Xbox Live – Some Test Results
Having seen the banhammer going nuts these last couple of weeks, it was inevatble that the speculation about how and why – some comments being smart and calculated, some being positivley stupid.
However out of shear curiosity we figured we'd throw our own speculation into the wind and share with you a couple of tests we did that showed interesting results (but by all means conclusive). Remember – this is SPECULATION !
Scenario: 4 Xbox's. Unused – all Liteon 74580C (March 2009).
Box 1: Connect virgin to Live. Let it do all the latest live updates. Flash to iXtreme v1.6. No backup games.
Box 2: Connect virgin to Live. Let it do all the latest live updates. Flash to iXtreme v1.6. Play Fifa 10 backup (abgx verified).
Box 3: Flash to iXtreme v1.6 out of the box. Connect to live. Let it do all the latest live updates. No backup games.
Box 4: Flash to iXtreme v1.6 out of the box. Connect to live. Let it do all the latest live updates. Play Fifa 10 backup (abgx verified).
Results after 1 week.
Box 1: Still on Live.
Box 2: Still on Live.
Box 3: Banned ?
Box 4: Banned ???
Interesting ?
45 Responses to “Xbox Live – Some Test Results”
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Interesting.. From what I see the ones updated first then updating by live were banned first.. I still play my 360 legit but interesting topics around here
Okay, with this information, it seems
the way around not getting your console banned would be everyime live needs an update, flash back to original firmware, install updates, and flash back to ixtreme.
Yes, I wonder if during the update process they are somehow able to read the current firmware on the dvd drive and reports back to MS. If this only happens during the update process, then you would be correct to assume that we should all flash back to stock, update, then reflash to protect ourselves. I bet you're onto something. Now i'm worrying about if I updated my xbox before or after the latest update and when I did my flash.. Not sure! But I will flash back to stock to be safe before that update comes just in case.
Are the first two still online???
Yes they are. MW2 ownz
Imo, I think the other 2 will eventually get banned if you are running them exactly like described. You updated with cd or traditional way through xbox live?
Both thru live – they are both being played on every day waiting for the ban – not happened yet.
R they still on live if so can u please update us every few days or so. Thanx
This is the best test I have seen so far about bans.
It's very important beacuse it proofs that THEY CHECK EACH CONSOLE ONCE. That's why it's very hard to catch what they are checking. ( maybe they will repeat that test in future but for now it doesn't matter)
There will be second conclusion if team explain "No backup games" for BOX3:
1) no backups and played originals
2) no backups and no originals (no dvd played at all)
If we know that it resolves problem when the check is performed (boot console or DVD usage).
As of today (Nov 19 2009) are either of the first two consoles banned yet? If not, roughly how long have you had them flashed and playing games?
Still going strong
Just wondering why u used 1.6 and not 1.61 is the new F/W not trustworthy
If you have v1.61 for Liteon please share it :p
Still not banned on the box 1 and box 2?
Still going.
Good stuff, makes for an interesting read
Have you tried playing any other backups?? Try a Wave 4 game? Is it still going? Thanks, all this info is great!
He already has tried a Wave 4 game – Modern Warfare 2.
It should be clear (it is to me at least) that Microsoft can detect modified firmware now, but the findings in this article suggest that they only try to detect it during an update (as evidenced by Box 1 and 2).
Does this mean we can flash our drives with cfw, and when an update comes along, we flash back to stock, update, and then flash back to cfw?
I think that seems logical if you read between the lines and ignore the huge ammounts of misimformation thats floating around I think box 1 and 2 prove that it may be just as simple as not flashing fw till after doing xbl update, but thats only till they come up with somethin else to get ya… WE B DA MOUSE THEY B DA CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
box 1 and 2 still going?
im asuming box 1 and 2 got banned per no post. ya?
No ban – still going strong
Well I guess I will contribute…heres my story.
My 360 was flashed in early 2008.
My friends 360 I flashed 2 weeks before the new WPA update, (which is what made MS be able to detect the fw.)
I flashed my other friends xbox right after he received that update. Me and my friend got banned shortly after that update (about a day after I flashed my other friends box), but my other friend that had his box flashed after the update is still not banned, its been about a month! I bought a new 360, flashed it about 2 weeks ago (after update). Am I banned? nope.
What does all this mean?
It simply means that MS has found a way to 'detect' the firmware with updates. So if you buy a new 360 and plan to flash it, do it AFTER you receive the latest updates or else you are asking to be banned!
don't forget also that certain games include dash updates. you can find out if the disc you have holds an update by right clicking 'my computer' and opening the burned dvd. there are a few that i know of including ufc 2009 and dragon age: origins.
hi, after some deep research i came across people saying the samsun drive isnt detectable plus playing bad rip and wave 4 game
Absolute Garbage. Your "deep" research was fruitless.
Just wondering if box 1 & 2 are still going?
Still going yes
Ok i just got a new (used) 360 with benq and performed all updates and then flash to 1.61… Playing live on mw2.. So far no ban
Nice experiment, really good info for the future.
Although it wasn't in a controlled environment like your test. I had to update two previously flashed boxes a samsung drive and a liteon v83 using the d/l disc/cd on M$'s website (http://download.microsoft.com/download/D/1/8/D181EE58-DE70-4484-936B-0E9161CCD6B2/$SystemUpdate_Fall08_7363.zip)because of router issues at my house so we could play MW2.
Since then both boxes have been on Live playing on a regular basis and have not yet been banned.
I don't know if its necessarily conclusive, but it seems like updating off line using the CD might be semi-safe VS live updates which seem to be where M$ was banning according to your test.
Just wondering if anyone has had the same results or if I was just lucky?
Hey guys, boxes still going?
Yes. You can all stop asking if they are still going – i'll post if they get banned
co30cop, I will try flashing a 360 using the method that you spoke of and post my results too. Thanks for the information all.
10-4 lil buddy. I flashed my BenQ, ill also inform if any bans.
Somethings wrong here, from ALOT of evidence that shows it was the updates that ban people theres still something i dont understand…. Ive had my xbox for 4 years nearly (2006 model) and ive had it flashed for about 3 months. Anyway what im geting at is i update it all the time, i updated it on the day everyone got banned and guess what, I DIDNT GET BANNED…. btw i got 1.52 firmware on a hitachi 59DJ
any explination or am i just in with the luck
i ment 1.51 firmware btw
Have you used the activation disc ?
Great Discovery !
its now january 2000 and ten lol
are the 2 boxes still going strong?
Yes
what about game updates/patches. for example a Modern Warfare 2 patch. Do you think its safe to do those minor updates with the custom firmware ?
are the xbox still up?
and does game update count or just console update?
Are you still running this test?
Are the Xboxes still unbanned with 1.6?
Xecuter: Both still unbanned – however one of them was updated to LT v1.1 the other day and yes still working.
Running a Liteon & Benq both with LT. (Managed to miss the whole Benq LT 1.0 fiasco as I had a RROD take that system out of commission)
My question is with LT, is it a good idea to still flash back to stock or is it so well written that it'll pass any scrutiny M$ could put it through. I know it's all a guess, even at this point but this is hands-down the most conclusive information I've read on the topic. While I'm sure it's better to be safe than sorry, I don't want to flash if I don't have to. Any insight is greatly appreciated and thanks for all of your hard work Xecuter.
Forgot to mention my post was in regards to the 4/6/10 update for USB support.
I've already flashed back my Lite-On to stock & plan to update it first.
Are You still Running Strong with your LT 1.1 firmware? Just got a new Benq Q Xbox Looking to flash. Thanks