Xbox 360 Users Losing Accounts, Achievements Due to Expired E-Mail Addresses

by Chris Faylor, Feb 18, 2009 10:17am PST

Related Topics – xbox 360, Microsoft, Xbox Live

Problems stemming from expired e-mail addresses have led to a small number of Xbox 360 users being forced to create new Xbox Live accounts if they wish to play online, reports GamesIndustry.biz.

The issue emerges if the e-mail linked to one's Windows Live ID, such as Hotmail, expires. Windows Live Hotmail accounts are disabled after 120 days of inactivity.

Upon its expiration, the e-mail address is deleted along with any linked Xbox Live accounts, apparently leaving holders unable to change the linked Windows Live ID or purchase an Xbox Live Gold subscription in order to play online.

However, they are still able to download items from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Microsoft is investigating the problem, but at present, the only solution is to make a new Xbox Live account using your "preferred email address"--which leaves users starting anew without their friends list, achievements, and history of downloaded content.

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Comments

11 Threads | 43 Comments

#3

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By: airrob x Show Full Post

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I wish I could change my Live account to use a different email address. I never use my @hotmail address except for my Xbox account.

Feb 18, 2009 10:43am PST

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I wish I could change my Live account to use a different email address. I never use my @hotmail address e... : airrob
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
- http://support.xbox.com/support/en/us/xbox360/XboxLive/MyAccount/ManageMyAccount/SwitchWindowsLiveID.aspx : Chris Faylor
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  You can change the email address the Live account uses, but the login will still be the old address. : Arcanum
  - my live email address has been changed, and it changed the login too [at least for the one I log on to li... : captfarrell

#15

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By: Smurfy12 x Show Full Post

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Is it just me or does Xbox Live seem to have a disturbing frequency of problems?

Feb 18, 2009 11:50am PST

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Is it just me or does Xbox Live seem to have a disturbing frequency of problems? : Smurfy12
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 7 replies.

#31

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By: LeeMon x Show Full Post

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Just to be clear here: Does logging onto Xbox Live count as one of the ways to keep the account active?

Feb 18, 2009 2:42pm PST

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Just to be clear here: Does logging onto Xbox Live count as one of the ways to keep the account active? : LeeMon
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
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  "Yes" according to a post below. Thanks. : LeeMon
  - Yes, it keeps your windows live ID active, however you email address can expire; causing the same problem... : flamesbane

#13

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By: tomahawk360 x Show Full Post

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A few months ago I created a new Windows Live ID w/ my Gmail address, as I had decided to dump my Hotmail address after not having used it in forever... and re-associated my XBL account w/ the new Windows Live ID. After reading this, man I'm glad I did that. I'd recommend everyone do that too... it's pretty simple.

Feb 18, 2009 11:19am PST

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A few months ago I created a new Windows Live ID w/ my Gmail address, as I had decided to dump my Hotmail... : tomahawk360
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 8 replies.
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  Actually, this can still happen with your gmail account. Your gmail becomes a Windows live ID, which mean... : flamesbane
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    I'm not sure that's the issue... sounds like a Hotmail problem, to me. Hopefully Microsoft will address ... : tomahawk360
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      While hotmail is what the article is referring to the same problem can occur even if you are not using a ... : flamesbane
      
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      Ah, that's lame and needs to be fixed. If you're using XBL regularly though, and the console signs into ... : tomahawk360
      
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      Yeah, as long as you are logging on to xbox live with your console that counts as account activity. : flamesbane
      
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      So why would these folks have the problem they are having if they were signing onto Xbox Live from their ... : tomahawk360
      
      Their Hotmail address is expiring. The actual email address @hotmail.com also expires after 120 days of a... : flamesbane

#17

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By: Odacom x Show Full Post

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Yeah their system is hosered, my original Xbox died many years back, (had a gold live account).
Got the new box this last summer, wanted to use my original gamer tag, but they said since the account had expired it was locked and unretrievable. Even though I had all the info; gamertag, password, email access. I had absolutely confirmed my id, but nothing they could do.
I joked with the supervisor about to bad they didn't know a good software company that could write code so they could be reactivated, as opposed to expired and unusable.

Feb 18, 2009 12:23pm PST

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Yeah their system is hosered, my original Xbox died many years back, (had a gold live account). Got the ... : Odacom
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 5 replies.
- HAHAH! : matrixneo42
- I had the same problem, and my "nudel" Xbox Live account was only 2 days past the "locked and expired for... : nudel
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  Man, you really showed them. : vital3d
  - On the telephone. : Endymion_

#1

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By: Kristian Joensen x Show Full Post

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So in other words users of one Microsoft product(Xbox Live) get in trouble for using another Microsoft product(Hotmail).

Feb 18, 2009 10:38am PST

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So in other words users of one Microsoft product(Xbox Live) get in trouble for using another Microsoft pr... : Kristian Joensen
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
- I'm not sure I understand; can you please elaborate? : boring gegtik
- Technically, the reason it happens is because they are NOT using hotmail. ;) : BioSector
- In other words, no you're wrong. : hoov1185

#6

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By: Stucky_101 x Show Full Post

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I'm curious what exactly they mean by 120 days of inactivity. Meaning you don't log on for 120 days or you don't receive or send a single message for 120 days? If it is the second one then a solution for people who don't use the Windows Live Account besides for Xbox Live could sign the email address up for a shit load of newsletters, as long as the newsletters keep sending you useless junk you'd stay active (maybe). I think that's what happened with my account, cause I haven't logged onto it for ages and its still going strong.

Feb 18, 2009 10:54am PST

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I'm curious what exactly they mean by 120 days of inactivity. Meaning you don't log on for 120 days or yo... : Stucky_101
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 6 replies.
- log in. : Chris Faylor
- As long as you long into any live service it counts. That includes sites like bungie.net, and xbox.com, o... : flamesbane
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  Perhaps a simple solution for some people is just to make it one of your home tabs, or to setup a monthly... : matrixneo42
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    The simpler solution would be for Microsoft to fix the problem, one that should have never occurred in th... : flamesbane
    - insanity : binaryc

#26

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By: SinistarX x Show Full Post

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I now consider this a secondary benefit of Zune Pass. I have to log in every 30 days to re-certify the sub on my Zune, and it's all tied to Live ID, so I've not run into this problem.

Feb 18, 2009 1:05pm PST

I now consider this a secondary benefit of Zune Pass. I have to log in every 30 days to re-certify the su... : SinistarX

#9

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By: kodt x Show Full Post

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My steam account is linked to a yahoo account for some stupid reason so I have to go in and keep it active every so often.

...that reminds me

Feb 18, 2009 11:14am PST

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My steam account is linked to a yahoo account for some stupid reason so I have to go in and keep it activ... : kodt
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
- change email address? : Bumpmapped
- I thought yahoo just deactivated the account, but didn't delete it. I had an address I hadn't used in ... : House

#16

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By: MaxPete82 x Show Full Post

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First sentence should read "have led", not "have lead".

Feb 18, 2009 12:18pm PST

First sentence should read "have led", not "have lead". : MaxPete82

#2

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By: Luminair x Show Full Post

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all of the different microsoft user ids have not integrated perfectly well, and this is one sign of that. I personally logged into one microsoft site recently with one microsoft email because it said you could, but once I logged in only some of the services worked and I needed to click a "log in" button to enter the id again, but it cycled back around and didn't work, so I would have to create another microsoft email to use with this microsoft email to log into this service. good time

Feb 18, 2009 10:42am PST

all of the different microsoft user ids have not integrated perfectly well, and this is one sign of that.... : Luminair

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