The gamertag I want to switch to has numbers even though no one else is using it

This is the new way for gamertags. When you change Gamertag you will have no choice but to have the 4 digits at the back of it.

If you still have a XBox360 you can use the 360 and do a gamertag change on there and achieve what you want.

wrong, you can indeed get a unique name without the #numbers but it has to be unique and not in use anywhere and 12 characters or less.

This is the new way for gamertags. When you change Gamertag you will have no choice but to have the 4 digits at the back of it.

If you still have a XBox360 you can use the 360 and do a gamertag change on there and achieve what you want.

Hi GhostPhoenix319,

It is likely those gamertag’s are linked to Microsoft accounts and therefore just because they don’t have points, doesn’t mean they are not active as an example could be that someone would still need a gamertag if they used an Xbox console as a media hub.
I know people who don’t game but use the Xbox like this and use the MS/Xbox store to rent and buy movies.

Check out this Gamertag update FAQ for more information about the changes that were made to the gamertag system.

You gotta remember that when searching for a name you HAVE to have the exact spelling

So ghost phoenix or GHost Phoenix could be a name for all you know but no it wont show up unless you use the EXACT context of the way the user spells it

Hence why you cant find it

Unless you actually know the person its their private info

And no noone can help you find the exact context beyond ten trys and it can be among millions of different combos

Plain names are hard to come by

This is why you either use unique spelling or accept the suffix

Check this out, hope it helps.

Xbox Support

https://support.xbox.com/help/account-profile/profile/gamertag-update-faq