Permanent 0x800704cf error after changing email alias on Microsoft account?

Scott Downard · Jan 23, 2023

Hello all. A few years ago, I changed the email that I use for my Microsoft account. After this change, I always get the 0x800704cf error code whenever I try to use that account to login to any form of Microsoft owned apps, for example, Microsoft store, Xbox app, Minecraft launcher, etc. I got onto a live text chat and phone call with a Microsoft support agent and they were convinced that it was a network issue with my pc that was not allowing me to sign in. So I created a new email and Microsoft account to test whether it was a account specific issue, which it was, as I was able to login to the Microsoft store instantly with the new account, but still was unable with my primary account. Though during this communication with the Microsoft support agent he had my try to ping microsoft.com using the windows 10 command prompt, which failed four times. So I really don't know what the problem could be at this point. I really do not want to have to convert to a new Microsoft account since I have spent the last 10 or so years with this one and have a good deal of money invested into the games and property associated with it. If anyone has come across this issue I would love to hear a response, no ways I have looked up to solve this error code fix my problem, and I am not even sure it accurately represents what my issue could be.

:)

Miguel Molina O

Hi, and thanks for reaching out. My name is Miguel O., Sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue!

The 0x800704cf error message typically indicates that there is a problem with the Windows Firewall.

This error can occur when attempting to access certain features or services, such as Windows Update or the Microsoft Store, after making changes to your Microsoft account, such as changing your email alias.

One common solution to this issue is to reset the Windows Firewall to its default settings. You can do this by going to the Control Panel, selecting "System and Security," then "Windows Firewall," and clicking on the "Restore defaults" button.

Alternatively, you may try to change the settings of your firewall to allow the feature or service that you are trying to use.

If your problem persists or the problem is fixed please let me know!

Give back to the Community. Help the next person who has this issue by indicating if this reply solved your problem. Click Yes or No below.

Mister Getafix

Heya!

To change the email you would want to follow the
alias change guide. Keep in mind removing an alias can permanently delete it.

Follow these steps and let us know how that goes.

XBF Leo G

Hello wolfeboy1,

Thanks for posting on the Xbox forums. We understand that you are interested in learning more about keeping an alias after removing it as the primary alias, and you would like to make your Gmail account the primary alias. The email address will remain
on the account as a secondary alias after you remove it from the primary alias slot. Once you

change the primary alias on the Gmail account, you will still see your old email address on the list. If the old email address is a Microsoft email address like @outlook or @live and it's removed, the email address will be deleted permanently and cannot
be reclaimed after it is removed. You can assign a third-party email address to another Microsoft account.

In order for you to use your Gmail account as the primary alias of another Microsoft account, you need to remove it from the account when it is a secondary alias. This means removing it as the primary alias from the Microsoft account that has it. The
article we provided explains more about completing the process, and what's involved with it. We hope this information helps wolfeboy1!

XBF Eladio M

Hey Kind

Thank you for replying.

If you change the alias, you will only be changing what email you use to sign in to the account. You can add another alias to your account and use that as the Primary alias
as long as this is not already associated with another Microsoft account.

Additionally, as long as the email does not belong to a Microsoft domain [MSN, Hotmail, Outlook, Xboxfamily, etc] you can also remove that email from the account as well to have only your email or phone used to sign in to the account with all the games.
[If your account was originally created using Microsoft domain, and you remove this from the alias list, you will delete that email permanently so be careful.]

Changing the alias also will not change how emails are received to the original email of the account.

I hope this helps clear up any further confusion.

XBF Leo G

Hello AlanMacielBR,

Thank you for posting on the Xbox forums. We understand that you are interested in learning how you can move an Xbox profile from one Microsoft account to another. At the moment, this feature is not available for Microsoft account. The only option is
to change the primary email address(primary alias) of the Microsoft account that has your Xbox profile. The account owner must

change the primary alias of the account that has your Xbox profile to the intended email address. The account owner can then use the previous email address by adding it as a primary alias to a different Microsoft account. However, If you remove an alias
that's an email address from a Microsoft domain (like @hotmail.com, @live.com, @outlook.com, or @msn.com), you're permanently deleting the alias and it can't be associated with any Microsoft account again. We hope this information helps AlanMacielBR!

Permanent 0x800704cf error after changing email alias on Microsoft account?