Vista - All my contacts are offline after changing email address

Hi,

I recently found a passport page that allowed you to change the login email address. I changed my email from X to xxx@live.com.

After this change all my contacts are offline all the time. Even if i add new contacts they are offline even though i can see infront of me that they are not.

I have over 100 contacts and i need this to work. Where can i get support?

Both webmessenger and 8.5 got the same problem.

Hi MattiasN,

All your Contacts are associated with your Original E-mail Address. When
people who write to you, using your old E-mail Address, unless you manually
closed the account, aren't going to be notified that you created a new
Account, unless you tell them. Unless you are forwarding you E-mails to your
new E-mail Address, you aren't going to be able to read those E-mails,
unless you log into your old account.

The same is going to hold true for your Contacts. Unless you tell them,
they won't be able to see you online. They have to create a new Contact
using your new Login Information.

You can change your E-mail Address without changing your Login Name. I
always used creator_xuxa@xxxxxx . It is an Original @passport.com that
Microsoft allowed when first starting up MSN Messenger, a long time ago. I
don't receive any E-mails there at all.

People I know have my E-mail Address, as well as XUXA, herself.


--
thecreator



"MattiasN" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:c250685871a63933030224e23ad0ffae@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

Hi,

This is incorrect actually. If you change your ID using the process on the website, it will
automatically update everyone's contact lists. You don't have to inform anyone of anything.
This capability has existed for a number of years now.

However, one key thing you need to do is stay off Messenger for at least 7-8 hours after
changing the ID. If you do sign in before then, it can sometimes terminate the process and
you get the offline contact problem as described here.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2008 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
--




"thecreator" <thecreator@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uMS1ltFYJHA.2440@xxxxxx

Hi Mattias,

I suspect what happened is you signed in while it was in the process of being changed. To
fix the problem right now, just go back to the Live ID accounts site and switch your address
back. After you sign back in using the "old" ID, I think you'll find everyone back online
normally.

After this you can try again. However, one thing to keep in mind is to stay off Messenger
for at least 8 hours after changing your ID for the process to properly work. What I usually
recommend is that you do it before calling it a night and usually it will be sorted out for
you in the morning.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2008 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
--


"MattiasN" <guest@xxxxxx-email.com> wrote in message
news:c250685871a63933030224e23ad0ffae@xxxxxx-gateway.com...

I can't go back to the old domain. I was kicked off of the old domain b/c that company is going with Live Communicator, and I was forced off. So going back and changing it again is not an option (I tried and got an invalid U/PW combo error msg).

I've also hesitated to try changing to another name to re-start the process (looking for a definitive solution), although that may be the last (viable) option I have left. The whole export/import, have every contact (over 100) re-accept you, and it <i> might </i> work process is a PITA...

Are there any other options to get out of limbo?

others seems to be in the same situation, and I have yet to see a definitive solution:
3 days after change of windows live ID all appear offline - BigBlueBall Forums
Changed Windows Live ID - contacts appear offline. - Printable Version

Thank you in advance...

Live msgr 2009
XP SP2

I have the exact same problem. My company did the live communication server
so using my old login doesn't work. Were you successful with trying a third
email address?

"BamBam" wrote:

I want to be explicit about my situation:
-I had a messenger ID with a domain for companyX.com.
-We were split off to a new companyY.com.
-companyX then signed up for Live Communicator.
-I got notification from Microsoft that I had to change my ID from companyX.
-I changed my ID to companyY, signed back in, and got stuck right there.

What little information I could find on this situation suggested that I go back to the original ID, change it again, and stay off messenger for about a day to let the migration process complete. The issue for me is that I can't go back to the companyX domain to try this because it's locked out due to the Live Communiucator thing.

So, to answer your question (I hope) I actually tried the Change ID option again from compnayY to something else, and didn't sign in at all for a couple of days (per an MVP's recommendations) and that didn't work either. The contacts came along, but again they were all offline, and no one could see the new address. I also tried linking ID's, which also didn't work.

I wound up creating a new separate Live ID, exported the old contact list from the companyY ID and imported into the new Live ID. Everyone had to acknowledge the request, but this was less painful than deleting all of the contacts individually.

However, the Catch 22 is that everyone else in the same boat at my company won't get the invite b/c it went to the old ID's with the blocked domain. So I have to delete and invite all of those (the people I IM with the most ironically) manually anyway. PITA!

At least with the live.com user ID, it's mine, and hopefully I won't have to repeat this process.

I have a co worker who has gotten locked out of the companyX domain as well, but has not tried anything yet.
I'm going to walk through the "Change ID" process with him, have him stay off messenger for the "recommended" day, and see if his contacts work the next day.

If that works, then the advice from the Microsoft MVP I found about staying off Messenger for a day was sound.
If that doesn't work, then Microsoft has recommended a process that is just plain broken for people who have been locked out of their prior domain.

If it works, I'll post up again. If no response, assume the worst.