"The email address or password you entered is not valid" error occurs for Xbox Live on Xbox 360

You see the following error message when you sign in to Xbox Live on your Xbox 360 console:

The email address or password you entered is not valid. Please try again.

This may mean that you've changed the password or username associated with your Microsoft account, or that you've entered an incorrect password.

To resolve this problem, try the following solutions.

Solution 1: Make sure you can sign in to your Microsoft account online

Sign in online to your Microsoft account. If you can't, verify that you've typed the email address and password correctly. If you aren't sure what email address you use to sign in to your Microsoft account, use the Lost Account Solution.

Solution 2: Make sure the email address you're using to sign in is associated to your gamertag.

It's common these days to have more than one email address and to forget which one you use to access various online accounts. Check to see if you're using the email address attached to your gamertag by signing in at the top of any Xbox.com page, such as this one. If your gamertag appears in the upper-right corner of your screen, this is the right email address. If not, see Lost Account Solution.

Solution 3: Delete and redownload your profile

You may have a corrupted profile. To resolve this, delete the profile that's stored on your Xbox 360 console, clear the system cache, and then download your profile again.

Step 1: Delete the corrupted profile

1. Go to settings, and then select System.
2. Select Storage.
3. Select All Devices.
4. Select Gamer Profiles.
5. Select the gamertag that you want to delete.
6. Select Delete.
7. Select Delete Profile Only. This deletes the profile but leaves saved games and achievements.

Step 2: Clear the system cache

To clear the system cache, follow these steps.

1. Press the Guide button on your controller.
2. Go to settings and select System Settings.
3. Select Storage or Memory.
4. Highlight any storage device, and then press Y on your controller. (It doesn't matter which storage device you select; this will clear the cache for all storage devices.)
5. Select Clear System Cache.
6. When prompted to confirm storage device maintenance, select Yes.
7. Restart your console.

Step 3: Redownload your Xbox Live profile

For instructions on how to redownload your Xbox Live profile, go to Download your Xbox Live profile to a different Xbox 360 console or redownload it.

Solution 4: If you have two-step verification enabled, use your app password to sign in on the console

If you have two-step verification enabled, you may be getting this error because you need to sign in with an app password.

To see whether you have two-step verification enabled, do the following:

1. Sign in to your Microsoft account.
2. Under Security & privacy, select More security settings.
3. Under Two-step verification, do one of the following:
   Turn on two-step verification:
   1. Select Turn on two-step verification.
   2. Click Yes to confirm.

   Turn off two-step verification:

   1. Select Turn off two-step verification.
   2. Click Yes to confirm.

If you have two-step verification enabled and want to keep it on, you'll need to create and sign in with an app password on the Xbox 360 console. Here's how:

1. Sign in to your Microsoft account.
2. Under More security settings, scroll down to App passwords.
3. Select Create a new app password.
   A new app password is generated and appears on your screen.
4. When you're prompted for your Microsoft account password on your Xbox console, enter the app password you created online.

Solution 5: If you used a third-party email account as your Microsoft account, make sure you're using the correct password

You can use any email account to create a Microsoft account. If you use a third-party email account (such as Gmail or Yahoo), you may have set up a password for your Microsoft account that's different from the password you use to access your email. If you can still access your Gmail or Yahoo email but can't use that same password to access your Microsoft account, you might have used a different password. If you've forgotten the password for your Microsoft account, you'll need to reset your Microsoft account password.

Solution 6: Try clearing and re-entering your username and password

When you're prompted to sign in on the console, your password might be auto-populated in the Password field. If this happens, clear the characters that appear in the Password field, and then enter the correct password.

If you've tried all of these solutions and are still having the problem, contact Xbox Support.