Effective as of December 22nd, 2006, Microsoft has changed the warranty period of the Xbox 360. This applies retroactively to all previous owners as well.

As the new warranty policy is retroactive, consumers that may have already paid for out-of-warranty Xbox 360 repair within one year of the console's purchase will be eligible for reimbursement of their console repair charges.

"Our number one priority for the Xbox 360 is customer satisfaction," said Jeff Bell, Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. "Now, in addition to Xbox 360 offering features such as jaw-dropping high definition graphics, an amazing variety of more than 160 games, and social online and entertainment experiences found on Xbox Live, this warranty upgrade is an exclamation at the end of an already compelling home entertainment offering."

Customers who have already paid for repairs within their first year of ownership can expect reimbursement checks for the amount of their console hardware repair in approximately 10 weeks. These will be automatically distributed, so customers do not need to proactively contact Microsoft.