Bad Company 2, "You must be signed into xboxlive to access...."

I installed Bad Company 2 on my xbox one, after playing it for years on xbox 360.

I installed the game completely, with all updates, via digital download - not a disc.

The game won't allow me to play online, giving me the error message that reads I have to be signed into xboxlive to access the multiplayer features, including the Vietnam and Onslaught. I contacted EA support to no avail. They thought it might be a problem with my xbox live gamertag not being associated/linked to my ea account, but after checking, they said the link was fine. 

I removed my xboxlive account from my xbox one, then reinstalled the account (so I'd have to use my password).

I then put Madden in, and was able to play online with another person, no problem. So the issue is ONLY with BC2.

What the heck? Anyone else out there with this issue? Please help a brother out.