Forum Discussion

PluttBug's avatar
3 years ago

Changing Xbox App username - now I can't use EA Play anymore

I moved to Windows 11 and did a clean install.  I had to reinstall EA app and Xbox App and redownload games.  In the process, I also updated my username from an old auto-generated name to one of my current usernames on the Xbox App. 

To play an EA game, it required me to "link" my account again.  The Xbox app had me sign in to my EA Play and when I did, it told me it was linked to another account, showing my old username which is my current account but my old username. 

When I went to unlink it and relink it, it's now not allowing me to and support is even going as far as saying that I can never link an Xbox account again.


This can't be right.  Honestly, for such a crazy issue that EA doesn't recognize my Xbox account simply because of a different username seems weird enough but for there to be very little warning to this, especially that there's no way for me to relink my account without creating a whole new EA account seems insane to me.

Is there no way for support to just allow me to link the account that was already linked?  There has to be a way to resolve this.  Also, there was no other self-help solution for this to resolve.  Why is there such permanent repercussions to me trying to resolve an issue based on the design that EA couldn't recognize my Xbox account just from a simple username change?

I'd really like to find a way to get this mitigated.

Edit, I should also add that this is said on the website:

You can unlink your platform accounts from your EA Account if you want to link them to a different EA Account, as long as that EA Account has never had the same account type linked to it before in its lifetime.

That means if you unlink an Xbox gamertag from your EA Account, you can’t link a different Xbox gamertag to it in the future.

Note, see how it says "different.'  I am using the same account, not different, and support tells me something completely different than listed on the website.

18 Replies

  • balu092's avatar
    balu092
    2 years ago

    This restriction also causes problems for me. Unfortunatelly I had multiple XBOX/Microsoft accounts (by mistake) and I linked the one that had Game Pass subscription to play EA Play games too.

    Now I got some Microsoft software and I had to create a new Microsoft account. So I decided to move the Game Pass and all the staff on different previous accounts to this new account. 

    Now I got this message that I can't link any Microsoft account anymore to my EA account. SO... Do I have to creat a new EA account (so I will have multiple and need to change accounts frequently) and link it to the new XBOX acc? Thats funny because I started this "account migration" to simplify multiple accounts...Ridiculous 

  • This exact thing happened to me just now. I take it I'm screwed? Has no one had any solutions or luck with customer support?

  • EA_Shepard's avatar
    EA_Shepard
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    2 years ago
    Hi @Nuciferoh, If you are not able to access the EA account itself and make changes for any reason, support has to. However, if any platform is removed that you want to use, it has to be linked to a different EA account. One EA account per platform. We cannot change how accounts are linked in the system.

  • 'Shouldn't happen' does not help when it does happen.

    I am permanently locked out of using EA with my game pass and there's nothing I can do about it simply because something happened that ' shouldn't happen.'

    Yes I did unlink it but the way the integration works clearly doesn't use much else other than the user ID name and although I made the ID name change while linked up already, your system had no recognition of that and I have to pay the consequences for it and all I'm told is that it 'shouldn't happen.'

    I've written it off and essentially don't really use EA and although all the negative feedback and hatred that's put towards many large publishers, this is a beautiful example of a situation that could probably be investigated and resolved, but I'm only being told it shouldn't happen and essentially left with the consequences.

    So for anybody else asking if there's nothing else to be done, unless you find someone within EA with the ability to actually change something on the back end to resolve the issue, you will not find any help.  This happened over a year or so ago and I can do absolutely nothing with this account in regards to connecting it to GamePass even though both accounts were always the same.  All it took was changing the user ID on the Xbox game pass account.

    It really wouldn't take much for somebody to test this out and confirm and probably take the appropriate measures to ensure that a simple name change doesn't cause this. However, I'm beyond all this at this point and I really don't care anymore, I just know not to purchase anything related to this publisher and to avoid using their software.

    I would have never unlinked the account had I known I couldn't relink it because of this simple disassociation however, I only unlinked it because it couldn't account for that association in the first place.  I'm only writing this because I still get notifications on occasion of people that are responding to the same thread and it comes to my email, just want anybody else that might be frustrated and having difficulties resolving this to understand that you're likely not going to get the help you need and that it may not be worth pursuing just for the sake of your own stress because at the time it frustrated me a lot.

  • Matosxp's avatar
    Matosxp
    1 year ago

    the reason they wont update the policy because  the customer support is unknown. every other company associates and links accounts through email but ea decided to use gamertags?!!? my gamer tagged is now being someone in another country specifically Italy.

    How do i know this? because my gamertag that is goes back to a @hotmail.it. so essentially i am paying for ultimate pass through xbox which includes EA play. so that person who is using my gamertag is getting to use use ea play for free. ea support got very hostile kind of insulting.

     mind you i can see my ea account just cant make changes because it goes back to this @hotmail.it email.

    Mind you i am in complete control of both xbox account and ea account the link is just false.

  • @Matosxpi also think their is some type of scam going on personally. i did not know i had ea play premium until recently. im currently typing up a letter to my attorney general in NY @ https://ag.ny.gov/resources/individuals/consumer-issues

    I would look into the same for your state consumer affairs attorney general. scam seems to be access to ea play THAT you are paying for but someone else is using.

  • it is simply laziness or they are scamming people. i would suggest you lodge a complaint through your states attorney general. this issue is wide spread and ea support is hostile about this issue. also lodge a complaint thru Microsoft since they are advertising it is as a bundle, which also makes it their problem. 

  • EA_Leeuw's avatar
    EA_Leeuw
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    1 year ago

    Hi all,

     

    I'm going to close this thread to stop it from being necro'd.

     

    If you're experiencing the same or a related problem, or want to start a new general discussion, please create a new topic, or respond to a more current thread.

     

    Thank you.

Featured Places

Node avatar for EA Play

EA Play

Discuss the EA Play subscription for PC and console in this community forum, read guides, and get help with your issues.Latest Activity: 12 hours ago
3,631 Posts