3 Ways to View Download History on XBox
Once upon a time, I had my own account on a friend’s Xbox 360, and I purchased and downloaded several games and items for that account. After he moved away, I didn’t have access to an Xbox 360 for several years. I recently got my very own brand-new Xbox 360 and had to figure out how to regain access to my old content that I purchased on my friend’s system. If you’re in the same boat, here are three different ways to view the download history for any Xbox Live account.
Access to Re-Downloaded Games and Content
When you purchase, and download games on an Xbox 360, those games can be played by any user on the system they were purchased on. In other words, because I purchased games on my friend’s Xbox 360, he is still able to play those games even without using my Xbox Live account.
But games and other purchased content can also be re-downloaded for free by the same Xbox Live account they were purchased on, using any Xbox 360. Now that I have my own system, I can use my old account to re-download my old games and avatar items. However, since I’m not using the original 360 that the item was purchased on, that content will only be accessible to my account on the new Xbox 360. In other words, I am the only user on the new Xbox who will be able to play my old games. My boyfriend can not play them from his account; he has to sign in to mine.
Can I Regain Full Access to My Content on Any Account?
To regain full access to all your content on any account, you can always request a license transfer. To do so, you’ll need to contact Microsoft Customer Service and have the device IDs ready for both the old and new Xbox 360s.
Method 1: View Your Download History on the Xbox 360
Here’s how to view the download history for your account via the Settings menu on your Xbox 360.
1. Turn on your Xbox 360 and sign in with the account whose download history you want to view:
2. Choose the “Xbox Home” option:
3. Choose the “Settings” option at the top of the Dashboard menu:
4. Choose the “Account” option at the bottom left of your screen:
5. Under “Your Billing Options,” choose “Download History:”
6. You will be presented with a list of all content previously purchased and downloaded with that Live account. If you select items on the list, you will have the option to re-download them:
Method 2: View Your Download History on the Windows Live Website
If, for some reason, you don’t have access to an Xbox 360, but you want to view your Xbox Live download history, you can do so using the Windows Live website. This site is useful because it allows you to view the complete transaction history for that Live account (including transactions conducted online without using an Xbox 360) and to see which purchases were made by credit card and which were done with Microsoft Points. It also shows your current Microsoft Point balance.
NOTE: Using the Windows Live website does have one limitation. You can only access your download history from up to five years ago. If you have downloads from six or more years ago that you want to access, as I did, and you want to do it online, you’ll have to use Method 3.
1. Go to https://login.live.com/ and enter your Xbox Live email and password to log in:
2. Choose the “Billing” option from the menu on the left side of your screen:
3. Choose your email address from the drop-down menu and click the “Send me a code” button:
4. Check your email to retrieve the security code, and then click the “I have a code” button. Enter your code and click the “Submit” option:
5. Choose the “transactions” option at the top of your screen:
6. Choose the applicable dates from the drop-down menus and view your transaction history. All Xbox Live purchases within that time frame should show up. You can also choose to view only credit card transactions, or only Microsoft Points transactions (or both) using the “Payment Option” drop-down menu:
Method 3: View Your Download History on the Xbox Live Website
If you want to view your Xbox 360 download history online but want to see downloads that are more than 5 years old, the Xbox Live website is the method for you.
1.) Go to http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/ and click “Sign In” in the upper right corner of your screen:
2. Enter your Xbox Live account email and password and click the “Sign in” button:
3. Choose the “My Account” option in the upper right corner of your screen:
4. In the center of your screen, you should see categories for “Payment & Billing,” “Device Management,” and “Settings & Preferences.” Under “Device Management,” click on the “Download History” option:
