How to Fix Xbox One Error 0x80a40008

So you just got your brand new Xbox One, fired it up, agreed to the lengthy terms of service and newsletter subscriptions…etc., and it’s finally time for you to log in with your Microsoft Account, and you get slapped in the face with the error code 0x80a40008, preventing you from logging in. Or you’re starting your existing Xbox One, as usual, gearing up to get into your favorite game and check off your gaming tasks for the day, and you discover you can’t log in due to this obnoxious error 0x80a40008. If you fall into either of these categories, you’ll find the solution in this article.

The cause of this error code is one of two issues: a problem connecting to the Xbox server (Xbox Live), or wrong account (login) details. Hence, there are several ways to tackle the problem, depending on what is the root cause of your own peculiar issue; these are outlined below in different approaches. It’s also worth noting that the full error message for such issues is “Try Again Later. There was a problem and we couldn’t connect. (0x80a40008)“.

Approach 2 – Check Xbox Live Status

When you input your login details on the Xbox One console and attempt to log in, the console sends requests to several endpoints and services on the Xbox Live server. Hence, you might be getting this error because one or more vital services on the Xbox Live server are down. Therefore, it’s a good idea to confirm that all essential services are up and running if you keep getting this error.

Fortunately, Microsoft has provided a way in which you can check the status of the Xbox Live server at any time. Simply head over to the official Xbox website. If all the services are ticked green, then the issue is not with the Xbox Live server. If, however, one or more of the services has an alert, wait until it has been fixed and try logging in again on your Xbox One console.

xbox live service status

If, however, you don’t want to wait until the defaulting service is fixed, you can make do with the offline (single-player) games in your games library by following these steps:

Press the Xbox button on your console. This activates the Guide menu.
Navigate to System >> Settings >> Network.
Navigate to Network Settings and click on Go Offline (this menu will appear as “Go Online” after you’ve switched to Offline mode).

Once you’re able to resolve the 0x80a40008 error, you can go follow the steps above to go online and play your multi-player games. If you’re, however, not interested in going offline and are still willing to fix the error, proceed to the next approach.

Approach 3 – Check if your console is connecting to Xbox Live

Now that you’ve confirmed that Xbox Live servers are up and running, it’s time to confirm that your Xbox One console is indeed connecting to the Xbox Live servers, as slight network connection issues from your router or home network could prevent this from happening and result in the error. To test if your Xbox One’s network connection is okay,

Press the Xbox button on your console or controller to open the Guide menu.
Navigate to Settings >> Network >> Troubleshooting.
Click on Test network connection in the Troubleshooting menu.
Wait for the console to perform the network test.

If you get the message “Everything is good…”, then the console is successfully connecting to Xbox Live. Else, check your router and with your Internet Service Provider and ensure that you have a good and working network connection before attempting to log in again.

xbox one console

Approach 4 – Delete and Re-add your Microsoft Account(s)

If the above approaches don’t resolve the error 0x80a40008, it’s time to start taking things more extreme. Delete your Microsoft Account from your Xbox One console with the following steps:

Press the Xbox button to open the Guide menu.
Navigate to System >> Settings >> Account >> Remove accounts.
Select your Microsoft account and click “Remove”.

After removing the account, restart your console by either:

Press and hold the Xbox button to open the Power Center, select Restart console and confirm by clicking “Restart”.
Press and hold the Xbox button for about 10 seconds to force shutdown, and press the Xbox button again to start it up. This should be done if the console freezes and doesn’t respond to actions.

After restarting the console, follow these steps to re-add your MSA:

Press the Xbox button to open the Guide menu.
Navigate to Sign in >> Manage accounts >> Add new.
Input the email and password for your Microsoft account, and click “Enter”.
Choose the privacy settings you want to apply to the account on the console and click “Next”.
Select a colour for the Home screen for the Microsoft account you just signed in to and click “Next”.
Confirm the gamerpic on your Xbox Profile, and click “Next”.
Confirm your sign-in preferences to complete the process.

Now you can try connecting to Xbox Live. If it still does not work and you have a large number of accounts on the console, delete all of them and re-add your primary account using the steps above, and try again.

Approach 5 – Perform a power cycle on your console

Power cycling means turning off a gadget completely, disconnecting it from the power source, and turning it back on. As simple as that might sound, it has been confirmed to solve the error 0x80a40008 for some Xbox One users, so you should try it if the aforementioned approaches don’t solve the problem. To perform a power cycle on your Xbox One,

Close all open applications and windows on the console.
Press and hold the power button (note: not Xbox button) situated at the bottom of the front of the console, for at least 10 seconds. Don’t release the button until the LED at the front of the console totally goes off.
Wait for 30 seconds and disconnect the power cable from the console.
Wait for another 30 seconds, reconnect the power cable and turn the console back on by pressing the power button.

After turning the console on, try connecting again to Xbox Live.

Approach 6 – Restore Factory Settings (Last Resort!)

If all of the methods above do not work, this is the last thing you can try to solve the error. It’s a pretty extreme measure, though, as all of your data will be erased. To restore factory (default) settings on your Xbox One console:

Press the Xbox button to open the Guide menu.
Navigate to System >> Settings >> System >> Console info.
Click on “Reset console”.
There are two options. The first, “Reset and remove everything” basically resets the console to the default, brand new state; all your data will be deleted. While the second, “Reset and keep my games & apps” will delete everything but your games and installed applications. It is advised to try the second option first, and try the second if the former doesn’t work.

I’ve tried my best to outline all known solutions to the Error 0x80a40008 on the Xbox One, and I’m positive you’ll be able to resolve the error with one of these steps. Good luck!