How to sign in to the Xbox app on Windows 10

If you signed in to Windows 10 using your Microsoft account, that account will be linked to the user account signed in on the PC. This makes it much easier to sign in to all Microsoft apps (Skype, OneDrive, Office 365, Xbox, Groove Music, Films & TV and much more).

Select the Xbox app for the first time to start the sign-in process. The app will begin to open and you'll see a smaller box open over the app with several avatars on it.

The Xbox app will take the Microsoft account credentials you used to sign in to Windows 10 and check to see if there's a gamertag associated to this account.

Scenario 1: You have an existing Xbox Live account associated with your Microsoft account

Scenario 2: You don't see your current Xbox Live profile

Scenario 3: You don't have an Xbox Live account associated with your Microsoft account

Scenario 1: You have an existing Xbox Live account associated with your Microsoft account

If there's an Xbox Live account associated with your Microsoft account, you'll see a Welcome back screen with your name and gamerpic on it. The Xbox app will then show you a Here's how you look on Xbox Live screen.

If this is you and the account you use for gaming on Xbox, select Let's play. This will sign you in and the app will continue to open to your personalised Xbox experience.

Scenario 2: You don't see your current Xbox Live profile

If the account shown is an old account, is not yours or is not the account you currently game with, select Sign in with a different account. This will bring up the account picker screen. The account picker is a new feature that allows you to easily jump between Microsoft accounts without having to enter passwords or verify your credentials again.

To add a new Microsoft account to the account picker, follow these steps:

1. Select Microsoft account.
2. You'll see the Microsoft account sign-in boxes, where you'll enter:
   • The email address associated with your Microsoft account.
   • The password associated with your Microsoft account. If you’ve forgotten the password, there's a button to retrieve it right below the text box.
   
   Note If you forgot the email address that you use to sign in, use the Lost Account Solution.

• Complete the rest of the sign-in process as you validate your account. Once you've finished, you'll return to the Welcome back screen with your name and gamerpic on it. The Xbox app will then show you the Here's how you look on Xbox Live screen, where you can select Let's play to enter the app.

3. Once this sign-in is complete, you won't have to sign in to the Xbox app, any Xbox games or the avatar app again, unless you sign yourself out of the Xbox app in the Settings menu from within the Xbox app.

Scenario 3: You don't have an Xbox Live account associated with your Microsoft account

If you don't have an Xbox Live account associated with the Microsoft account you used to sign in to Windows 10, the system will auto-generate a new gamertag for you. Upon acceptance, an Xbox profile, including gamertag, will be automatically assigned to your email. You can change your gamertag for free within the first 30 days. After that, there will be a small fee. For information on how to change your gamertag, see How to change your Xbox Live gamertag.

Note If you get to the Let's get you an alter-ego for Xbox Live (We call it a gamertag) screen and you realise you've signed in with a Microsoft account that doesn't have an Xbox Live account, you can select Sign in with a different account. This will bring up the account picker screen, and you can add the Microsoft account you use to sign in to Xbox Live.

A local account is a set of credentials other than a Microsoft account. Using a local account is common with users upgrading from Windows 7.

Upon launching any Microsoft app, including the Store, you'll see a prompt to sign in or create a Microsoft account. The first Microsoft account you use to sign in will become the default account your device will use to sign you in across all Microsoft services.

Note For the best experience, use only one Microsoft account for all Microsoft products and services. You can sign in and out of all Microsoft services, and you can change the default account, but you can't merge two accounts, so be careful when creating new accounts.

Select the Xbox app for the first time to start the sign-in process. The app will begin to open and you'll see a smaller box open over the app with several avatars on it.

Because there is no Microsoft account entered yet, you'll be asked to Add your Microsoft account.

Scenario 1: You have a Microsoft account that you use for other Microsoft services, but you don't have an Xbox Live account

Scenario 2: You have a Microsoft account that you use for your Xbox Live account, but you don't use any of the other Microsoft services yet

Scenario 3: You have a Microsoft account that you use for your Xbox Live account, but you also have a different Microsoft account that you use for other Microsoft services

Scenario 4: You don't have a Microsoft account yet, but you want to start taking advantage of Microsoft services offered through Windows 10

Scenario 1: You have a Microsoft account that you use for other Microsoft services, but you don't have an Xbox Live account

1. On the Choose an account screen, click the Microsoft account button.

2. On the Add your Microsoft account screen, you'll see the Microsoft account sign-in boxes, where you'll enter:
   • The email address associated with your Microsoft account.
   • The password associated with your Microsoft account. If you've forgotten the password, there's a button to retrieve it right below the text box.

3. On the Make it yours screen, you'll have the option to make this Microsoft account your primary account. Since you use this account for other Microsoft services, you should use this option so that sign-in, settings and syncing will happen automatically for all other Microsoft services. Complete this step by entering your password again and selecting Next.

4. Because no Xbox Live account was associated with this Microsoft account, the system will auto-generate a new gamertag for you. If you don't like the gamertag we've created, don't worry—you get one free gamertag change. See How to change your Xbox Live gamertag for help.

5. Select Let's play. This will sign you in, and the app will continue to open to your personalised Xbox experience.
6. Once this sign-in is complete, you won't have to sign in to the Xbox app, any Xbox games or the avatar app again, unless you sign yourself out of the Xbox app from the Settings menu in the Xbox app.

Scenario 2: You have a Microsoft account that you use for your Xbox Live account, but you don't use any of the other Microsoft services yet

1. On the Choose an account screen, select Microsoft account.

2. On the Add your Microsoft account screen, you'll see the Microsoft account sign-in boxes, where you'll enter:
   • The email address associated with your Microsoft account that you used to create your Xbox Live account.
   • The password associated with your Microsoft account. If you've forgotten the password, there's a button to retrieve it right below the text box.
     Note If you forgot the email address that you use to sign in, use the Lost Account Solution.

3. On the Make it yours screen, you'll have the option to make this Microsoft account your primary account. If you choose this option, sign-in, settings and syncing will happen automatically for all other Microsoft services. Complete this step by entering your password again and selecting Next.

4. Select Let's play. This will sign you in, and the app will continue to open to your personalised Xbox experience.

5. Once this sign-in is complete, you won't have to sign in to the Xbox app, any Xbox games or the avatar app again, unless you sign yourself out of the Xbox app from the Settings menu in the Xbox app.

Scenario 3: You have a Microsoft account that you use for your Xbox Live account, but you also have a different Microsoft account that you use for other Microsoft services

1. On the Choose an account screen, select Microsoft account.

2. On the Add your Microsoft account screen, you'll see the Microsoft account sign-in boxes, where you'll enter:
   • The email address associated with your Microsoft account that you used to create your Xbox Live account.
   • The password associated with your Microsoft account. If you've forgotten the password, there's a button to retrieve it right below the text box.
     Note If you forgot the email address that you use to sign in, use the Lost Account Solution.

3. On the Make it yours screen, you'll have the option to make this Microsoft account your primary account. Select I'll connect my Microsoft account later so that this Microsoft account doesn't become your primary account.

4. Select Let's play. This will sign you in, and the app will open to your personalised Xbox experience.
5. Once this sign-in is complete, you won't have to sign in to the Xbox app, any Xbox games or the avatar app again, unless you sign yourself out of the Xbox app from the Settings menu in the Xbox app.

Scenario 4: You don't have a Microsoft account yet, but you want to start taking advantage of Microsoft services offered through Windows 10

1. On the Choose an account screen, select Microsoft account.

2. On the Add your Microsoft account screen, skip over the Microsoft account sign-in boxes and instead select Create one. Fill in the fields to create your new Microsoft account.

3. On the Make it yours screen, you'll have the option to make this Microsoft account your primary account. Use this option so that sign-in, settings and syncing will happen automatically for all other Microsoft services. Complete this step by entering your password again and selecting Next.

4. The system will auto-generate a new gamertag for you. An Xbox profile, including a gamertag, will be automatically associated with your email address. You can change your gamertag for free within the first 30 days. After that, there will be a small fee. For information on how to change your gamertag, see How to change your Xbox Live gamertag.

5. Select Let's play. This will sign you in, and the app will open to your personalised Xbox experience.
6. Once this sign-in is complete, you won't have to sign in to the Xbox app, any Xbox games or the avatar app again, unless you sign yourself out of the Xbox app from the Settings menu in the Xbox app.

How do I sign in with a different gamertag? What if I want to sign in to the Xbox app or a game with a different Xbox account than the one I originally used to sign in?

• You can sign out of a game or the Xbox app at any time and sign back in with a different gamertag.
• Each time that you sign in with a different Xbox account, the new account will be stored in the account picker, so that on future sign-ins, you'll only have to select the account from the account picker to quickly sign back in.
• Your sign-in will carry across all Xbox-enabled apps, so if you sign in to a game or the Xbox app with a new account, that account will subsequently be signed in to all other Xbox apps until you sign out and sign back in with a different account.

To sign out, go to the Settings screen in the Xbox app. At the top of the General tab, select Sign out.

To sign back in, select Sign in, and on the Here's how you look on Xbox Live screen, select Sign in with a different Microsoft account.

On the account picker screen, select a previously entered account, or select Microsoft account to sign in as a new user. The new user account will be added to the account picker for later use.

Why do I get an error when I sign in?

If you get an error or are unable to sign in, there are a few common issues that could be causing this:

1. Make sure you're connected to a network and that you can access the Internet. To test your connection, go to Bing.com in your PC's browser.
2. See if there's an Xbox Live service outage at Xbox Live Status.
3. Sign in at Xbox.com and ensure that your account is in good standing.
4. Check your PC's clock. The clock must match the Xbox Live servers for sign-in to be completed. Your date and time settings for Set time automatically must be set to On.
5. As a final step, try removing the Microsoft account by going to Settings, selecting Accounts and then selecting remove next to the account. Then re-add the account from the account picker when you sign in to the Xbox app.

United States only: Why am I being asked to pay 50 cents for creating a child account?

This is a Microsoft account policy for the creation of all child accounts in the United States. The policy requires an adult account to be set as their parent and for the parent to make a 50-cent charge on a verified credit card to prove the account is an adult account. This policy is in compliance with Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). For more information, see Microsoft fee for creating a child account FAQ.

I purchased the game as “Account X” but want to play as “Account Y”. Can I do that?

Yes. From inside the game, choose Switch account (on the home screen or wherever the profile is located). If the game doesn't have a Switch account button, in the Xbox app, select Settings, and then select Sign out. Then sign back in as the account that you want to use and re-launch the game.

You can sign in with any Xbox profile, just remember that account will be used for all Xbox games until you switch it back.

I get an error message saying “You are already signed in to this game on another device”. What does that mean?

Some games only let you play them as the same Xbox account on one device at a time.

On the error screen, you'll have the option to sign out of that account on the other device and play on the device that you want to use, or you can switch to a different Xbox account.

Note You can be signed in to the Xbox app on as many devices as you like, but you can only sign in on an Xbox Live-enabled game in one place at a time to avoid collisions with your saved games and achievements.