Bumpgate: Difference between revisions

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{{Placeholder box|Change this section's title to be descriptive of the incident.

Impartial and complete description of the events, including actions taken by the company, and the timeline of the incident coming to the public's attention.}}Bumpgate was a ~~widespread~~ issue for any consumer that purchased these defective graphics processors. However, it's not fully clear who was the most responsible for the incident. Building a GPU is a specialized process that requires it to go through multiple ~~hands~~ before ultimately ending up with the company that sells the unit (i.e., Microsoft, Sony, etc.).

Impartial and complete description of the events, including actions taken by the company, and the timeline of the incident coming to the public's attention.}}Bumpgate was a worldwide issue for any consumer that purchased these defective graphics processors. However, it's not fully clear who was the most responsible for the incident. Building a GPU is a specialized process that requires it to go through multiple partner companies before ultimately ending up with the company that sells the unit (i.e., Microsoft, Sony, etc.). With this in mind, it is still important to note the response of each of the companies that were the public faces involved in this incident.

===Company responses===

{{Placeholder box|If applicable, add the proposed solution to the issues by the companies.}}

=== Microsoft ===

==== Microsoft's Response - The "Red Ring of Death" ====

~~[Red Ring~~, ~~response~~ to ~~RRoD (FULL timeline~~ of ~~events)]~~

In November 2005, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 with the ATI Xenos GPU. According to leaked internal Microsoft documents from the time, 1.2 million 360s shipped out to consumers by November 30th, 2005. 3% of customers had some type of issue with their system. Out of that 3%, 19% had three flashing red rings, and 24% had freezing problems.

~~=== Sony ===~~

Therefore, 43% of consumers shortly after launch had these familiar symptoms to retro console enthusiasts: the "Red Ring of Death"- which is what consumers around the world called the Xbox 360's Bumpgate-related fault. However, "three flashing red rings" on the Xbox 360 simply means "core digital error"- in other words, a general hardware failure. As it takes multiple power-on cycles to cause a failure in the solder bumps, it is unlikely that these systems were failing specifically because of the Bumpgate defect. 56% of systems worked on the first try, and after component reworks, that number improved to 71%. Only 200,000 consoles went to what Microsoft termed "the bonepile", a collection of broken consoles that did not work after a component rework. However, it is also worth noting that some afflicted Xbox 360s will work again after a "reflow"- which is effectively redoing all of the components on the motherboard at once. In addition, Microsoft wasn't aware that the "Red Ring of Death" was a specific widespread problem yet, so they would not have been taking major note of consoles with a GPU problem. At the height of the Bumpgate-related defect, approximately 600,000 to one million Xbox 360s were suffering from the "Red Ring of Death".

~~[Yellow Light~~, ~~response~~ to ~~YLoD~~...]

=== Nvidia ===

For several months, Microsoft had consumers pay to repair their consoles. However, in 2007, they chose to extend the warranty for Xbox 360 consoles displaying an E74 error (an on-screen error also associated with "Red Ring of Death") from one year from date of purchase, to three years from date of purchase. This allowed most consumers who had consoles with the issue to get their consoles refurbished. In addition, they refunded any consumers who had paid to have their afflicted systems repaired.

Microsoft primarily seemed to have done this to protect the Xbox brand. The Xbox 360 was only their second console, and the original Xbox hadn't done as well as they'd hoped it would. Microsoft confirmed this in Chapter 5 of their 2021 documentary, Power On: The Story of Xbox.

By 2009, the cause of the issue was confirmed to be "within the components"- the low Tg underfill. ATI and Microsoft completely fixed the issue in Xbox 360s made after this point.

==== Sony's Response - The "Yellow Light of Death" ====

In November 2006, Sony released the PlayStation 3. Like the Xbox 360, the early models of PlayStation 3 had what consumers believe to be Bumpgate-related issues with their Nvidia RSX GPU. Sony never issued a recall, or extended warranty for these systems; consumers had to pay out of their own pocket to get them repaired. Because this was due to a defect, however, many consumers who did so only ended up having their console break again some time after. They quietly fixed the issue around the same time that Microsoft did for the Xbox 360, so "slim" revisions and newer were not affected. Specifically, it was only 90nm GPUs that had low Tg underfill- and hence, the defect.

As of 2025, Sony has never made a statement confirming that "Yellow Light of Death", their likely Bumpgate-related issue, was a widespread problem in early PlayStation 3 models. The only reason that consumers know that the RSX was likely afflicted by Bumpgate is thanks to console repair and modding enthusiasts- who had to do extensive research to find out the true cause of the problem.<ref>{{Cite web |last=RIP Felix |first= |date=23 Dec 2022 |title=A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7WTNwAX0c |url-status=live |access-date=2 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref> It was clear from the timeline- what systems have been observed to be reliable or unreliable revisions- as well as tests performed by console repair and modding enthusiasts (such as "poking" the underfill on suspected bad GPUs with a soldering iron) that it was a Bumpgate-related defect.

==== Nvidia's Response ====

[Discuss initial response. Briefly touch on the lawsuit; there's a dedicated section below]

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{{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}}[General Consumer Response (frustration at/satisfaction with Microsoft, Sony, etc.)]

=== Misdiagnosis/Poor Repair of Faults ===

=== Xbox 360/Microsoft Consumer response ===

At first, consumers were angry at Microsoft. During the months that Microsoft would not acknowledge the widespread "Red Ring of Death", consumers felt as if they'd been scammed and made a bad investment. However, when Microsoft extended the warranty on Xbox 360s experiencing an E74 error to three years after purchase, consumer sentiment improved. After Microsoft's explanation and confirmation of the exact issue that caused the "Red Ring of Death" in Power On: The Story of Xbox, many consumers who remembered dealing with this issue felt further validated. The release of this information also helped enthusiasts learn more about how to fix the issue not only in early Xbox 360s, but even in Sony's early PlayStation 3 systems.

===Misdiagnosis/Poor Repair of Faults===

There was a lot of speculation among affected consumers as to why so many GPUs were failing, and theories tended to vary between communities for devices. For example, consumers who purchased an Xbox 360 thought that the issue was related to the console overheating, or it was due to RoHS requiring Microsoft to use lead-free solder balls to connect the Xenos GPU to the motherboard. Some PlayStation 3 owners were convinced for some time that the fault wasn't even related to their RSX GPU, but rather, the NEC-Tokin capacitors surrounding it. The lack of clarity from manufacturers in what was really causing the fault led many retro console and repair enthusiasts to make bad choices in how to repair their machines.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 {{Placeholder box|Change this section's title to be descriptive of the incident.
-Impartial and complete description of the events, including actions taken by the company, and the timeline of the incident coming to the public's attention.}}Bumpgate was a widespread issue for any consumer that purchased these defective graphics processors. However, it's not fully clear who was the most responsible for the incident. Building a GPU is a specialized process that requires it to go through multiple hands before ultimately ending up with the company that sells the unit (i.e., Microsoft, Sony, etc.).
+Impartial and complete description of the events, including actions taken by the company, and the timeline of the incident coming to the public's attention.}}Bumpgate was a worldwide issue for any consumer that purchased these defective graphics processors. However, it's not fully clear who was the most responsible for the incident. Building a GPU is a specialized process that requires it to go through multiple partner companies before ultimately ending up with the company that sells the unit (i.e., Microsoft, Sony, etc.). With this in mind, it is still important to note the response of each of the companies that were the public faces involved in this incident.
 ===Company responses===
 {{Placeholder box|If applicable, add the proposed solution to the issues by the companies.}}
-=== Microsoft ===
+==== Microsoft's Response - The "Red Ring of Death" ====
-[Red Ring, response to RRoD (FULL timeline of events)]
+In November 2005, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 with the ATI Xenos GPU. According to leaked internal Microsoft documents from the time, 1.2 million 360s shipped out to consumers by November 30th, 2005. 3% of customers had some type of issue with their system. Out of that 3%, 19% had three flashing red rings, and 24% had freezing problems.
-=== Sony ===
+Therefore, 43% of consumers shortly after launch had these familiar symptoms to retro console enthusiasts: the "Red Ring of Death"- which is what consumers around the world called the Xbox 360's Bumpgate-related fault. However, "three flashing red rings" on the Xbox 360 simply means "core digital error"- in other words, a general hardware failure. As it takes multiple power-on cycles to cause a failure in the solder bumps, it is unlikely that these systems were failing specifically because of the Bumpgate defect. 56% of systems worked on the first try, and after component reworks, that number improved to 71%. Only 200,000 consoles went to what Microsoft termed "the bonepile", a collection of broken consoles that did not work after a component rework. However, it is also worth noting that some afflicted Xbox 360s will work again after a "reflow"- which is effectively redoing all of the components on the motherboard at once. In addition, Microsoft wasn't aware that the "Red Ring of Death" was a specific widespread problem yet, so they would not have been taking major note of consoles with a GPU problem. At the height of the Bumpgate-related defect, approximately 600,000 to one million Xbox 360s were suffering from the "Red Ring of Death".
-[Yellow Light, response to YLoD...]
-=== Nvidia ===
+For several months, Microsoft had consumers pay to repair their consoles. However, in 2007, they chose to extend the warranty for Xbox 360 consoles displaying an E74 error (an on-screen error also associated with "Red Ring of Death") from one year from date of purchase, to three years from date of purchase. This allowed most consumers who had consoles with the issue to get their consoles refurbished. In addition, they refunded any consumers who had paid to have their afflicted systems repaired.<!-- Felix mentions this in the 360 video (see Discussion page), but I need to find a proper source to confirm it. -->
+Microsoft primarily seemed to have done this to protect the Xbox brand. The Xbox 360 was only their second console, and the original Xbox hadn't done as well as they'd hoped it would. Microsoft confirmed this in Chapter 5 of their 2021 documentary, Power On: The Story of Xbox.
+By 2009, the cause of the issue was confirmed to be "within the components"- the low Tg underfill. ATI and Microsoft completely fixed the issue in Xbox 360s made after this point.
+==== Sony's Response - The "Yellow Light of Death" ====
+In November 2006, Sony released the PlayStation 3. Like the Xbox 360, the early models of PlayStation 3 had what consumers believe to be Bumpgate-related issues with their Nvidia RSX GPU. Sony never issued a recall, or extended warranty for these systems; consumers had to pay out of their own pocket to get them repaired. Because this was due to a defect, however, many consumers who did so only ended up having their console break again some time after. They quietly fixed the issue around the same time that Microsoft did for the Xbox 360, so "slim" revisions and newer were not affected. Specifically, it was only 90nm GPUs that had low Tg underfill- and hence, the defect.
+As of 2025, Sony has never made a statement confirming that "Yellow Light of Death", their likely Bumpgate-related issue, was a widespread problem in early PlayStation 3 models. The only reason that consumers know that the RSX was likely afflicted by Bumpgate is thanks to console repair and modding enthusiasts- who had to do extensive research to find out the true cause of the problem.<ref>{{Cite web |last=RIP Felix |first= |date=23 Dec 2022 |title=A PS3 Story: The Yellow Light of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7WTNwAX0c |url-status=live |access-date=2 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref> It was clear from the timeline- what systems have been observed to be reliable or unreliable revisions- as well as tests performed by console repair and modding enthusiasts (such as "poking" the underfill on suspected bad GPUs with a soldering iron) that it was a Bumpgate-related defect.
+==== Nvidia's Response ====
 [Discuss initial response. Briefly touch on the lawsuit; there's a dedicated section below]
@@ Line 44: / Line 54: @@
 {{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}}[General Consumer Response (frustration at/satisfaction with Microsoft, Sony, etc.)]
-=== Misdiagnosis/Poor Repair of Faults ===
+=== Xbox 360/Microsoft Consumer response ===
+At first, consumers were angry at Microsoft. During the months that Microsoft would not acknowledge the widespread "Red Ring of Death", consumers felt as if they'd been scammed and made a bad investment. However, when Microsoft extended the warranty on Xbox 360s experiencing an E74 error to three years after purchase, consumer sentiment improved. After Microsoft's explanation and confirmation of the exact issue that caused the "Red Ring of Death" in Power On: The Story of Xbox, many consumers who remembered dealing with this issue felt further validated. The release of this information also helped enthusiasts learn more about how to fix the issue not only in early Xbox 360s, but even in Sony's early PlayStation 3 systems.
+===Misdiagnosis/Poor Repair of Faults===
 There was a lot of speculation among affected consumers as to why so many GPUs were failing, and theories tended to vary between communities for devices. For example, consumers who purchased an Xbox 360 thought that the issue was related to the console overheating, or it was due to RoHS requiring Microsoft to use lead-free solder balls to connect the Xenos GPU to the motherboard. Some PlayStation 3 owners were convinced for some time that the fault wasn't even related to their RSX GPU, but rather, the NEC-Tokin capacitors surrounding it. The lack of clarity from manufacturers in what was really causing the fault led many retro console and repair enthusiasts to make bad choices in how to repair their machines.