Error C101A225 occurs when adding a credit card or making a purchase on Xbox 360

You see the following error code when you try to make a purchase or add a credit card on your Xbox 360 console:

C101A225

This means one of the following:

• Your credit card could not be authorized.
• We detected suspicious activity and are preventing charges on the card.

Solution 1: Verify your Microsoft account details

Make sure that the billing address for your Microsoft account matches the billing address you use with your credit card company. Also, make sure that your card's expiration date hasn't passed. Here's how:

1. Sign in to the Payment & billing page with your Microsoft account.

   If you don't know your Microsoft account email address or password, use the Lost Account Solution or the Lost Password Solution.

2. Select Billing info, and then follow the steps to review your billing information.

   Note If there's an error, select Edit profile, and then follow the instructions to update the information.

3. Sign out of your Microsoft account, and then sign in again.
4. Sign in to Xbox Live and try again to make a purchase or add a credit card.

Solution 2: Confirm the credit card details

Retype the credit card number without any spaces, commas, or other non-numeric characters. Verify that the expiration date, security code, and name that you entered are correct and match what is shown on the card.

Solution 3: Confirm that you’re using an approved payment option

You can use Visa, MasterCard, or American Express cards as long as they allow international purchases. Even if your card displays a Visa or MasterCard logo, it may not be approved by your bank or financial institution for international purchases.

Note Prepaid cards, debit cards, and gift cards (even those with a Visa or MasterCard logo) do not qualify as international cards and are currently not accepted.

If your credit card is an approved form of payment, try the next solution.

Solution 4: Contact your bank or financial institution

The purchase might have failed for the following reasons: 

• The credit card has not been activated.
• The credit card was declined because of insufficient funds.
• The credit card cannot accept online purchases or automatic billing.
• The credit card company is intentionally preventing the card from being used.

Contact your credit card company or bank and make sure that the payment option you’re using was activated, that it has available funds, and that the transaction is not being blocked for some reason.

If your bank or financial institution is not blocking the transaction, try the next solution.

Solution 5: Try your purchase again later

The purchase might be blocked for one of the following reasons:

• Too many recent declined purchase attempts.
• The payment option is being used from a non-valid location.
• The payment option has had a violation for non-payment that’s preventing it from being used for new purchases.

Wait and try the transaction again in 24 to 48 hours. When a number of purchase failures occur, this can prevent transactions from being processed until no purchase attempts have been made for a while (usually 24 to 48 hours).

If the problem still occurs after you’ve waited 48 hours, try the next solution.

Solution 6: Try a different payment option

If you’re still having trouble, try using a different payment option. For example, you can try using PayPal or a different credit card.

For information about how to change your payment option, see Update a payment option online, select Update a payment option, Remove a payment option, or Add payment option on the left side of the screen, and then follow the instructions.