toblix Posted May 18, 2011 I've always felt the link between my Windows Live account and my Xbox gamer tag has been flimsy, but now it seems it has finally broken. I tried logging on to live.xbox.com today, which (naturally) takes me to the live.com login page. I log in with my username, which ends in @gmail.com, and I'm told I have to change the name to something ending in @live.no. So I do that, and suddenly my gamer tag is this SqualidCougar09. I start to panic, thinking Microsoft has overwritten my hundreds of points with this lame new thing, and I log out and try to log in with my old @gmail account. No dice. Log in again with @live.no, and SqualidCougar09 it is. I turn on the Xbox and see that my gamer tag is still connected to my @gmail.com account, but I can't change it, because it won't accept my password. I curse on Twitter and then ask @XboxSupport for help. They answer after three minutes, which I guess is impressive, but by then I've already sort of fixed it. I think. I can't recall the exact steps I took, but it was something to do with clicking the "I forgot my password" button and entering my old account name. Anyway, the moral is: don't fucking touch your Xbox account data or anything connected to it. If you do, maybe SqualidCougar10 will be you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted May 18, 2011 Strange, I just logged in with my Gmail account no problems. It didn't ask me to change it to a .live account or anything like that. Weird! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sno Posted May 19, 2011 Some more specific details about what happened would be interesting to hear, this sounds like a very curious and odd incident. Almost might be worth it for you to inquire further about this on Microsoft's support forums for Live. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miffy495 Posted May 19, 2011 I have to say that if you're going to get stuck with an arbitrarily assigned name, SqualidCougar is a pretty great one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twmac Posted May 19, 2011 My ex-housemate is now vendible bunion because of a similar mishap and my other ex-housemate chose a randomnly generated name when prompted and has now been Appalling Frog for the last 3 months. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nappi Posted May 19, 2011 Now I know where Ubuntu gets its bizarre code names. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toblix Posted September 24, 2012 I just realised I'm going to have to go through this again when reinstalling Windows 8. Account merging is some seriously scary shit, especially when its tied up to your credit card, and especially especially when its tied up to your gamer5 sc4re. I'm having an almost similar situtation with my iPhone – I have an account with my @gmail.com address that I use for the iTunes store, and has all my purchases associated with it. Then I have the @me.com address that I use for iCloud synchronisation. Oh, and I also ran into the fucking incredible thing that Amazon does, that never fails to amaze people when they first hear: they allow duplicate accounts with the same email, but with different passwords. That's right, asshole. You can actually get the error message: «You have already logged in with an account with this name, but with a different password. Click on this button to switch accounts, and maybe try to merge them, and we'll fuck up all your Kindle books and your order history, and you'll never be able to use Amazon again.» Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted September 24, 2012 This is exactly why I've fought so hard against Facebook's attempts to merge with every other account on the planet. One unified account doesn't make things easier, it just makes it so that a one error can fuck your internet experience forever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
