Microsoft to address unrecoverable Xbox Live Gamertag issue. Future fix to make dormant Hotmail replaceable

Lost Gamertag? Game Over

Microsoft’s Major Nelson has addressed the unrecoverable Xbox Live Gamertag issue with a post discussing what the company has in the works to address the problem.

The problem deals with an Xbox 360 players worst nightmare, the chance that they could lose not only their GamerTag but all their Achievements, their GamerScore and the friends that go with it.

If you haven’t heard of this before, here is a breakdown of the issue:

“In the rare case that you DO NOT sign in to Xbox.com or another website that uses Windows LIVE ID (like Hotmail) it is possible that your Windows LIVE ID expires (goes dormant.) An Xbox LIVE Gamertag is unrecoverable from the system only when the associated Windows Live ID has become dormant and the Gamertag has been deleted from all Xbox 360 consoles. Members with dormant Windows Live IDs can continue to enjoy the benefits of their Xbox LIVE Gamertags on their Xbox 360 consoles, including earning Achievements; however, they will not be able to use their expired Windows Live IDs for activities such as account management on Xbox.com.

It is important to note that an Xbox LIVE Gamertag is unrecoverable from the system only when the associated Windows Live ID has become dormant and the Gamertag has been deleted from all Xbox 360 consoles.”

And here is Major Nelson discussing what they recommend and what they will do about it:

What you can do to prevent having any problems:
“We recommend that people log into their Windows Live ID on Xbox.com or Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web at least once every four months.’

What we’re doing
:
“We are actively working on an update that will allow you to link your Gamertag to a new Windows Live ID if one becomes dormant.”

If anyone should have an issue regarding their Xbox 360 or Xbox LIVE account should visit xbox.com/support so we can assist you.

* Thanks to Hybrid039 for the image.