When you first sign up for the Xbox network, the system allows you to create your own unique gamertag or use a suggested gamertag. If you opted to use a suggested gamertag, you may find it extremely difficult to remember what it was in the future. In situations like that, you can look up your gamertag using your Microsoft account, if you want to find out what it is.

What Is a Gamertag?

A gamertag is like a username for Xbox consoles. Gamertags were first introduced with the original Xbox alongside the Xbox network, and they’re still around. When you play games with people online with your Xbox console, they see your gamertag instead of your real name.

Each gamertag has to be unique because it’s the way that you are identified on the Xbox network. Nobody else can have the same gamertag as you, and if the gamertag you want is already taken, you have to choose something else.

Reasons and Solutions for Looking up Gamertags

There are a few different reasons you might need to look up a gamertag, and they all have different solutions:

Although gamertags are similar to usernames or account names, they are functionally different. This is because your gamertag is tied to your Microsoft account, and your Microsoft username or account name is actually the email you used when you signed up. That means you can’t use a gamertag to look up account information, retrieve account information, or sign in to your account.

  • Can’t log into your Xbox: You need to figure out what email address you originally used to set up your Xbox account. This will allow you to learn your gamertag and reset your password if you can’t remember it.Can’t remember and want friends to be able to add you: If you had Microsoft automatically assign a gamertag when you first got your Xbox, and now you want friends to be able to add you, just look in the upper left corner of the home screen on your Xbox One, or the profile section of your Windows 10 Xbox app.Trying to find a friend: The only way to find a friend’s gamertag is to use the suggested friends’ function on an Xbox One or in the Windows 10 Xbox app. If you can’t find your friend there, they’ll have to give you their gamertag.Trying to find an email address from a gamertag: There is no way to find an email address from a gamertag, because Microsoft does not offer a reverse gamertag search, and they don’t provide that information to third parties.

Xbox Gamertag Lookup

Microsoft doesn’t offer any kind of gamertag lookup service, which means you can’t find your gamertag, or anybody else’s gamertag, using a real name, phone number, email, or any other information.

The only exception is that you can determine your own gamertag by logging into the Xbox website using the email or phone number that you originally used when you set up your Xbox account.

How to Find Your Own Gamertag

Finding your own gamertag is easy if you have access to your Xbox One, or if you have Windows 10 and you’re signed in with the same Microsoft account that’s tied to your Xbox account.

On Xbox One

If you still have access to your Xbox One, and you’re still logged in, then finding your gamertag and associated email address is a matter of knowing where to look. Just turn your Xbox One on, navigate to the home screen, and look in the upper left corner.

In the upper left corner of the Xbox One home screen, you’ll see your gamertag and gamerscore alternate with your name and email address.

On Windows 10

If you have Windows 10, launch the Xbox app and click on your gamerpic to open your profile. On this screen, you will see your gamertag immediately underneath your name and gamerscore.

If You Don’t Have an Xbox One or Xbox 360

If you’re trying to find your gamertag because you can’t log into your Xbox One or Xbox 360, then you’ll have to first discover which email you used to sign up for your Xbox account in the first place.

Here’s how to find your gamertag if you aren’t currently able to sign in to your Xbox One or the Xbox app on Windows 10:

  • Navigate to Xbox.com and click Sign In.
  • Enter the email, phone, or Skype you used when you created your Xbox account and click Next.
  • If you don’t remember your Microsoft account email, go to the next section for information on how to find it.
  • Enter your password and click Sign in.
  • Return to Xbox.com. Your gamertag appears next to your gamerpic in the upper right corner of the website.
  • If you don’t see your gamertag, that means you probably used a different email to set up your Xbox account. Sign out of Xbox.com, and try signing in with a different email.

How to Find Your Microsoft Account Email

When you sign up for a Microsoft account, they treat your email or phone number as your username. Because of this, some people accidentally end up with multiple Microsoft accounts over time, due to using different emails to activate different copies of Windows and sign up for services like Skype.

Navigate to Xbox.com and click Sign In.

Enter the email, phone, or Skype you used when you created your Xbox account and click Next.

If you don’t remember your Microsoft account email, go to the next section for information on how to find it.

Enter your password and click Sign in.

Return to Xbox.com. Your gamertag appears next to your gamerpic in the upper right corner of the website.

If you don’t see your gamertag, that means you probably used a different email to set up your Xbox account. Sign out of Xbox.com, and try signing in with a different email.

If you can’t remember which email you used to sign up for your Xbox account, you’ll have to try to remember every single email that you may have used, and check to see if any of them have an associated gamertag.

Here are the steps you need to take when trying to determine which email you used to create your gamertag:

  • Navigate to Xbox.com and attempt to sign in using different email and password combinations that you think you may have used when you signed up for your Xbox account. If any of the combinations work, check the page to see if your gamertag is shown in the upper right corner after you successfully log in.
  • Search each email account that you have access to for the Xbox network and Microsoft Billing. If you ever had an active Xbox Live Gold subscription, this will allow you to find the associated email address.
  • If you originally signed up for a Microsoft account through Skype, or you had your Skype account before that service was acquired by Microsoft, try using your Skype username to log into account.microsoft.com.
  • For each email address and Skype username that allows you to log into account.microsoft.com, navigate to Services and Subscriptions.
  • If you see an Xbox Live Gold subscription, you found the account that is associated with your Xbox gamertag. Navigate to Xbox.com, and you will see your gamertag in the upper right corner of the page.
  • If you are unable to remember the password you used with any of your old email addresses, or your Skype account, reset your Microsoft account password. Then return to Xbox.com, log in, and see if your gamertag is displayed.

How to Find a Friend’s Gamertag

Before you can add someone on the Xbox network, you need to know their gamertag. There is no official gamertag search, so you have to know your friend’s exact gamertag if you want to add them.

Navigate to Xbox.com and attempt to sign in using different email and password combinations that you think you may have used when you signed up for your Xbox account. If any of the combinations work, check the page to see if your gamertag is shown in the upper right corner after you successfully log in.

Search each email account that you have access to for the Xbox network and Microsoft Billing. If you ever had an active Xbox Live Gold subscription, this will allow you to find the associated email address.

If you originally signed up for a Microsoft account through Skype, or you had your Skype account before that service was acquired by Microsoft, try using your Skype username to log into account.microsoft.com.

For each email address and Skype username that allows you to log into account.microsoft.com, navigate to Services and Subscriptions.

If you see an Xbox Live Gold subscription, you found the account that is associated with your Xbox gamertag. Navigate to Xbox.com, and you will see your gamertag in the upper right corner of the page.

If you are unable to remember the password you used with any of your old email addresses, or your Skype account, reset your Microsoft account password. Then return to Xbox.com, log in, and see if your gamertag is displayed.

When you attempt to add a friend on Xbox One, Xbox 360, or the Windows 10 Xbox app, you have to enter an entire gamertag. If the gamertag is valid, it shows you that person’s profile, and you can add them as a friend.

If you enter an incomplete gamertag or an invalid gamertag, you are not presented with a list of possible matches, as Microsoft doesn’t offer any kind of gamertag search or lookup service.

The one way to add a friend on the Xbox network without knowing their gamertag is to use the Suggested Friends option on your Xbox One or in the Windows 10 Xbox app. This option provides you with a list of followers and friends of friends you may want to connect with.

The Suggested Friends option also allows you to link your Facebook account. If you are trying to find the gamertag of someone with whom you are already Facebook friends, this option allows you to see their gamertag and add them on the Xbox network.

Here’s how to find a friend’s gamertag if you’re connected with them on Facebook:

  • Open the Guide on your Xbox One and navigate to People > Suggested friends.
  • Select Find Facebook friends.
  • This menu also includes friend suggestions, including followers and friends of friends. You can scroll through this list to see if it contains the person you’re looking for, then press the Y button to add them.
  • Enter your Facebook login information and select Log In.
  • If you have two-factor authentication turned on, you will need access to your Facebook app.
  • Select Continue as [your name].
  • Select Find friends.
  • If you have any Facebook friends who you aren’t already connected with on the Xbox network, you will be able to look through them and select which ones to add.

There is no official way to find an email from a gamertag or to perform a reverse gamertag search. That means you can’t look up your Microsoft account email address using your gamertag, and you can’t find the identity of people on the Xbox network using their gamertags.

Open the Guide on your Xbox One and navigate to People > Suggested friends.

Select Find Facebook friends.

This menu also includes friend suggestions, including followers and friends of friends. You can scroll through this list to see if it contains the person you’re looking for, then press the Y button to add them.

Enter your Facebook login information and select Log In.

If you have two-factor authentication turned on, you will need access to your Facebook app.

Select Continue as [your name].

Select Find friends.

If you have any Facebook friends who you aren’t already connected with on the Xbox network, you will be able to look through them and select which ones to add.

Microsoft will not provide you with the email associated with your account based on your gamertag.

If you are currently logged into your account on an Xbox One, you will see the email address associated with your account in the upper left corner of the home screen. If you’re trying to log into your Xbox One, and you don’t remember your email address, you’ll have to use the methods that were outlined above to figure it out.

Some sites offer reverse gamertag searches, but they don’t have access to Microsoft’s account records.

These sites rely on users signing up and providing their information. If you previously signed up for one of these sites or the person you’re looking for signed up for one of these sites, you may be able to perform a reverse gamertag search.

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