said:

Yeah, unfortunately these days it seems some "refurbished" items are really just returned items that are re-packaged and shipped out again with no work done on them at all. I tried buying a refurbished PC earlier this year to save a hundred bucks or so but it had a faulty power supply, which would have cost the same amount I had saved to replace. And it presented this problem so quickly that I'm sure no one at the seller had really taken a look at it, because it would have been easy to catch and diagnose.

Yea, I believe this is very much the case. I don’t have hard data on it,  just have watched a lot of videos from Austin Evans and Jacob R. Seems to be the same thing most of the time….an obvious situation where no one has replaced thermal paste. 
 

But all of that being said, personally I have never had any overheating issues with my “Day One” One (which I sold a while back but had it for over 7 or 8 years), subsequent One X, Day One Series X, or my Series S. 

[phoenixdownita]

Ok, took another plunge.

Shipped by Amazon but from third party seller, used good conditions Xbox one X (no series x) for 215+tax.

I got the hyperspace edition (Yoshi’s egg really) and with matching controller sans battery cover as it came with the weird rechargeable pack with contacts on the replacement cover.

 

Because of the holidays it can be returned until Jan 31st, so I’ll have time to test it thoroughly.

So far it’s working … need to play more Panzer Dragoon remake but it’s promising.

 

Likely I’ll keep it either way and repaste it and update to an internal ssd cause tinkering is fun.

[scifidude79]

You always take a chance with refurbished. I've had mixed results over the years. In the 1990s, I bought a Sega Genesis 2 that was officially refurbished to replace my Genesis 1 that had died. It came in a nice box and everything. After my return window was up, I found out that it had issues with freezing and shutting off randomly. Years later, I bought a computer refurbished that had a bad hard drive, but I wanted to upgrade the size anyway. But, I know about computers and that was an easy swap and I saved a lot of money on a computer. Meanwhile, I bought an officially refurbished XBOX 360 over a decade ago, it came in an nice box and everything, and that console still works with no major issues. Those are just some of my experiences with refurbished, but results can vary.

 

On 10/19/2023 at 10:15 AM, Zoyous said:

Yeah, unfortunately these days it seems some "refurbished" items are really just returned items that are re-packaged and shipped out again with no work done on them at all. I tried buying a refurbished PC earlier this year to save a hundred bucks or so but it had a faulty power supply, which would have cost the same amount I had saved to replace. And it presented this problem so quickly that I'm sure no one at the seller had really taken a look at it, because it would have been easy to catch and diagnose.

That reminds me of "Gamestop Refurbished." I don't know if they still do it because I haven't shopped at Gamestop in years, but their version of refurbished used to be "We stuck it in a box that says it's refurbished." It used to be that they didn't even clean the systems. I bought a "refurbished" Gamecube from them about 15 years ago with dust all up in the fans. They didn't even bother cleaning it. 🙄

[nadir]

I'll do refurb'd from vendors (usually smaller shops) that I know actually do repairs and such.  The common big box and "big site" places, no.

[phoenixdownita]

Finished Panzer Dragoon Remake on the Yoshi’s Egg white XBox One X with no obvious overheating. I will keep it at this point so I decided to swap the hdd with an ssd (found a new 1TB SanDisk 3d nand for 44+taxes on Amazon).

Tearing it down was quite easy, swapping the hdd also very easy.

Performed the OSU1 maneuver and it worked like a charm but as expected it lost the boot animation.

Checked for OS updates and luckily a 500+ MB one was right there … the first time it kind of got stuck after the validation, it went black on screen but with the white power led slowly flashing, let it there a good 5 mins until it auto shut off. Restarted manually and I repeated the update, this time it went pass the validation progress bar and completed successfully and as expected I got the boot animation back.

 

It takes a smidge less than 30 seconds from pressing the power button to being signed in at the dashboard ready to play … happy with the results given the modest investment.

 

Note that I have been using an external usb ssd for years with my old XBox One (no S or X) so that part stays the same as it makes moving consoles super easy … but I like a faster boot and much snappier UI, maybe I would move some of the smaller games internally we will see.

[Austin]

Unfortunately the One X just isn't going to get any faster than what you are experiencing now. It was a big step above the original Xbox One in many ways, but booting the console cold and loading up programs still takes a lot longer than the newer tech (Series S|X). Glad to see it's working!

[+Torrax]

Upgraded my XB1X a few months back with a Samsung 2TB 870EVO SSD.  This is the maximum size that the OSU1 maneuver will support and auto partition.  The extra space helps alot with the larger game installs. Forza Horizon 5, Red Dead Redemption, and other newer games show a noticeable difference in loading times.  My XB series X still out performs the XB1X with its internal 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD + 2TB Seagate Expansion Card.  I have the old XB1X in the bedroom to stream movies/tv and play some games before crashing.

 

I suggest maxing out the SSD to 2TB in the future.  Enjoy your upgrade!!

[phoenixdownita]

On 12/13/2023 at 9:31 AM, Austin said:

Unfortunately the One X just isn't going to get any faster than what you are experiencing now. It was a big step above the original Xbox One in many ways, but booting the console cold and loading up programs still takes a lot longer than the newer tech (Series S|X). Glad to see it's working!

Of course but price of the Series X is just not right, likely for me a Series S + optical disc reader (if they ever make one) would be the sweet spot, I hope prices would come down in the next couple of years so eventually I could pick up a used Series X.

For right now the One X is relatively good, I can tell 4K stutters here and there but overall I'm ok with it.

 

23 hours ago, Torrax said:

Upgraded my XB1X a few months back with a Samsung 2TB 870EVO SSD.  This is the maximum size that the OSU1 maneuver will support and auto partition.  The extra space helps alot with the larger game installs. Forza Horizon 5, Red Dead Redemption, and other newer games show a noticeable difference in loading times.  My XB series X still out performs the XB1X with its internal 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD + 2TB Seagate Expansion Card.  I have the old XB1X in the bedroom to stream movies/tv and play some games before crashing.

 

I suggest maxing out the SSD to 2TB in the future.  Enjoy your upgrade!!

I thought about 2TB but then again I am not really looking at installing lots of stuff and my external 1TB Samsung T5 is where things go for now as it is very easy to move it around if I ever get a Series X.

I do need the optical disc reader as I do have a few discs I want to still use. For example Halo Infinity (dual gen disc) as well as Forza 6, Minecraft One Edition, Rare replay are all physical discs ... I am fine with the disc being just a key to download the updated version mind you, I just like buying really cheap discs (the One X hyperspace white was allegedly the NBA 2k20 edition which was to be had digitally if I understand correctly, the seller actually included NBA 2k21 physical copy with the used console ... not that I would play it but nice touch).

 

On the side I was mightily on impressed how Panzer Dragoon Orta (I had it for well over 15 years) works across all the generations (OG/360/One/Series) ... if only the licensing on those older OG/360 wasn't such a mess back compat is a beast on One, One X and Series X, and the OG titles were nice (many of them already supported 720p bitd), granted I think about half of the 360 library is playable, the OG showing is pretty slim.

 

 

[phoenixdownita]

So now there’s a discount for new Series X at 399 with or without Diablo … me thinks the new one offered on Black Friday at 449 wasn’t such a success after all … funny thing on the Xbox.com website the refurbished ones are still 449 … why?

 

 

Feels like they want to flush the new ones out … hopefully that drives the used ones down too … eventually!

[+Zeptari]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Xbox-Series-X-Video-Game-Console-Black/443574645?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=2174&adid=22222222277443574645_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9001634&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=443574645&wl13=2174&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=22222222237443574645_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9001634&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=443574645&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIscr72fmegwMV4UlHAR0XfwuUEAQYASABEgKHo_D_BwE

 

@phoenixdownita  $349!! sweet deal!

[+swlovinist]

Owned an Xbox Series X now for three years.   It gets moderate usage from my daughter and I and I use it for my main media player as well.    I have had zero issues with it.    Paired up with Game Pass, a great gaming device that now is on sale for a reasonable price.   

[Razzie.P]

I got the One X "Scorpio Edition" and that thing was a mess.  I couldn't stand to use it because of the constant lag and frequent crashes where it just said "something went wrong."  MS support tried to blame it on me being an "early adopter" or some such nonsense.  So yeah, it rarely got used.

 

I got a Series X close to launch and no issues at all.  I've always thought it acts like the One X should have.

[Austin]

My One X was fairly solid for the most part, but I did get that "something went wrong" with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Also got some random dropouts back to the dashboard/crashes without any errors, but to be fair that still happens occasionally on my Series X.

[phoenixdownita]

On 12/20/2023 at 1:27 PM, Zeptari said:

… Walmart …

 

@phoenixdownita  $349!! sweet deal!

Missed it. Locally here there was a Walmart store about 45min away with that offer.

 

But during a particularly long work day this week I caved and ordered a used - like new Series X from Amazon again, at 348.50 lol …. seems sold and shipped from Amazon (it said Amazon services llc) and should arrive on the 28th.

 

Meanwhile the used hyperspace One X is doing great … didn’t really need both … I do have time to return it but I also updated it with an ssd which I can remove … still in this case the seller did nothing wrong … maybe the Series X like new breaks down in 3 days like the renewed one did before it who knows and it’ll have to go back again.

 

I don’t even know why I bought it? Probably because I found a few new games that are series X|S only while browsing the store … and then fear of missing out … aka stupid reasons as I don’t actually plan on buying much if at all …

 

Anyway this year has been the first time since 2015, when I purchased the MCC edition Cirrus White console for the wife bday, that I bought modern consoles with the Switch first for the kid and then this recent irrational Xbox something-or-the-other streak/obsession.

 

 

PS: played a few more hours on the hyperspace One X and no real issues. Last night I tried Panzer Dragoon Orta ( the Xbox OG game ) and noticed the fan went up but the console surface was not even warm to the touch.

From time to time it did refuse to recognize any One game discs I would put in, could hear it spin but no icon … until restarting the console from the menu … since then I read having an external usb drive connected may do that, so left it unplugged and so far so good … mildly inconvenient for sure.
UPDATE: reconnected the usb ssd and now it’s fine, I did perform the “tugging the disc a little on insert” as indicated on a YT video

 … not sure that’s why it’s been more stable the past 24h.

[Austin]

You’ll be happy with the Series X. It feels infinitely snappier than the One X.

[nadir]

On 12/21/2023 at 6:51 PM, Austin said:

My One X was fairly solid for the most part, but I did get that "something went wrong" with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Also got some random dropouts back to the dashboard/crashes without any errors, but to be fair that still happens occasionally on my Series X.

I'm active on some MSFS groups and it's interesting to hear how some people have so many issues with CTDs, but I haven't had a single one yet.

[Austin]

5 hours ago, nadir said:

I'm active on some MSFS groups and it's interesting to hear how some people have so many issues with CTDs, but I haven't had a single one yet.

To be fair I had a One X almost right away. I would feel fairly confident that they’ve worked out a lot of the kinks in the OS by this point.

[phoenixdownita]

On 12/25/2023 at 2:51 PM, Austin said:

You’ll be happy with the Series X. It feels infinitely snappier than the One X.

Returned the One X … felt bad as with the SSD it was good, yet those episodes of not recognizing any XBOne disk were concerning … and I didn’t need or want both.

 

The Series X has been great … from boot to menu in 6 secs + resume play … it does make quite the difference especially with a 150 price cut on a new Series X (pretty sure the heavy discount is MS last ditch effort to regain some market against PS5 and flushing out the pipes as much as they can … the price of officially refurbished is now also still down at 399).

 

 

PS: a Series X at 347 is definitely great. The One X + SSD was already 260 so … at that point.

(both +taxes -> so for me ended up 380 vs 285 … the extra 95 were worthy. The One X technically does not need the internal SSD but then an external one is almost required anyway as it gets slow)

 

 

PPS: I even bought my first “next gen” game with Exo One … it’s different and at 16+taxes I’m ok if I end up not liking it too much … we’ll see.

(next gen ‘cause Switch games could run no pb on launch XBOne or PS4 let’s be honest)

 

 

PPPS: putting back the original HDD in One X took me for a spin. Just swapping it back in would not work, using the same OSU1 thumb drive I used for the SSD update failed as well (I left the HDD untouched since removal, no reformatting or anything) …. then I remembered there was an update since the SSD swap so had to use the latest OSU1 files and since I left the original HDD intact at the end I got back into working order with the boot animation too … scared me a little tbh.