If your gamertag is saddled with a Hotmail or MSN email address, you may know of the unbreakable bond between them. Discovered long ago, it is impossible to associate your gamertag with a new email address if your Windows Live ID was automatically created by a Microsoft site like Hotmail or MSN. Before, it was a minor annoyance, as it forced many to maintain an email address they had long since abandoned. Now, with the release of Live Messenger integration on the 360, it's become a serious nuisance.
See, if you want to use Live Messenger, you have to sign up using the email address associated with your gamertag. What's that you say? Your Live Messenger account is set up through a different email address? Mine too! Now I and many others are stuck with the awkward task of migrating contact lists from their active Live Messenger accounts to their inactive Live ID email address. In other words, many will find themselves with separate Messenger accounts for PC and 360 (or revert back to one that they never use). Put simply, it's asinine and it needs to be fixed.
Now that we've said our piece, we should mention that Microsoft is, in fact, working on a solution. Major Nelson posted a quick FAQ about the update specifically mentioning this problem. According to him, a future release (sooner than the Fall Update we hope) should allow anyone to change the email address associated with their gamertag. The sooner the better, because we're sure there are thousands of unfortunate souls ready to put their Hotmail addresses to pasture (where they can frolic and collect spam).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-09-2007 @ 2:38PM
natef said...
I hope they find a solution soon, my gamertag is associated with a Live ID with my school e-mail address. I graduated and do not want to use that address anymore (that and I use a hotmail address for all my real Live ID stuff)
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5-09-2007 @ 2:41PM
SourSamoMK said...
This is just one of the problems with Live's billing system;
For whatever reason, Live thinks that I live in the US, even though my 360, live subscription, Windows Live Messenger account, and hotmail account state I live in Canada.
Because of this mistake, that they claim CANNOT be changed, I will not be able to renew my live subscrption, I cannot purchase Live points cards and use them with my main account, and may lose my US account once they start restricting accounts from other regions.
Why oh why would they not allow you to change the country you live in ?!
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5-09-2007 @ 2:51PM
Pinhead said...
I foresaw this problem as soon as it was announced. This idea of MS to tie everything to a single live account is stupid. I will definitely not be migrating my friends to a new account and sending them all requests again. I just set up an MSN account for the one tied to my gamertag, and right now i have a single guy on there. I can't friggin' win!
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5-09-2007 @ 2:57PM
Tony said...
I think I read something on Major Nelson about them looking into fixing this. I don't know why they can't just have a main account for your 360 and all the others can act as subaccounts... what's the difference?
Personally, I don't use it so it doesn't bother me much... lol
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5-09-2007 @ 2:58PM
andres 360 said...
that, and the IM wont work if you are under 18. WTF M$? I wanna IM on my 360 dammit!
I hear some people are having problems with the 360 categorizing them as younger that 18, even if they are not.
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5-09-2007 @ 3:04PM
Dan said...
This problem is only for people whose MSN account is at hotmail.com, msn.com or at passport.com. For people that have it associated with their old work/gmail/school/yahoo/etc account, you can change your account email address and login name at https://accountservices.passport.net/uiChangeName.srf
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5-09-2007 @ 3:10PM
James said...
Hey, those bitching about IM not working if you're under 18 -- at least they didn't take the Wii approach to "child" safety, and leave out any semblance of a coherent online service altogether.
(And I'm not trolling -- I'm a Wii owner, happy to have my little local-play-only Paper Mario machine.)
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5-09-2007 @ 3:18PM
RetepNamenots said...
When Microsoft announced this, the first thing I did was to post on the xbox.com forums and ask them about this. I now have a choice: Either use my gamertag on my old Live address (Yes, the one with no contacts), or create another Xbox Live account with my WLMessenger email address.
The trouble then is that I won't be able to chat to friends in game, unless I use two controllers - one for my main account, the other for talking on MSN. Talk about making things more awkward than they need to be.
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5-09-2007 @ 3:25PM
Matt said...
Yeah this is totally lame. My Gt is tied to a hotmail account I made back in middle school (I am now 23). Hotmail is garbage and that's why I stopped using it like 4 years ago. They better fix this soon.
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5-09-2007 @ 3:36PM
Declan Lynch said...
As comment #2 mentions the country issue is a BIG problem that MS just ignore. I immigrated from Ireland to the USA. My XBL account is irish so soon I won't be able to renew it or even access the Irish marketplace.
I'd like for MS to change it to a USA account, associate it with me USA creditcard and give me access to the USA marketplace so I can spend more money with them. But no, they just ignore the issue and state that accounts can;t be changed.
Come on MS, people do immigrate you know.
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5-09-2007 @ 4:04PM
jm6k said...
Why not have just ONE email? Do you seriously have a need to change your email once a year? What, are you a girl? Do you need to match your shoes and your dress with you email account. Give me a break. Stop whining...
I've been using the same email since 1996.
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5-09-2007 @ 4:38PM
Sinnix said...
See, what gets me is that I changed the email that my live account was tied to a couple of years ago. This *used* to be possible I don't understand why no one can do it anymore.
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5-09-2007 @ 4:47PM
Insomnious said...
If they do ever change this, I suggest picking an email address that you want to keep for a while, such as your name or whatever, and choose a decent, lengthy password. Then, link your gamertag, create an Windows Live ID, etc. etc. Problem solved, much less confusing, and everythings connected in one place.
For example, with my Gmail address, I have it linked to my gamertag, windows live ID, billing address, along with everything I do online (shopping banking etc.). I can sign into Live Messenger, Xbox.com, Bungie.net and pretty mucy any Microsoft site and don't have to worry about all the above problems.
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5-09-2007 @ 4:57PM
Jason said...
@11&12
what's this you say?....
one global email account??
blasphemy!!!
since when did this place allow common sense?!!
away with your talk of intelligent acts, and let us return to crying over completely inconsequential things!
--J
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5-09-2007 @ 4:58PM
Kompressor said...
good thing I don't use windows live messenger
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5-09-2007 @ 5:22PM
Tom said...
Well jm6k, the problem with that is sometimes people have email accounts for services that expire, no longer exist, or just aren't appealing anymore. I switched from AOL to Hotmail like 8 years ago, then from Hotmail to Gmail about 3 years ago. Gmail is in my opinion a superior service.
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5-09-2007 @ 5:24PM
MidnightSlade said...
There are bigger problems, like one poster mentioned.
If you made your LIVE account when you were under 18, and are either still are a minor or have since become a legal adult, youre still consider a child account and cant even use this feature! Worst still is that tech says you can't change a child account to an adult account despite age.
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5-09-2007 @ 5:31PM
anoopsnoopaloop said...
it's complete nonsense. i spent ages trying to figure out how to change it today once i got the update. i've given up now.
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5-09-2007 @ 5:38PM
Jedimonkey said...
The thing that gets me is I can only be logged into Live Messenger on one device at a time, so either my 360 or my PC. Until they put the keyboard out, or I but a wireless one, I cant see a use for it, except to see when people sign on, then i get up and go sign onto my pc...they should allow the 360 messenger to be completely seperate, so we can log into it and the ones on our pc
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5-09-2007 @ 6:00PM
Knuckles Dawson said...
[email protected] is Timeless, and I will never need a new Live ID. Ever.
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