The Spring Update hit just this week, and as soon as people tried to use the MSN part of the update, there were already problems being discovered. There is semi-good news about the problem after the jump. It has also been discovered that websites offering save games to be downloaded have been sussed out, and the saves no longer work.

With regards to the MSN integration, it seems if you signed up to Xbox Live when you were younger than 18, the service is unreachable. Regardless of whether you have since turned 18 or not, the service doesn’t recognise that fact and continues to say the service can’t be used for a child. This is despite the fact that you can use it on your PC from 13 onwards, and despite the fact that with parent settings set to the right thing, video chat and headset use is also possible. Xbox.com has posted the following information on the problem. There are also some handy shortcut options that you may not have known about if you use a USB keyboard.

Why can’t I use Messenger on my Xbox if I have a child account?

The Xbox Live Messenger team places high value on child safety and is working on a solution to allow users thirteen-years-old and older the ability to safely use Messenger on Xbox 360. The solution must ensure that children not be contacted by unauthorized Messenger users, and must adhere to our Family Settings policies that give parents the ability to determine with whom their children can communicate. This is important work which requires proper time and diligence. We will update the community when we have more information to share.

I am now 18 or older. Why is my account still considered a child account?

There is a very small group of Xbox LIVE members who first created their accounts while under the age of 18 but have since passed their 18th birthday. These members cannot access Messenger on Xbox 360 at this time. We will explore solutions that enable these members to use Messenger on their Xbox 360 and will update the community when we have more information to share.

How do I use a USB Keyboard with Messenger on Xbox 360?

When you’re using Messenger on the console, you can use it with a keyboard while you’re engaged in other activities, such as watching a video or playing a game.

It is possible to use a USB keyboard while you are having an IM conversation on Xbox 360. Simply attach the USB cable from your keyboard to one of the USB ports on the Xbox 360.

You can use some of the following keyboard shortcuts to interact with the Chat Box:

• Sign in to Messenger. When you are not signed in to Messenger, press Windows + M to take you to the Messenger tab where you can sign in.
• Start a conversation. If you are signed in but don’t have any open conversations, press Windows + M to take you to the Messenger tab where you can start a new conversation.
• If you have an open conversation in Messenger and want to go to the conversation area, open the Xbox Guide and select Chat and IM or press the Windows key on your keyboard.
• Open the Chat Box. If you have any open conversations, press Windows + M to open the Chat Box right over your game or movie.
• You can see the last few lines of any active conversations and enter a message. This is a good way to exchange quick messages.
• You can close the Chat Box the same way you brought it up, by pressing Windows +M.
• Switch between conversations in Chat Box mode. You may have more than one open conversation. Cycle between conversations by pressing CTRL + -> (right arrow key).
• Open the Guide while in Chat Box mode. Press the Xbox Guide button on your controller or press the Windows key to close the Chat Box and open the Guide.
• If you using a Mac keyboard, substitute the Apple key for the Windows key.

At least they have acknowledged the problem and are looking at a possible solution. It might be frustrating, but the problem is being worked on, you just have to give them a bit of time.

Some of you won’t be seeing this on your 360 for a while…

As for the game save problem, it seems MS have done a good job in stopping the cheaters. If you have ever uploaded saves onto 360gamesaves.com for the world to use them, then you might be in a bit of bother. It seems MS have gone through the whole archive of saved files and put a block on the console ID, meaning all saves are corrupt.

In the Spring Update, Microsoft has implemented a new protection against gamesaving by using our gamesave archive against us - they went through our gamesave archive and downloaded all the saves, then everyone who has uploaded saves in the past has had their current local “ConsoleID” values added to a Console Revocation List implemented in the new spring update.

Any gamesave coming from these ConsoleID values is now recognized as corrupt in the latest update. Which means if you’re on the list, saves created on your console will now only work on your console. Your transfer privileges have been revoked.

Does this affect any of you?

Thanks to MoD Gunslinger and CleanSweep31 for submitting.