I paid for a gamertag change, and it changed, except it didn’t. Please, what else can I do?

Radical Highway · Oct 12, 2023

Hello,

I recently paid to change my gamertag, and after some time it has only partially taken effect. The new gamertag correctly appears:

In most games

Everywhere on xbox.com, and other Microsoft services

Everywhere on the Xbox 360

On third party websites that have my Xbox account linked

However, the old, undesired gamertag still appears:

In a small number of games

Everywhere in the Xbox Series X interface, including sign-in, parties, messages, posts, comments, and my profile page

In the Xbox mobile app

Upon viewing my profile in the Xbox app and Series X console, my new gamertag does show up, but underneath the old gamertag, which is displayed more prominently. Attached are some examples—note how both gamertags and my account name are visible to me:

Here is my new gamertag correctly appearing in-game (Forza Horizon 5).

I’ve seen reports of a “double gamertag” due to connection issues, or a “transition period”, but I don’t believe this is the case. I have taken the following steps to force my gamertag to update:

Waiting ten (10) days

Repeatedly signing out and back in on my Series X console

Removing the associated Microsoft account from my Series X and re-downloading it

Clearing persistent storage on my Series X

Physically power cycling my Series X

Ensuring my connection to the Xbox network is stable and secure

The change was done on an Xbox 360. At the time of payment, it was indicated to me that I would receive a replacement gamertag, as opposed to an additional gamertag. After reviewing the “Account & profile” support pages, and the gamertag FAQ, I strongly believe this is not intended behavior. Are there any other avenues I can take to resolve this issue? If not, is it possible for a support member to manually access my account details and remove any reference to the old, undesired gamertag, ensuring that the gamertag change is correctly reflected on my Xbox profile? I’ve confirmed that other players can see the inconsistent nature of my gamertag, and I don’t want to cause any further confusion to others in the community.

Thank you for your time.

:)

kyle_m4496

Hi Radical. My name is Kyle and I'm an independent advisor.

Note that this is a community forum, and unfortunately we don't have access to your account details to assist with this.

Please contact Xbox Support for help: https://support.xbox.com/contact-us

Thanks,
Kyle

NonZeroSum

Hi cemeterycorpse,

If your Gamertag has still not updated to the one you paid for, please contact Xbox Support so they can assist you. They'll be able to confirm the charge for the Gamertag change and confirm whether or not it actually changed.

Regards,

Sportsmans12

I've purchased a gamertag change using prepaid tokens.

I was unable to change my gamertag on Xbox One as any other gamertag name didnt work except for the name I originally had.

Thus I've been charged for Changing the gamertag to exactly what it was before i attempted to change it.

What can I do about this?

d050311a-ffce-4b98-8

Basically what you would have to do is change your GT twice. First change it to something else to free up what you have now. Then change it a second time to re-claim the GT using your preferred spacing an capitalization.

Deleting the MS account will not free up the GT so I would avoid doing that.

Oh, I understand. But can I change the capitalization of the gamertag using the paid name-change?

Smwutches

It's a known glitch that happens every now and then. Unfortunately there is no fix for it except to change your gamertag to something else and then change it back to what you had.

I paid for a gamertag change, and it changed, except it didn’t. Please, what else can I do?