Elite Series 2: A Tale Of Heartbreak

Hello Xbox insiders,

I'm Theo, long time Xbox fanboy. I pre-ordered the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller within hours of the announcement in June last year. I was so excited. Sadly, the experience that has followed has not lived up to my expectations from Xbox. From shipping issues to support gaffs to significant defects, Microsoft has burned a lot of my loyalty and faith in Xbox.

My issues started soon after pre-ordering. I had to move unexpectedly in July last year. I contacted Microsoft Store support soon after the move, hoping to have my shipping address updated (as it wouldn't be shipping until November). After ~3 days of chat, call, and email support (over 4 hours on the phone), it was made explicitly clear to me that the Microsoft Store infrastructure does not support address changes under any condition whatsoever. The majority of the support agents I worked with were as baffled as I was. Thankfully, I still had a friend residing at my old address and was able to get the controller, but man was this a bad start.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I notice my right trigger is a little sticky. I research a bit and see that "sticky buttons" are a common issue with the Elite controller, and that they often get better with time. After the miserable support experience I had getting this controller, I opt to give it time to break in.

Fast forward another 5 months. I had to take a lot of time off of gaming due to personal life circumstances. Then SkaterXL comes out. I am SO excited. Pick up my controller ready to play, and the right trigger is almost entirely stuck. It is clear that there's some internal glue attaching it to the casing. I research a bit more, realize there's a "pad" attached to the trigger internally that sometimes falls off, and the glue underneath is causing my issues.

This seems like the most cut and dry case of a manufacturer defect I can imagine. Poorly applied internal glue causing components to fall out and stick together? Easy fix or replacement, right?

THREE WEEKS of trying to get ahold of Xbox Hardware support later, I finally am able to connect by calling Microsoft Store directly. The first agent I talked to was unhappy with me asking for his name, and he hung up on me. The second associate (Marcus) was much more helpful, but was unable to offer me a repair for any price under $100. He also mentioned that I would have been offered an extended warranty when purchasing from Microsoft, and by not purchasing it, I have made myself liable to the cost of this defect. Fwiw, there was no option whatsoever to purchase that warranty during my preorder. If there was, I would have done it.

Another 1.5 hours of phone calls down, and I'm no closer to having a working controller. Getting it to arrive in the first place was a challenge enough. Getting this defect fixed without spending another $100 seems impossible.

I'm baffled. This controller cost as much as my Xbox. I bought it because I trust Xbox. I trust Microsoft to hold a high quality bar for Xbox products. This controller was made for us, the loyal Xbox customers. The diehards. The ones who care. I feel scammed. I feel betrayed. I feel stupid. If I have to pay $100 to fix a defective $200, I put my trust in the wrong brand.

I don't know what happened, but this isn't the Xbox I knew growing up. This isn't the brand that cared about their loyal fans.

I don't really know how to proceed at this point. Sorry for the rant. I know it's dumb to be heartbroken over a controller. This experience goes deeper though. If a product built for the most loyal Xbox customers can go this poorly, why should I stay an Xbox customer?

tl;dr - Loyal Xbox fan gets Elite S2 preorder shipped to wrong address, gets controller but it's defective, Microsoft won't fix unless I pay $100

submitted by /u/theobrowne
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