Finally, it is official: Microsoft has admitted that all of the 11.6 million faulty XBox 360s sold over the last 19 months, are, erm, faulty.

According to Microsoft, every single one of these consoles suffer from a fundamental design flaw that could lead to the machine failing. The afflicted affected simply call it the “three flashing red lights.”

Rather than doing a general recall or an exchange, Microsoft will be extending the warranty coverage from the current one year to three years to compensate instead. Under this new warranty, Microsoft says it will pay repair and cover shipping costs for any machine that suffers from this problem for up to three years after the purchase date.

Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division elaborates:

We’ve had to do a lot of investigation work and testing to understand it’s a combination of things, not one error.

Bach blamed the problem on Microsoft’s own hardware design rather than its suppliers.

All two million units of the XBox 360s in stock will also be upgraded to circumvent the flaw.

You can read more on this from The Australian.

Alternatively, you can check out what TechRepublican Shawn Morton has to say about his experiences in Microsoft extends Xbox 360 warranty… just in time.

Do share your XBox 360 experience here also.