Microsoft Xbox Live Faces Sign-In Issues, Affects Game Access

Apps & Games / Desktop / Windows / Microsoft Xbox Live Faces Sign-In Issues, Affects Game Access
03 Jul 2024

On Tuesday, Microsoft’s Xbox Live service encountered a sign-in issue that lasted well into the afternoon. This problem prevented users from accessing and playing Xbox games on both consoles and PCs.

The error was first identified on the Xbox Live service page at 11:07:00 AM PT, with a subsequent “related issue” acknowledged at 2:38 PM PT. The problem was specifically isolated to the “account and profile” section of the status page.

At the time of reporting, the service page stated, “You may not be able to sign-in to your Xbox profile, may be disconnected while signed in, or have other related problems,” and indicated that a resolution was still “pending.” This meant that features requiring sign-in, such as most games, apps, and social activities, were unavailable.

An error message also appeared on the Xbox app for PC, confirming the service issue. Despite having an update pending for the app on my PC, downloading it did not resolve the sign-in problem.

Impact on Gaming Experience

The impact of the sign-in failure varied across different games. While the classic game Solitaire remained playable, I was unable to sign in and save progress to the cloud. On the other hand, I could play Klondike without any issues.

However, more contemporary games like Brotato were completely unplayable without an Xbox sign-in. This situation likely affected Xbox console users and PC players who rely on Xbox Live service to download and play “free” games from Microsoft. The problem is expected to persist until Microsoft addresses the issue.

Update: 03 Jul 2024