Many PS4 units dead on arrival • Hacker News Board

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#21

Post by lucisferre » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 7:44 PM UTC

floatingatoll wrote: post #13

simias wrote: post #10

The problem with those reviews is those whose console is working are not complaining. Are there any hard numbers on the proportion of dead consoles? Have Sony commented on this issue?

As of right now, there are 323 1-star reviews. Sony sold "81,639" PS3 consoles on that unit's launch day. So if Amazon shipped 81,639 PS 4 consoles, this would be a failure rate of 4.0 units per 1000, or 0.4%. Microsoft noted at one point during the Xbox 360 launch that the industry standard failure rate was between 3 and 5%. Presuming that same 3-5% is the failure rate for the PS4, and that 100% of DOA customers pos…

You're also assuming everyone with a dead unit bothered to post a review

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#22

Post by kosei » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 7:46 PM UTC

floatingatoll wrote: post #13

simias wrote: post #10

The problem with those reviews is those whose console is working are not complaining. Are there any hard numbers on the proportion of dead consoles? Have Sony commented on this issue?

As of right now, there are 323 1-star reviews. Sony sold "81,639" PS3 consoles on that unit's launch day. So if Amazon shipped 81,639 PS 4 consoles, this would be a failure rate of 4.0 units per 1000, or 0.4%. Microsoft noted at one point during the Xbox 360 launch that the industry standard failure rate was between 3 and 5%. Presuming that same 3-5% is the failure rate for the PS4, and that 100% of DOA customers pos…

Also, no way that 100% of bad orders came in and have a review. The old rubric was that for every vocal complaining customer (forums, reviews, etc) there are 7-10 in the wings not complaining. So I would say that you can't really draw conclusions simply based on the reviews, unless you want to inflate them by an order of magnitude.

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#23

Post by viseztrance » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 7:53 PM UTC

caw wrote: post #17

jonny_eh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the fix?

Kotaku documented it, push down the HDMI pin with something.

Yeah this is the link http://kotaku.com/good-news-about-our-once-broken-ps4-146481...

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#24

Post by Negitivefrags » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 7:54 PM UTC

floatingatoll wrote: post #13

simias wrote: post #10

The problem with those reviews is those whose console is working are not complaining. Are there any hard numbers on the proportion of dead consoles? Have Sony commented on this issue?

As of right now, there are 323 1-star reviews. Sony sold "81,639" PS3 consoles on that unit's launch day. So if Amazon shipped 81,639 PS 4 consoles, this would be a failure rate of 4.0 units per 1000, or 0.4%. Microsoft noted at one point during the Xbox 360 launch that the industry standard failure rate was between 3 and 5%. Presuming that same 3-5% is the failure rate for the PS4, and that 100% of DOA customers pos…

I'm quite surprised you came to that number given this announcement by sony.

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/PS4-Failure-Rate-0-4-Says-S...

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#25

Post by vonskippy » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 7:56 PM UTC

So rushing to stand on the cutting edge might result in bloody feet - whoda thunk it?

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#26

Post by frogpelt » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 7:58 PM UTC

barista wrote: post #8

minimaxir wrote: post #5

I read a comment earlier that made a good point that unlike the console launches of the previous generation in 2004-2006, we now have access to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to vocalize and demonstrate our complaints worldwide. It makes the vocal minority much more vocal.

If you clicked on the link above, you will see that nearly 40% of the Amazon reviews are 1*. There is a good chance that most of those people received a dead PS4. Agree that not everybody who received a good PS4 left a positive review but this certainly does not make it looks like a minority.

The people who received working PS4s are playing them.

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#27

Post by mtsmithhn » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 8:01 PM UTC

Don't they do burn-in tests on consoles so they know it works before it ships?

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#28

Post by thetrb » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 8:02 PM UTC

I find it interesting that as of now with 516 5 star reviews and 332 1 star reviews (and very few 2, 3 or 4 star reviews) the average still shows up as 3.5 stars. It's interesting since the lowest value possible is 1, so more realistically it's not 3.5/5 but 2.5/4. I'm wondering if this makes a psychological difference and if less people would buy something on amazon if they changed their rating system to go from 0 - 4 stars.

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#29

Post by gigq » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 8:03 PM UTC

There appears to be multiple issues going on that are probably all being filed under the console being bricked. HDMI seems to be causing problems where the console won't show a picture but everything internally is still working. There is also a safe mode you can go into that is fixing the issue for some. And finally there are some that are really just bricked which is probably accurate to the 0.4% rate that Sony claimed.

Also FWIW I received one from Amazon and everything worked fine out of the box.

Re: Many PS4 units dead on arrival

#30

Post by gigq » Sat, Nov 16, 2013, 8:04 PM UTC

gigq wrote: post #29

There appears to be multiple issues going on that are probably all being filed under the console being bricked. HDMI seems to be causing problems where the console won't show a picture but everything internally is still working. There is also a safe mode you can go into that is fixing the issue for some. And finally there are some that are really just bricked which is probably accurate to the 0.4% rate that Sony clai…

From an Amazon review:

You can return it to Amazon or Call Sony @ 1(800)345-7669 to schedule a replacement. Mine is broken like everyone elses.

If your console light turns white (and doesn't get stuck at pulsating blue), it could be the HDMI cable or connection issue. Fix with a pin (see Kotaku's article).

If it stays blue and pulsates, try safe mode (turn off system completely, then hold down power for 10 sec and wait till you hear beeps). From here Sony can help you troubleshoot if you wanted to call in. If it wont even boot to safe mode, it's bricked. You can try to troubleshoot on your own if you're adventurous: 1. Hold down power button until the unit powers off and the light goes out. This took about 10 seconds. 2. From power off, enter Safe Mode by holding down the power button until you hear beeps. Release power button after the second beep. The Safe Mode menu will appear with a list of options. 3. Select Option 4 to restore PS4 to factory defaults. Once it's done, the system will restart. 4. In our case, after the reboot, the PS4 automatically entered Safe Mode. This time, they had us select Option 6 to Initialize the PS4. Note that by doing this, you will lose profiles and settings so just be aware that you are basically starting over. Once it's done, the system will restart. 5. When the PS4 comes back up, it will take you through the initial setup again as if it's being booted for the first time.

If you can't get the PS4 to boot into safe mode, it's not your HDMI port. it's an internal issue and you'll have to send it to Sony to be fixed.