Ive literally never had thise issues unless there was server issues, as for the hardware problems: could be how they were handled durning the shipping process. I work in retail/shipping and recieving and would suggest that you just go return/exchange your c9nsole for another instead of dealing with it and then making a blanket statement. As for your party issues it could be an unstable internet connection; as in try hard-wiring your xbox from the router to the console, try moving the router to a different location as the materials used to make your home might interfere with wifi.