Why do we still not have a way to move Xbox Gamertag to a different Microsoft Account?

Kristopher Ganzel · Sep 28, 2023

Bit of a long post here, but my patience has worn a bit thin on this issue. So I have a gamertag from years before Microsoft Accounts even became a thing, but it's stuck on an email I've never used (and never wanted to use) simply because of the stupid forced Microsoft Account integration that was a bit too easy to screw up with no option to fix it afterwards. I don't even remember the details on how it happened, but somehow the Microsoft Account I wanted to use (the one I'm making this post with) had a random Xbox gamertag automatically generated upon signing into a new Xbox (I believe the Xbox One) before I could link my existing gamertag, and it's been stuck that way ever since.

Regardless, since then I have been forced to have two separate Microsoft accounts for absolutely no logical reason. Why do we still not have a way to fix this in 2023? I keep seeing the explanation in various posts that it's "for security reasons", but this explanation frankly isn't good enough. First, WHAT security reasons? Think about this for a moment: Hypothetically, if someone wants access to my Xbox Gamertag that badly, how is the inability to move a gamertag to a new account going to stop them? Wouldn't they just resort to stealing the entire Microsoft Account instead? I mean honestly, If we had the option to move the Gamertag to a new MS account, I cannot imagine a scenario where someone would go through the (presumably) rigorous process of getting access to my Microsoft account only to go "Alright, we've got the gamertag. Better leave the rest of the account alone, though, that stuff's sacred." And not having the option to transfer them isn't really deterring anyone from attempting to steal MS accounts anyway, so who exactly is this option (or lack thereof) serving?

I mean, you can just make the process for moving the gamertags as absurdly difficult as the current account recovery process is, or even add additional steps such as requiring photo IDs, or even requiring the two accounts to have all the same user information such as name, phone number, etc. I mean, that's the case with my two MS accounts currently, anyone looking at them from MS' side would very clearly be able to tell that the accounts are owned (and have always been owned) by the same person. You could even get real crazy and add a 30-day waiting period like you do already certain aspects of the account recovery process. I don't know, go nuts, Microsoft!

Okay, rant over. As an aside, does anyone know if the old Xbox 360 trick for fixing this still works? I've gotten so tired of maintaining a second account for what seems to be completely arbitrary policy decisions that I'm tempted to just borrow an old 360 just to fix this, but would prefer to avoid wasting the effort if it won't work anyway. Thanks.

:)

RichieB_

Hello Kristopher Ganzel,

We haven't heard from you in 72 hours, so we will consider your issue resolved. If you do need further help, please create a new thread to discuss your concerns through this link: Create a new question or start a discussion (microsoft.com), as we will not be monitoring this thread going forward.

Thank you for understanding.

Regards,

Microsoft Community Moderator

RichieB_

Hi Kristopher Ganzel,

Greetings!

Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community.

We understand that you need help with your gamertag and recovery process. We truly understand how frustrating this can be, that there is not option to transfer a gamertag from one account to another. However, You can keep your current gamertag with zero change in experience, and no suffix will be attached. Anyone else who chooses the same gamertag as yours will have a suffix added to distinguish them from you. Learn more:Xbox gamertag FAQ | Xbox Support

For your Xbox 360 concern, I'd like to ask further details about your concern of your Xbox 360. So, that I can give you an accurate troubleshooting .

You may check these helpful troubleshooting steps that might help you with your concern.
Learn more:
- Troubleshoot your Xbox 360 network connection | Xbox Support
- Troubleshoot your Xbox 360 hard drive | Xbox Support
- Troubleshoot Xbox Live content problems on Xbox 360 | Xbox Support

I hope this information help you with your concern. We look forward for your response.

Cheers,

Microsoft Community Moderator

maxen

You're in a fairly old thread right now...

That aside, it is actually in the instructions on how to do do this.

support.xbox.com/.../switch-gamertag-to-different-microsoft-account

[quote user=""]

You can move a gamertag to a different Microsoft account only once every 30 days.

This includes new gamertags downloaded from Xbox Live.
If you try to move a gamertag before 30 days have passed since the last time you moved it, you’ll get the following error message:

Sorry, we can't change your Microsoft account right now.

[/quote]

WPAK

Hi,

this limitation is mentioned on this link:
support.xbox.com/.../switch-gamertag-to-different-microsoft-account

The following is specified at the conditions for the current Microsoft Account

"The gamertag has not been moved within the last 30 days. If you try to move a gamertag before 30 days have passed since the last time you moved it, you’ll get the error “Sorry, we can't change your Microsoft account right now."

So if the account was only downloaded to the console a few days ago, that most likely is the cause why you can't move the profile to a different Microsoft Account at this moment.

WPAK

Hi there,

the only way to achieve that is to move that 'generated' Gamertag to a different Microsoft Account.

In steps:

1. download that 'generated' Gamertag to the xbox console

2. wait 30 days (A profile can only be moved to a different Microsoft account when it has been for 30 days on a console)

3. move the 'generated' Gamertag to a different Microsoft account

4. move your gamerprofile to the just freed up Microsoft Account

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To download a profile see this link:
support.xbox.com/.../profile-move-delete

To Switch a gamertag to a different Microsoft Account see this link:
support.xbox.com/.../switch-gamertag-to-different-microsoft-account

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Let us know if there are any more questions or results

Why do we still not have a way to move Xbox Gamertag to a different Microsoft Account?