You Can Now Refund Your Xbox Live Subscription

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Will you be cancelling your Xbox Live membership now that it's not required to access Netflix, Hulu, and other entertainment apps?

Microsoft's big news yesterday was the unveiling of a new Xbox One 'unbundle' that will retail for $399 and will ship without the Kinect sensor. This version of Microsoft's Xbox One console will ship in early June. However, the Kinect-less Xbox was not the only thing Microsoft announced yesterday. As rumors suggested earlier in the week, the company also announced some changes to Xbox Live. Most notable of these changes is that subscription service is now no longer required if you want to enjoy Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, YouTube, Witch, ESPN, NFL, Xbox Music, Skype, OneDrive, OneGuide, Internet Explorer or Upload Studio. So what if these apps are the main reason you pay for Xbox Live?

MORE: Xbox One Drops Kinect to Hit Same $399 Price as PS4

The good news is that Microsoft will be offering refunds to customers who want to cancel their memberships based on the new changes. The company today published an FAQ for the changes that includes information on cancelling your Gold membership should that be your desire come June. Microsoft says that once the system updates become available next month, members who purchased a paid membership before the update was released can cancel and receive a pro-rata refund of any unused remaining days between the date of cancellation and the date their membership expires. 

Of course, if you do cancel, you'll miss out on Games with Gold, which Microsoft is bringing to the Xbox One in June. This program, which has been available for Xbox 360 members for a year now, sees members gain subscription-based access to games and is launching on Xbox One with "Max: The Curse of Brotherhood" and "Halo: Spartan Assault."

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Jane McEntegart
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Durandul
    Well, guess I don't have to move the 360 from downstairs after all...
    Reply
  • agentbb007
    I have xbox live gold so i can play games online. So I will be keeping my gold membership.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    Better late than never. The previous management did things all wrong with the introduction of the Xbox One as well as the Surface tablet line. Hopefully, the things MS is doing now will help the sales numbers.
    Reply
  • claec
    So what if I, in theory, went out and bought Xbox live gold membership cards at a reduced price from a third party? (I believe I saw 2 year subscription cards for $70) if I had 12 years worth of gold subscription, would MS refund me the full $720 value even if I only paid $420 for it? If so, I might go out and buy 80 years of gold subscription...
    Reply
  • none12345
    "So what if I, in theory, went out and bought Xbox live gold membership cards at a reduced price from a third party? (I believe I saw 2 year subscription cards for $70) if I had 12 years worth of gold subscription, would MS refund me the full $720 value even if I only paid $420 for it? If so, I might go out and buy 80 years of gold subscription... "

    When companies do things like this, they almost always have a cutoff date. That is on or before the announcement. You likely would be stuck with 80 years worth of subscription.
    Reply
  • whiteodian
    Did I miss anything in the article about actually getting a refund? Once you buy it and activate it, I'm sure there are no refunds. I'd have to read the card. The number one reason I have Live is to play multiplayer games so even if I could get a refund, I wouldn't. If I really wanted Netflix or Hulu, I wouild stream it from one of my computers (which I do downstairs already). Finally though MS is getting a little wiser by offering similar features as the competitors.
    Reply
  • danwat1234
    Francis is NOT happy about this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxIv7CWoV-I

    EDIT, I guess people on here don't like boogie2988
    Reply
  • jasonelmore
    shiz i have Xbox Live Gold for the Games for Gold. 2 free games a month, thanks, i'll take that for less than $3 a month. Plus they just announced that Xbox One owners will be getting free games starting in June.
    Reply
  • bebangs
    takes 3-6weeks to process refund... seems like a lot of trouble that it's worth.
    Reply
  • ubercake
    13293882 said:
    "So what if I, in theory, went out and bought Xbox live gold membership cards at a reduced price from a third party? (I believe I saw 2 year subscription cards for $70) if I had 12 years worth of gold subscription, would MS refund me the full $720 value even if I only paid $420 for it? If so, I might go out and buy 80 years of gold subscription... "

    When companies do things like this, they almost always have a cutoff date. That is on or before the announcement. You likely would be stuck with 80 years worth of subscription.

    With regard to discounted Xbox Live Gold memberships....There is almost always a company selling a year of Xbox Live Gold for $35. I have never paid more than that for the last 5 years. I actually pick these cards up any time I see them on sale. One thing to note is you can only enter codes for up to 3 years of the service at a time. You have to wait to enter the code for a subsequent year of membership until after the first of your three years of membership have expired.

    Also, the same account can be used on an Xbox 360 and Xbox One simultaneously. I still have a 360 which has been re-assigned to basement television duty since the purchase of the Xbox One.
    Reply