[German]Another small addendum (almost a warning) to owners of Microsoft accounts. It seems that there was a bug in the account management that caused the account in question to be locked when its owner tried to read in so-called Reward Points. Then the stress started for some people, because they connected their digital life to the Microsoft account and couldn't access their mails or their files stored on OneDrive anymore. Skyping or other applications like Office 365 as well as Windows 8.1/10/11 may also be affected. However, the bug has already been fixed by Microsoft on June 3, 2022 – but affected users can run after Microsoft to get the account back.
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The topic "Microsoft account lockout" is discussed in several articles in the blog (see links at the end of the article). In the blog post Stop: Arbitrary blocking of Microsoft Accounts I had addressed it the last time – now we have a new case in this endless saga.
Account lockout when redeeming Microsoft Rewards Points
The topic is about Microsoft Rewards Points, which can be collected on a Microsoft account for certain actions. However, it is stupid that your account is locked when you try to redeem the points. The reason is a technical error at Microsoft. Therefore, here is some information about the issue.
What are Microsoft Rewards Points?
Microsoft Rewards Points are something like "loyalty points from Redmond". You can get these reward points by searching with Bing, playing on Xbox or by shopping in the Microsoft Store or participating in surveys etc. (see here and here). Microsoft describes on this page some dedicated ways how users can earn Microsoft Rewards points.
Although this is pretty much useless, since these Microsoft Rewards Points have no monetary value. Rather, you can get rewards like gift certificates, movies, or games, as well as support charitable fundraisers. However, you have to register and be logged in with your Microsoft account when collecting. Microsoft describes on this website how you could redeem your points – you need 5,000 loyalty points to get a reward worth about 5 Dollar.
Error locked Microsoft account when redeeming
Lukas Zimmermann already came across the issue on Dr. Windows. The issue became public through an entry of a concerned person on the platform reddit.com.
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WARNING!! Many accounts are being banned in Spain, Mexico, France, Brazil and other regions. Most after redeeming points they get a banned message in a day. It seems to be an issue with Microsoft Rewards since it's so widespread. Avoid redeeming points if possible.
It seems that when redeeming Microsoft Rewards Points, there was a spontaneous suspension of the associated Microsoft account. There were cases in Spain, Mexico, France, Basil and other countries. Microsoft Rewards also issued a warning on Twitter on June 3, 2022.
Daniel Martins, Xbox Loyalty Marketing Lead, then jumped right in the discussion and stated that they were aware of it.
Dear Microsoft Rewards members,
We're aware some members are being impacted by a a technical issue where some accounts are incorrectly being suspended while trying to redeem.
Our team is actively working to solve it, we appreciate your patience.
Bug fixed …
S aturday night (6/4/2022), Daniel Martins posted again on reddit stating that the issue was fixed late Friday (6/3/2022).
Update: a fix was deployed on late Friday to stop the issue from affecting additional accounts. The fix did not address already affected accounts.
The team will reconvene on Monday to work on the fix for impacted members. More updates will come.
Now the lockout should no longer occur when redeeming Reward Points. That's at least something. But it doesn't help users whose Microsoft account has already been blocked. On Monday (6.6.2022) the team will try to help affected users whose account has been locked. Spontaneously I asked me: What does Microsoft really get right that works at the end of the day?
Reactivate locked account
Anyone who got an account locked can request a support ticket to unlock the Microsoft account. However, the whole thing is again a slight joke from Microsoft, because a Microsoft account is needed to request a support ticket from the Xbox group, but it was just locked.
In the above screenshot I have extracted parts of this form for requesting a support ticket. It is possible to enter an e-mail address to which the Microsoft account was linked. But in the selection field "What do you need help with?" I didn't find an entry that covers the topic "Account lockout". Let's hope that the Microsoft employees understand what is meant when evaluating the form data. Otherwise the account will remain locked.
Microsoft, if we didn't have you, our lives would be really boring – nothing would happen. On the other hand, for candidates with higher blood pressure, life would be much more relaxed without such excitement. Therefore, the ask "Uncle Doctor guenni" for advice. My answer: Stay away from Microsoft and Microsoft accounts. Have a nice rest of weekend. Was anyone affected?
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