When this particular message pops up, it’s usually affecting more than one game. It’s also more than likely that the person trying to play the game is indeed the one who bought it. On some occasions, because the Xbox can hold multiple accounts and purchases, there is a chance that the right account does indeed need to be signed in to the console.
However, when the message does pop up, it is almost always an error that needs to be fixed. There are several things that could be going wrong to cause the message, and they should all be checked to make sure that the problem has indeed been rectified.
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Check Xbox Live Status
Because the Xbox account data is stored, accessed, and validated using the internet, there are several internet issues that can cause a problem where it incorrectly says that people are accessing games they didn’t buy. One of the internet problems that can pop up is the Xbox Live service going down entirely or having issues that affect validating accounts.
It’s important to know that some services won’t make this error pop up and if the account and profile tab is green, it’s likely not the cause.
Fully Restart The Xbox Console
If the Xbox Live status looks like it’s fully operational, it’s almost certainly an issue on the user’s end. The first and easiest way to try and fix the account error is to fully restart the Xbox console.
This is different than putting the console to sleep. However, the process is basically the same. The user presses down on the middle button of the Xbox controller until the options are to either put the console to sleep, turn off the controller, or restart the console. Select the restart option and then let the console do the rest.
Restart The Internet Router
If restarting the Xbox doesn’t get the job done and the same error message is still popping up, then it’s possible the problem is based on an internet connection, just not with the Xbox Live services and instead with the user’s home router.
Much like other internet issues that can pop up in someone’s home, unplugging the router and leaving it unplugged for at least 30 seconds before plugging it back in will reset it and should resolve any connectivity issues a user is suffering. That includes if something is going on with the connection to Xbox Live, causing the “the person who bought this needs to sign in” message.
Log Out And Log In Or Make It The Home Xbox
If none of the other options have fixed the message popping up whenever a user is trying to play a game or access an app, there is a relatively quick and easy way to try and fix the issue on the Xbox and that’s to go to the guide menu and log out of the user’s account.
They can then log back into the same account, and the error message may go away. If that doesn’t fix the issue there is one last thing that should do away with the “the person who bought this needs to sign in” message.
The first step for this solution is to make sure that the user is signed in to the account that has the license for the game that is trying to be played. Then the user should press the middle button in order to open the guide and navigate to system and then settings.
From there, simply go to personalization and then choose “My Home Xbox.” Select the “make this my home Xbox” and then sign into the account that has the game license and see if the problem has now been resolved. As long as whatever Xbox console is being used has been selected as the home Xbox and everything else seems to be operating the way it should, this will likely make things right.
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