Two Microsoft accounts, one WP8 phone

[Sif8]

I've just realized I have one very old XBL account with MS points which were converted into my local currency today. It's like $25. Since I'm not playing X360 games anymore, I'd like to use my balance to pay for WP8 apps.

Unfortunately, I don't use this account anymore, I'm logged in WP8 with different MS account. I can't find the way to use different MS account for the payment. There's also no way to withdraw the money. I can't transfer money between accounts, neither merge them. The only way I could think of, is to log in WP8 with that old account, but as official guidelines stated, I would have to factory reset my phone :shocked: This way I would lost all the apps I've bought with the current account I'm using - which doesn't really worth the extra $25.

Do you guys have any idea how to get my hands on my own money? It just seem stupid to let them expire.

 

[rockstarzzz]

You can't merge two Microsoft accounts at this point. I don't see you being able to use credit for A into B or transferring apps of B into A and then using A permanently. If you have not purchased way too many apps on your current WP8 account, just start using the one with Xbox credits and then get all your apps on A. Forget about account B (WP8 account).

 

[NestorP]

Go to ms mail/ account MAIL SETTINGS > Aliases: manage or choose a primary > and then add/merge one or more ms accounts

 

[Sif8]

Go to ms mail/ account MAIL SETTINGS > Aliases: manage or choose a primary > and then add/merge one or more ms accounts

Thanks, but there is no "merge" option, only "add" and "make primary". I've already tried to add email address I use with the other account as alias but it won't let me. Obviously because that email address is already in use with different account.

 

[rockstarzzz]

You cant merge accounts.

 

[jbjtkbw007]

But I believe you can facilitate the transfer of credit by contact M$, no? I did that once. I had to prove I owned both accounts, but they transferred a subscription from one of my accounts to another that I had added to the wrong account by accident. Perhaps they can do the same for your situation.

 

[AndyCalling]

The money is not linked to your MS account, but to your Xbox account which is then merged with your MS account. As are all your purchases. If you have an Xbox you can link a different Xbox account to your MS account and all will transfer over. Of course, the Xbox account that is currently linked to your MS account will be replaced by the one you are adding. This is great, but only if you have nothing in your current Xbox account, otherwise you will be worse off. This swap can only be done using an Xbox console.

 

[Sif8]

That acutally sounds good, but honestly, they couldn't make it more complicated. I would have to use third temporary MS account for the switch procedure and wait 30 days to complete the whole operation. Peachy. Anyway, I'm not sure what they meant by this note:

When you change to a new Microsoft account, the current funds in your original Microsoft account do not transfer to your new Microsoft account.
(Transfer Your Gamertag to Another Microsoft Account | Change Xbox LIVE Account - Xbox.com)

I guess I would have to try. I need to consider pros and cons first though. That gamertag with money has different locale than I'm actually in. I'm worried about messing up my primary MS account for the WP8.

 

[AndyCalling]

Oh, hold on, that sounds iffy. I know for sure that all purchases (ie. apps and games) are linked to your Xbox account and Xbox points were also. Perhaps the new money based system has the cash attached to the MS account itself?

Check this out with MS before you commit. By the way, you don't need a third MS account to do this. The currently linked Xbox account/id is not deleted when you replace it, just unmerged from your MS account. You can still log in to it from the Xbox pages via the Xbox gamer ID it has.

To give you an idea, I had an old MS account with issues. I made a new account, waited a month, then used a mate's Xbox to transfer my Xbox account to the new MS account. All my points, games, apps etc. for both Windows and phone transferred over as they were part of the Xbox account and not the MS account. Of course, there was no actual cash on the account then, but things have changed in that area. Be sure.

Oh and you are right. This is an unbelievably insane process. It is especially annoying that MS think it is OK to make you buy an Xbox simply to change your account. That's even worse than charging a fee to change your user name on your Xbox account. If you don't have a mate with an Xbox, try picking up an old one at your local pawn shop. Then sell it on again.

My problem is that I still have MS points showing on my account which I cannot spend as that system has been cancelled. I've been waiting about a year for them to be turned in to cash. How did you get this to happen?

 

[Sif8]

My problem is that I still have MS points showing on my account which I cannot spend as that system has been cancelled. I've been waiting about a year for them to be turned in to cash. How did you get this to happen?

Yesterday I've got an email with notification. I guess you would have to wait a little longer.

By the way, you don't need a third MS account to do this.

Actually Xbox support page specifically says that I would have to go around with 3 accounts to make the switch work, because I have another gamertag already linked with my MS account. It need to unlink old one, then link the new one again, hence the 30 days period (see that link above).

Anyway, thanks, this might work but as you said I should check with actual human support first. Xbox console isn't the problem, I still have one, well, two actually (fat and slim), just not playing anymore. I could choose the easy way and buy a game, but having that stupid $25 for apps and pocket games I wouldn't bother try otherwise, is so tempting :grin:

 

[Sif8]

Damn, I'm not familiar with WPC politics here, my 4th post will be approved first before visible. First time I thought, there was just an error while sending the post. There should be two (and third now) in the queue. I hope the right posts will get through =)

I've just checked with Xbox support. Sadly, it won't work.

Funds, achievements and downloaded contents are non-transferable.
Everything is account based.
We don't have the option to merge accounts and their achievements.
this is a security protection to avoid hacking and stealing account's details attached to any account.

EDIT: Oh, I said "stu*id" $25, is that it? xD I'll wait if they approve the post before writing it again.

 

[AndyCalling]

They are correct in that your Xbox account cannot transfer anything to another Xbox account, but we are not talking about doing that. We are talking about 'changing the email address on your Xbox account'. If you approach them from that angle you might get a better answer.

 

[blost]

I finally managed to transfer gametags between MS accounts last August, after first attempting to do so in late February. It's a terrible pain, of which xbox support (they direct you to the forums) can offer no meaningful assistance; their customer service profiles are just spam robots that apologize for your issue and copy/paste 'relevent' info from the FAQ... I know this because after the 30 day window was over for transferring the gametag I didn't want to a new third MS account it still wouldn't let me. I gave it another 2 weeks of failing to go through before inquiring what the issue was with support, and they couldn't tell me anything that I didn't already know. After a couple more months it finally worked, but it was obviously way longer than 30 days...

This is what you need to do to prepare:

• Make a third MS account to transfer your unwanted gametag to if you don't already have one.
• Verify all personal information is identical between all three MS accounts (name, dob, phone no., etc.) it might never let you transfer if there are differences.
• Get a functional xbox as there is no other way to do this.

Now you need to wait 30 days and hope. If it doesn't work, wait another week and try again. Repeat until success.


Lastly, all achievements, Gamerscore, xbox console purchases, and any currency credit on the gametag you are getting rid of will move with the gametag and you will no longer be able to access them from your current MS account. But on the flip you will gain all of those same things associated with the gametag you are moving onto your account. This does not affect purchases made on your phone, as those are tied to your ms account directly (but you will need to reinstall any games you wish to get achievements with after transferring the tag, and possibly even power off your phone once and turn it on again to get everything to sync up) so anything you've bought on your phone obviously stays with you. For the record I had a few dollars (from the point conversion) on my account before the transfer and it moved along with my gametag without a hitch.

Microsoft really went out of their way to make solving this issue way harder than it should have ever been, especially considering everyone on a windows phone gets a randomly generated gametag the moment they play an xbox title on their phone (which is what got me looking into this mess initially...).

Let me know if I missed something, kinda typed this in a hurry. Hopefully it helps some.

 

[AndyCalling]

One difference, when I did this the apps and purchases for my Windows Phone also transferred over with my Xbox account (gamer tag). They certainly were linked to the Xbox account rather than the MS account when I did this last year. My 'Games for Windows Live' purchases and Windows apps were also transferred with my Xbox account. Perhaps that has changed, but it certainly worked before. Keep in mind I was doing this for the opposite reason, to dump my MS account and retain my Xbox account (and purchases). I did this and lost nothing bought on my PC or phone.

Oh, yes, one more thing. If you have a Skype account glued to your MS account and you dump your MS account it can be a pain to detach and retain that. I simply made a new Skype account but you can supposedly ask on the Skype forums to get them to unglue your Skype account.

I agree, I am astonished at how difficult MS have made this basic task.

 

[Sif8]

I would most likely have to wait month or so to finish it while there's a good chance it won't let me, because the the other gamertag was set up in different country than my MS account. Changing locale before those actions will wipe out my balance for sure, as someone mentioned elsewhere. Sweet! I get it, once I put money there, there's no way to withdraw. I have deposited my formal MS points to Xbox gamertag, I would have to spend them there, not on my WP8. I could accept this policy. I'm just saying, it wasn't like that before. They made some changes to protect people from getting robbed, but instead they manage to rob me, kinda. They are so persistent in keeping me safe, that they actually keeping me off my own money.

There are also some other issues I could encounter on the way. It just doesn't seem to worth the effort or the risks anymore. Honestly, I didn't even know I had some balance left there. When the email arrived, I was excited to buy some apps or games for my phone. I'm far past this point now :straight: Maybe I'll change my mind in couple weeks or months and give it another shot.

 

[WP1020]

I have a question similar to this one. But I would like to have two seperate email-adresses linked to one w8-phone that has the same number (since you have to give out your phonenumber with your outlook/hotmail-account. Is this possible?

1. One email-account just for email.
2. One email-account just for windows phone-applications