PS3 3.0 killed my Blu-Ray drive.

October 1, 2009 12:15 PM

PS3 firmware 3.0 killed my Blu-Ray drive (as I and many others see it). Need help figuring out how to get this taken care of.

I don't use my PS3 that often, never had a problem reading discs, I did the mandatory update to 3.0 (mandatory if I want to play games online etc.) and suddenly my PS3 starts crashing when playing disc games and eventually just won't read any BD discs.
The same thing has happened to many other people (official PS3 forums, official blog commets, gaming and gadget blogs, etc.) but it just hit the wires today that Sony is claiming no responsibility and saying that a firmware update can't screw up a Blu-Ray drive.
My PS3 is out of warranty, I did purchase it with a credit card that gives extended warranty coverage but in order to make a claim I need the receipt which I apparently lost.
Even though they currently are taking no responsibility, is there anything I can cite where a company is still responsible if their firmware screws up hardware even if it is out of warranty?
There is no way I am paying $169 CDN for a repair with a 3 month warranty on it when for all I know the Blu-Ray drive will just fail again due to something in this new firmware.
Please save the "it was just a coincidence that your PS3 failed when 3.0 came out". I've heard that enough from the Sony fanboys.
Please offer me some advice based on the assumption that this firmware is in fact the culprit.

posted by GleepGlop to technology (11 comments total)

I do not advocate doing this, BUT, lots of people return busted xbox 360s by buying a new one, then returning the broken one in the box. Most stores will get it sent back to the factory, and then that's that.

But that is kind of a dick move!
posted by CharlesV42 at 12:35 PM on October 1 [1 favorite]

If it was the firmware that killed the drive, and this happened to many people, then I would imagine another firmware update will be arriving shortly and should fix the problem. If I were you I would hang tight for a bit.
posted by modernnomad at 12:37 PM on October 1

Your options are pretty well limited to the following:

1: Buy a new PS3.
2: Pay to get your PS3 fixed.
3: Take Sony to court yourself.
4: Convince a lawyer to take the case as a class-action suit.

is there anything I can cite where a company is still responsible if their firmware screws up hardware even if it is out of warranty

To do this you would need to show that it was the firmware. This would require the source code to the firmware, the source code to the larger system (esp. the code for how firmware updates work), and an expert on the Cell architecture and the rest of the PS3 hardware and firmware to testify that there were the following specific problems in the firmware code... Good luck.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:45 PM on October 1

Even though they currently are taking no responsibility, is there anything I can cite where a company is still responsible if their firmware screws up hardware even if it is out of warranty?

Coincidentally, the recent 4.2 Wii update supposedly bricked some Wiis, and Nintendo is offering to repair those Wiis (if they're unmodded) free of charge, even if they're out of warranty. Of course, in that case Nintendo seems to be willing to take responsibility on a case-by-case basis.

I have a PS3 with the 3.0 firmware upgrade (though I chose not to download the optional 3.01 update) and have seen no problems. Perhaps a specific model is more suspectible to malfunction--you might have more of a case with Sony if it turns out that all of the damaged PS3s are launch models, etc. But I don't see how you can compel Sony to repair the system if they're unwilling to take responsibility.
posted by Prospero at 12:52 PM on October 1

modernnomad: that was my plan to wait for the next update until today when I got the news that they have officially denied any fault. Now as I see it there is little hope of the next update fixing the problem and it is time to act. (This thread is already on page 1 of google for 'PS3 3.0 blu-ray' < Woohoo!
posted by GleepGlop at 1:02 PM on October 1

There was a more recent optional update that supposedly fixed issues with some game(s?) that were messed up by 3.0. While I don't think it addressed anything to do with playing movies, it seems you've nothing to lose from giving it a shot.
posted by juv3nal at 2:13 PM on October 1

juv3nal: Gave it a shot. Didn't fix anything.
posted by GleepGlop at 3:03 PM on October 1

Lots of people return busted xbox 360s by buying a new one, then returning the broken one in the box.

I returned a PS3 to the store (normally) and they carefully recorded the serial numbers of the unit returning and the unit leaving. The serial also appears on both sales receipts.

So at this store, anyway (Best Buy), I don't see how the above fraud could even happen.
posted by rokusan at 12:50 AM on October 2

This story is starting to get at least a little media exposure. It appears that most of the people affected had 60GB launch players.
posted by Prospero at 5:05 AM on October 2

Just realized it wont even load DVD's. Sony just lost a customer for life unless they make this right.
posted by GleepGlop at 9:49 AM on October 2

For anyone still reading this thread: this has given rise to a class-action suit.
posted by Prospero at 5:08 AM on October 6