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Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

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Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#62
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Befriend someone at Mojang or get a job there lol

That seems like the only reasonable option these days. Got a reasonable problem with a small business, or even a bank? Just go to the nearest branch and talk with a reasonable person. Got a minor issue with a tech company? Godspeed and good luck, better find someone able to escalate the problem internally, while possibly breaking some rules.

If only dealing with a bank were that easy. Maybe if you give them an easy one.

Smaller businesses definitely are more receptive and seem to take more responsibility, maybe because when you have less customers, each one is more important. That said, they also have less resources to actually rectify certain kinds of problems. So it’s not always that simple, either.

Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#63
post #5

As someone who had a lot of old accounts with some pretty OG names, this whole migration process has been a right headache 'cause now I have a ton of burner Microsoft accounts ('cause each MS account can only have on MC account) and each one needed verifying.

If you want, you could sell your accounts, as the market's gotten bigger and prices are better for names now (unlike in 2016 when names were $50 each). What names do you have, out of curiosity?

Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#64

I have a 13 year old minecraft account. I've been unable to migrate it because I don't have the transaction ID. I don't have the email (I wasn't very good at managing an inbox when I was 14), and the bank that it was bought with no longer exists, even if they had more than 7 years of records retention. I told support I can provide government IDs for myself and my father (the name on the card, presumably), but I got t…

If it makes you feel better, having the transaction ID wouldn't help. I'm in a similar situation except I do have the original PayPal transaction ID, and when I provided it I was told: "Sorry, our system for looking up transaction IDs is currently unavailable. You'll need to provide alternative proof of ownership. No, the original email address associated with the account isn't good enough. No, we won't tell you what is good enough."

Tried again a year later and got exactly the same response.

Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#65
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My user name is a common real-life first name with no numbers or symbols. So, since username transfers to a specific new account are not possible, I would almost certainly lose the name to a sniper with a script. I know there's a whole industry around that practice.

Not that i approve/excuse it, but it could also be why you must jump through so many hoops to get access to the account. There's a big black market on "OG" minecraft nicknames.

Indeed. Mojang's support is hostile to users with rare usernames. I've seen it first hand and have lots of stories about it. Mojang's support system is honestly one of the worst support teams I've dealt with.

Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#66
post #8

It's possible that the TOS message is boilerplate that they put up when they haven't created (and localized) an appropriate message for the real reason (or they don't want to reveal the real reason). To me it sounds like maybe they detected a successful credential stuffing attack against the accounts and locked them. That said, it sounds like their recovery process leaves a lot to be desired.

This is not a triggered action as Microsoft locks the account immediately and reliably.

This isn't a recovery process as Microsft doesn't ask you to reset credentials and claims to not keep the phone number associated with the account.

This is some sort of incredibily user hostile anti bot technique.

Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#67
post #25

As a parent this is one of my pet peeves as so many services for kids assume/require a phone number. I’m sure it has nothing to do with me getting so much phone spam as to turn off my ringer. Microsoft has been a real jerk with the Minecraft acquisition. It would be so much better for users had notch never sold. They are increasing prices, making it harder to start, removing mod functionality, and basically just all…

It's been 7+ years since Microsoft bought Minecraft, I'm honestly surprised it took this long for them to do this customer hostile stuff. We had a good 5 years before they started ruining it.

Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#68

I have a 13 year old minecraft account. I've been unable to migrate it because I don't have the transaction ID. I don't have the email (I wasn't very good at managing an inbox when I was 14), and the bank that it was bought with no longer exists, even if they had more than 7 years of records retention. I told support I can provide government IDs for myself and my father (the name on the card, presumably), but I got t…

If it makes you feel better, having the transaction ID wouldn't help. I'm in a similar situation except I do have the original PayPal transaction ID, and when I provided it I was told: "Sorry, our system for looking up transaction IDs is currently unavailable. You'll need to provide alternative proof of ownership. No, the original email address associated with the account isn't good enough. No, we won't tell you what…

Mojang's system does not like PayPal transaction IDs and they have issues looking them up. Keep trying over and over, email them from the original email associated. Eventually you'll find an agent who will ignore the Transaction ID entirely and give your account back unless it has a high value in which case you're out of luck.

Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#69
post #25

As a parent this is one of my pet peeves as so many services for kids assume/require a phone number. I’m sure it has nothing to do with me getting so much phone spam as to turn off my ringer. Microsoft has been a real jerk with the Minecraft acquisition. It would be so much better for users had notch never sold. They are increasing prices, making it harder to start, removing mod functionality, and basically just all…

I was setting up an account for my child and it insisted on knowing their first job as one of the security questions. I normally put PIN-type responses to these and record them somewhere, but it said that wasn’t a valid answer. So many of these systems just aren’t very well thought out.

Re: Tell HN: Microsoft locks migrated Minecraft accounts, requires phone to unlock

#70
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Microsoft could send the confirmation code to the email address already associated with the account, but they would rather create a reason to siphon more data from people.

Has anyone come up with a disposable mobile number service, similar to how you can get a temporary email address for signing up to junk?

MS blocks most of the disposable number services.
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