What happens if you've already signed up for multiple services using different Windows Live IDs? For instance, let's say you have both an Xbox gamertag and a Zune Tag. You will get the most out of Xbox LIVE and Zune Music + Video if you use the same Windows Live ID to sign in to either service so that you can share your profile across services, including sharing your Microsoft Points, gamerscore, gaming achievements, Zune Music Pass, play counts, badges, and friends. However, if you have already set up a Windows Live ID for each service, be aware that:
You can’t combine or merge two IDs into one.
You can’t migrate plays, achievements, badges, or friends from one account to another.
In this case, the best thing to do is to prioritize which one of your user profiles (your gamertag or Zune Tag) is more important to you, or is the one you've invested more time and money in. Then, use the Live ID that is associated with that profile to sign in to the other services.
To help you decide which Windows Live ID to choose, consider these typical scenarios that you may encounter:
Let's say you want to sign up on Windows Phone 7 to stream music from Zune Marketplace and play Xbox LIVE games. The Live ID to choose depends on your priorities:
If you don't want to lose your Xbox gaming accomplishments, use the Live ID that is connected to your Xbox gamertag.
If you have a Zune Music Pass subscription, play counts, and badges that you don't want to lose, or if you have lots of Zune friends, use the Live ID that is associated with your Zune Tag.
Let's say you already have a Windows Phone 7 and a Zune Music Pass. The primary (first) account for your phone uses a different Live ID than your Zune Music Pass. Even though you added the Live ID account for your Zune Music Pass to your phone, you still can't sync or stream music from your Zune Music Pass. What do you do? In this case, because the Zune Music Pass must be associated with the primary Live ID on your phone, you should sign up for a new Zune Music Pass using that primary Live ID. Then, cancel the Zune Music Pass on the other Live ID.
Let's say you want to stream music from Zune Marketplace in Xbox LIVE. You'll need to sign in with one account that has both an Xbox LIVE Gold membership and a Zune Music Pass subscription. But if you have a gamertag with a one-year Xbox LIVE Gold membership and a Zune Tag with a one-month Zune Music Pass subscription, which do you choose? In this case, because more time is left on your Gold membership than your Zune Music Pass, consider using the Live ID associated with your gamertag. You'll need to sign up for a new Zune Music Pass for your gamertag Live ID, and you can cancel the Zune Music Pass for the Live ID connected to your Zune Tag.
Either way, you'll need to choose one Windows Live ID for the easiest and most convenient way to maintain one account and one identity across multiple services.
