Bumpgate: Difference between revisions

- Leo Del Castillo, member of Xbox's hardware engineering group; ''Power On: The Story of Xbox (2021)''<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Xbox |date=13 Dec 2021 |title=Power On: The Story of Xbox {{!}} Chapter 5: The Red Ring of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2d6IMBS8oY |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/power-on-the-story-of-xbox/The+Story+of+the+Xbox+-+Chapter+5/Power+On+-+The+Story+of+Xbox+-+Chapter+5+-+The+Red+Ring+of+Death.mp4 |archive-date=13 Dec 2021 |access-date=4 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref></blockquote>In November 2005, Microsoft released the Xbox 360, a video game console equipped with an ATI Xenos GPU. According to leaked internal Microsoft documents from the time, 1.2 million units were shipped out to consumers by November 30th, 2005. 3% of customers had some form of technical issue with their systems. Out of that 3%, 19% reported three flashing red rings, and 24% reported the console freezing.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=RIP Felix |date=15 Jan 2024 |title=A 360 Story - The RED Ring of Death & the 7th Generation Console War |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qKtS_uxdcU |url-status=live |access-date=2 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref> This is notable because this indicates that shortly after launch, 43% of consumers had consoles showing symptoms of the now-infamous "Red Ring of Death", a term used universally among consumers the describe the early Xbox 360's common hardware fault confirmed to be caused by Bumpgate.<ref name=":3" /> <!-- I could not find the leaked documents, and I'm not totally sure if citing a leak is okay anyway (even if the info is old), so I chose to just cite Felix's video. -V -->

"Three flashing red rings" on the Xbox 360 simply means "core digital error"- or, a general hardware failure. This error can be triggered by a variety of issues, including GPU failure. A Bumpgate-related malfunction would require multiple power cycles to cause a failure in the solder bumps, but it is not uncommon for consoles to see that during testing before being shipped. It is possible that Bumpgate-affected Xbox 360s with GPU failures were part or even all 43% of those defective consoles, but there is no way to be certain. At initial launch, 200,000 non-functional Xbox 360s were in what Microsoft termed "the bonepile"- systems that they planned to repair and ship out later. Approximately 56% of systems worked on the first attempt after manufacture, and that figure improved to 71% after component reworks. At the peak of the "Red Ring of Death" crisis, some consumers discovered that reflowing the motherboard- a process similar to what Microsoft may have done to improve their yield of working Xbox 360s- they could restore functionality to their console, but this was typically for a limited period that was inconsistent between systems.<ref name=":2" />

At the height of the Bumpgate-related defect, approximately 600,000 to 1,000,000 Xbox 360s had the "Red Ring of Death". For several months, Microsoft charged consumers to repair affected consoles. However, in 2007, Microsoft extended the warranty for Xbox 360 consoles displaying an E74 error (an on-screen error also associated with "Red Ring of Death") from one year to three years from the date of purchase. This extension allowed most impacted consumers to get their consoles refurbished at no additional cost. In addition, Microsoft refunded any consumers who had previously paid for repairs related to this issue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Peter |date=2007 |title=Open Letter From Peter Moore |url=http://xbox.com/en-ca/support/petermooreletter.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023004948/http://xbox.com/en-ca/support/petermooreletter.htm |archive-date=23 Oct 2007 |access-date=4 Jun 2025 |website=Xbox}}</ref> By mid-2008, the cause was confirmed to be an issue "within the components"- the low T_g underfill. After this point, ATI and Microsoft completely fixed this issue in Xbox 360s.

Microsoft appears to have taken this approach to protect the Xbox brand. The Xbox 360 was only the company's second home console, and the original Xbox hadn't performed as well as anticipated. Microsoft confirmed this in Chapter 5 of their 2021 documentary, ''Power On: The Story of Xbox''.<ref name=":3" />

- Ray Maguire, managing director and senior vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in 2009; in a letter responding to a BBC Watchdog segment covering the "Yellow Light of Death".<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=BBC |date=18 Sep 2009 |title=Sony rebuts BBC PlayStation claim |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8263063.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219154020/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8263063.stm |archive-date=19 Feb 2025 |access-date=4 Jun 2025 |website=BBC NEWS}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Matt |date=17 Sep 2009 |title=Sony tackles BBC over 'PS3 failure' report |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sony-tackles-bbc-over-ps3-failure-report |url-status=live |access-date=10 Jun 2025 |website=Gamesindustry.biz}}</ref></blockquote>In November 2006, Sony released the PlayStation 3. Similar to the Xbox 360, the early models of PlayStation 3 had what consumers believe to be a Bumpgate-related defect with its Nvidia-based Reality Synthesizer (RSX) GPU. Many consumers who had purchased early "phat" models with a 90nm GPU experienced critical system failures. PlayStation 3 systems that were exhibiting the issue may freeze suddenly during gameplay and shut off. However, all users affected would find that when attempting to turn their PlayStation 3 back on, the LED power indicator would momentarily turn green, then the system would beep three times while very briefly flashing to a yellow light, then it would continuously blink red without booting the system. This failure was coined by consumers as the "Yellow Light of Death".

A 2009 segment by BBC Watchdog covered the "Yellow Light of Death".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=HelpForPS3 (Reuploader) |last2=BBC |date=17 Dec 2009 |title=Sony PS3 Yellow Light of Death - BBC |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ef8bDQktI |url-status=live |access-date=3 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref> The presenters stated that when viewers contacted Sony about their console malfunctioning, the company simply stated that the issue could have resulted from a variety of possible failures, and pinpointing the cause would require disassembly of the affected system to analyze error codes. This is true; the LED indicators only indicate a general hardware failure, and a proper diagnosis can only be made after checking the PS3's System Controller (Syscon) and checking for error codes.

During the BBC Watchdog segment, one of the interviewees explained that consumers whose systems were outside of the one year warranty period would have to pay £128 (~$173) for a repair, and Sony would only provide customers with a standard three-month post-repair warranty. If the system failed again after that point, they would have to pay out of pocket for another repair. By August 2008, Sony had begun manufacturing consoles with the 65nm RSX<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=R. |date=26 Jun 2008 |title=PS3 graphics chip going 65nm this Fall |url=https://www.engadget.com/2008-06-26-ps3-graphics-chip-going-65nm-this-fall.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924101930/https://www.engadget.com/2008-06-26-ps3-graphics-chip-going-65nm-this-fall.html |archive-date=24 Sep 2021 |access-date=3 Jun 2025 |website=Engadget}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=NVIDIA Playstation 3 GPU 65nm Specs |url=https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/playstation-3-gpu-65nm.c1682 |url-status=live |access-date=3 Jun 2025 |website=TechPowerUp GPU Database}}</ref>, which enthusiasts confirmed does not have the theoretically Bumpgate-related fault.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=RIP Felix |date=9 Jun 2025 |title=A PS3 Story 2: Defending BumpGate Theory |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpjtRjGPLhI |url-status=live |access-date=10 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref> In addition, Sony has successfully repaired consoles by transplanting non-defective GPUs (the 65nm or 40nm RSX) into systems that were originally manufactured with a defective 90nm RSX.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |last=Icferrum |date=2 Feb 2020 |title=Frankenstein PHAT PS3: CECHA with 40nm RSX |url=https://www.psx-place.com/threads/frankenstein-phat-ps3-cecha-with-40nm-rsx.28069/ |url-status=live |access-date=14 Jun 2025 |website=PSX-Place}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mystic |date=9 Apr 2025 |title=Sony's PS3 Upgrade They Never Told You About: Official 40nm RSX Frankenstein Console From Sony |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2abnrOADoCc |url-status=live |access-date=14 Jun 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref> However, consoles repaired prior to Sony implementing this repair policy were highly likely to fail again. In addition, the console would also be reset during the repair, resulting in the loss of any data that was not backed up prior to the failure (i.e., game saves).<ref name=":1" />  

Sony never issued a recall or extended warranty for affected systems; all repair costs were paid by consumers, unless the system failed during the standard one-year warranty period. However, the PS3's fan table accommodated better for the temperature changes that led to failures than the Xbox 360 did, so it took longer for the defect to manifest. Depending on how frequently the console was used, some consumers would not encounter the defect until a few years into owning their console.  

When the 65nm RSX was released in Fall 2008,<ref name=":6" /> the defect that seems to have caused the "Yellow Light of Death" was resolved for the late "phat" PS3 models. PS3 "slim" models and newer revisions were completely unaffected. The timing of this led some consumers<ref name=":4" /> to suspect that Sony had known about the defect and quietly fixed it. This was at the same time that Microsoft was addressing the problems with the Xbox 360, as well as while Nvidia was being confronted for their Bumpgate defect in some of their GPUs (particularly, the G84 and G86).

Notably, the RSX is a customized version of Nvidia's 256MB GeForce 7800 GTX.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shimpi |first=Anand |last2=Wilson |first2=Derek |date=24 Jun 2005 |title=Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PS3 - A Hardware Discussion |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/1719/9 |url-status=live |access-date=16 Jun 2025 |website=AnandTech}}</ref> The GeForce 7 series does have some defective units with low-T_g underfill, but it is unclear if the 7800 GTX is among them. There are no known sources of consumer complaints about the 7800 GTX, and none of the notebook laptops covered by the Nvidia class action lawsuit settlement<ref name=":16" /> seem to have that GPU or a mobile version of it. However, this does not necessarily indicate that there was no defect with the 90nm RSX, that Sony wasn't aware that it was defective, or that the 90nm RSX wasn't at all affected by Bumpgate. Console repair and modding enthusiasts have performed extensive research<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":18">{{Cite web |last=Derf |last2=Nadaman |last3=et al. |date=14 Jun 2025 |title=PlayStation 3 - Buying Guide |url=https://consolemods.org/wiki/PS3:Buying_Guide#PlayStation_3_%22Fat/Phat%22_(2006-2009) |url-status=live |access-date=14 Jun 2025 |website=ConsoleMods Wiki}}</ref> and testing<ref name=":14" /> strongly supports the hypothesis that the "Yellow Light of Death" was caused by Bumpgate, and the only way to permanently repair an affected system is to replace the 90nm RSX with a working non-defective unit.

As of 2025, Sony has never made an official statement confirming that the "Yellow Light of Death" was a widespread issue in early PlayStation 3 consoles, nor have they definitively explained that it was linked to Bumpgate.