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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft by a consumer who claims the wireless Microsoft-brand Xbox One controllers are defective.
Plaintiff Donald McFadden says that the potentiometer within the controller contains a design flaw where the joystick registers “phantom input” or “stick drift,” which thwarts accurate gameplay.
The Xbox controller class action lawsuitstates that Microsoft markets and manufactures these controllers as superior devices without disclosing that there is a joystick defect that interferes with proper game functioning.
He says that gamers who purchased these controllers paid more than what the product was worth and more than they would pay if they were without defects.
McFadden lives in New York and claims to be an avid gamer, owning multiple Microsoft gaming products, including special edition versions of the standard controller, as well as the Elite controller.
The plaintiff says that after learning about the Elite controller, he purchased one at a GameStop. He claims that he has always been careful with the Elite controller, placing it back on the charger when he was finished with it, and once a week wiping it with a cloth after playing to remove his fingerprints from the matte finish.
McFadden claims that he started to notice that the joystick on the controller started to drift, causing movement without his input. He says that the interference was so great that he purchased another Elite controller for a cost of $160.
The second controller started having the same problems as the first one, he states, and he spent a considerable amount of time attempting to fix the defect on his own. He says that this was unsuccessful and even ordered a repair kit off of Amazon to help him manually fix his first controller.
McFadden maintains that he would not have purchased the Elite controllers if he had known about the defect. Instead, he states that he would have purchased a less expensive controller that would have allowed him to play his games without the defects impeding his ability to enjoy his games.
He alleges if Microsoft would fix the defects in the Elite controllers, he would purchase another one.
The Xbox class action lawsuit asserts that the defendant has been made aware of the defect via online consumer complaints beginning as early as 2014.
In addition, the plaintiff states that Microsoft has also been aware of the defect due to its own records of complaints and warranty requests.
Even though Microsoft allegedly had knowledge of the defects within the controllers, the Xbox class action lawsuit complains that the defendant refuses to repair the controllers without charge. McFadden states that the warranty on the controllers is just 90 days.
“As a result of Defendant’s unfair, deceptive, and/or fraudulent business practices, owners of wireless, Microsoft-brand Xbox One controllers, including Plaintiff, have suffered an ascertainable loss,” the Microsoft Xbox class action lawsuit proclaims.
McFadden says that as a result of the defendant’s deceptive conduct, the plaintiff and putative Class Members have paid more for the Xbox controllers than what they are worth and more than what they would have had Microsoft disclosed the defect.
The plaintiff states that a simple Google search about the stick drift defect reveals multiple forum and message board posts from consumers complaining about the defect. In addition, McFadden mentions numerous YouTube videos of users who attempted to fix the defect on their own.
Gamers have also posted numerous complaints about the defect in Microsoft’s own forums, which indicate that the defendant has been aware of the stick drift for many years, the Xbox class action lawsuit maintains.
Common questions of law and fact in this class action lawsuit include: 1) whether the Xbox controllers are defective; 2) whether the defect is material to a reasonable consumer; 3) whether the defendant had knowledge of the defect; and 4) whether the defendant has violated consumer protection statutes.
“Defendant engaged in materially misleading acts and practices by marketing and representing their wireless Xbox controllers were functional, superior products that enhanced gameplay while failing to disclose a significant defect causes stick drift,” the Xbox class action lawsuit goes on to say.
McFadden states that video gamers are concerned about the functionality of their controllers as video games cannot be played without them. The defendant’s failure to disclose the defect within the controllers caused substantial injury to consumers.
“To market and price a controller as a superior, platform-enhancing product while concealing the joystick contains a defect that interferes with gameplay is unethical and unscrupulous,” says the Xbox class action lawsuit.
Prospective Class Members include: “All persons in the United States who bought any model of a wireless, Microsoft brand, Xbox One controller.”
Do you own an Xbox controller that is defective? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Cynthia Heidelberg of Breskin Johnson & Townsend PLLC and Nicholas A. Migliaccio and Jason S. Rathod of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP.
The Xbox Controller Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Donald McFadden v. Microsoft Corp., Case No. 2:20-cv-00640, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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1,082 thoughts onXbox One Class Action Alleges Controller Defect
Sadly my RB button is now very unresponsive. I paid 180 USD just for a part to go bad in 4 months… and the only way I can fix it is for me to pay Microsoft 90 more dollars to fix it.. unbelievable
We have one of their Elite Controllers. Saved up for months because we don’t have a lot to spend on games and such, bought it for my husband as a late anniversary present. He’s been having the drifting issues since he bought it and now, it’s so bad, he can’t even use it to play games like Halo or Call of Duty. Totally disappointed!
My son had several controllers with an RB issue. He recently purchased a build-your-own on the Xbox site for $100 and two months after he had it the RB button went bad. I didn’t realize it how fast time goes cuz you only have three months but with the virus our lives were in havoc. It was about 2 weeks over the 3-month date and they left my twelve-year-old who saved every last penny he had blowing in the wind with a broken controller.
I have 3 controllers with this problem. Cost of repair makes purchasing new ones more advantageous. I would welcome information on joining a class action.
Have you heard back?
I have 2 almost brand new Xbox One controllers (not elite’s), that have less than 5 hours of play time on each that BOTH have severe stick drift issues. Seeing as though both of these controllers (which are only used when I have guests over), are out of warranty, MS said there was nothing they could do for me. Is there a way to join this class action lawsuit?
Thank you,
Jeffrey
Two Microsoft Xbox one controllers have mic jack issues. Both are defective and this is apparently a known common issue with many models. The recommended solutions are to repair or replace the jacks entirely which involves taking the controllers apart, purchase an adapter which is almost as expensive or more expensive that the controllers themselves, jam a toothpick or piece of material inside the jack to tighten the fit (not recommended) or replace the controllers all together which doesn’t guarantee that u are not going to receive a defective replacement. Very frustrating
I purchased my Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 back in June of 2020. In the 6 months that has passed, it has developed a stick drift issue, that has only gotten worse as time has gone on. It’s now at the point where I can’t even play my favorite game without it interfering with my controls. I started to look into getting it replaced through my still active warranty, and whenever I go to finish the repair request, it logs me out of my account. Logging back in makes you start the entire process all over again, just to kick you out of your account again upon attempting to submit the repair request. I spent 200 dollars on this controller, thinking that I would be getting something of high quality. The fact that here I am, dealing with an issue like this, dealing with the problems that I am, has me absolutely fuming. I would expect much better from a company with the caliber of Microsoft.
I too bought an Elite series 2 less than a year ago and it is now useless due to the right bumper. $190 down the drain
Right bumper not working. Defective.
Here is the message I am trying to convey to microsoft regarding my very bad shopping experience on their online store (sorry for the bad translation):
In order to quickly give you the background:
– Purchase of an Elite S2 controller returned 3 days after its receipt following a key operation problem that you know and for which you have extended the controller warranty (that already personally for me is not normal to market an item for which there are defects).
– Receipt of the replacement controller: once again a problem with the mechanics of the keys was observed. Call to the after-sales service for explanation: 7 hours of waiting and calling in different departments to ultimately still have no solutions but answers. The replacement controller is a reconditioned controller and a refund was possible within 30 days of course I was never offered it.
– 180 Euro a used controller? Are you kidding?
– I was walked around for over a week with queues of over an hour sometimes only to get hung up on me. I was even put together a scenario with a telephone appointment for a file that would have been raised to the next level in order to have a refund and on the day of the scheduled appointment you can imagine that I was never contacted again and found out that it was all bogus. I am more than 8 hours away from communicating with your services to try to find a solution.
– Request for a commercial gesture: someone hangs up on me.
– In the end, a file created (n ° 15 11 31 95 72) to the customer service with an email for making an appointment fixed by your employee. Obviously, the time for the meeting had arrived, I was never called back. And of course I have never received any satisfaction surveys after my calls, easy to only give them when everything is going well …
Do you think this is all normal?