FYI - Don't let the email account tied to your Live gamertag expire

[Queasy]

Reports are popping up all over gaming sites that if you have an email account that expires due to inactivity (happens with hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc) your gamertag gets purged as well....even if you changed the email address associated with your gamertag <GULP>. This means your achievements, game saves, and everything that is associated with your gamertag goes down the memory hole never to return.

GamesIndustry.biz has the latest update from MS on this:

UPDATE: Microsoft issued this statement in response to a request for comment on the problem: "We are investigating this issue and don't have any further comment to make right now. Any consumer with any issues regarding their Xbox 360 or Xbox Live account should visit xbox.com/support or call their country's customer support number."

 

[oznerol]

You lose your game saves and achievements? I doubt it.

Probably can't go online anymore, but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use your account locally.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: ducci
You lose your game saves and achievements? I doubt it.

Probably can't go online anymore, but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use your account locally.

A Microsoft customer services representative confirmed the problem, apologising and adding: "The only alternative is to set up a new Gamertag with your preferred email address."

She added that there was no way around the problem, and that any achievement points gained were non-transferable, and would therefore be lost - despite any user affected still having an accurate, up-to-date profile existing on their own Xbox 360 hard drive.

Create a new profile and you lose your game saves. Furthermore:

GamesIndustry.biz has confirmed the problem exists with a relatively small percentage of users, and while the issue does not prevent gamers from playing offline with a Silver membership, it will prevent them from upgrading at any time to Gold status, effectively blocking any ongoing online multiplayer activity - one of the facets which made the service so popular in the first place.

 

[oznerol]

I understand. But again, that is just for online connectivity. I can use my gamertag just fine without being connected to the internet - so whether or not it is "valid" to Microsoft doesn't really matter. You just won't be able to connect to Live again. It won't affect game saves at all. And I can still collect achievement points locally.

 

[Queasy]

Fair enough but a large appeal of the gamertag is the online functionality that you lose if your email address expires.

In any case, this was just an FYI post to remind everyone not to let the email address associated with their Live ID/Gamertag expire so that they don't have to deal with this inconvenience.

 

[RedRooster]

Originally posted by: ducci
I understand. But again, that is just for online connectivity. I can use my gamertag just fine without being connected to the internet - so whether or not it is "valid" to Microsoft doesn't really matter. You just won't be able to connect to Live again. It won't affect game saves at all. And I can still collect achievement points locally.

So what good is that if you can't whip them out online and show them off? I'd probably care 75% less about my achievements if I was using my XBox offline all the time. Not that I care much about them now, but it'd still suck to lose them.
This issue sounds wierd, quite an oversight.

 

[CKDragon]

I've always meant to change my email address associated with my XBL account. It's a hotmail account that I check about once a year. But even changing the association wouldn't save me?

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: CKDragon
I've always meant to change my email address associated with my XBL account. It's a hotmail account that I check about once a year. But even changing the association wouldn't save me?

That's what it sounds like. Luckily for me I have live going through my gmail account that should be active for quite some time yet. My yahoo account only remains active because of fantasy football though.

 

[JoPh]

umm i havent used my email in like 5 years. my account is fine so far.

 

[JoPh]

well which account////

the one my xbox uses for billing or the one i use to sign into windows live or what ever that is called..

they are diff different emails for me.

 

[tatteredpotato]

They REALLY need the option to change the email address your GT is associated with.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: JoPh
well which account////

the one my xbox uses for billing or the one i use to sign into windows live or what ever that is called..

they are diff different emails for me.

The one associated with your Live ID. Live ID ties to your gamertag.

 

[Thraxen]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: JoPh
well which account////

the one my xbox uses for billing or the one i use to sign into windows live or what ever that is called..

they are diff different emails for me.

The one associated with your Live ID. Live ID ties to your gamertag.

Wait... so what about this: Link

I did this a while back and now I sign in with a different email.