Katzenjammer: A solution to constant MSN Messenger Live disconnects

A couple of weeks ago, I tried to sign onto my personal Messenger account while I was at work. I’ve been doing this for years without any problem.

Not this time.

After a few seconds of being connected online it disconnected me. I could only sign on using an offline status. Online, Busy and Away would all disconnect me within seconds.

I tried my work-related Messenger account and it remained online.

I was stumped. I tried everything I could think of. The same computer, and the same Messenger executable. The only difference was the accounts. I even tried an old account that I no longer use and it also worked fine.

I started to wonder if something changed on our corporate network causing Hotmail messenger accounts to be blocked.

Today, I came across the solution. The solution I found in this thread was as follows:

Have you tried checking your Live group memberships? I had exactly the same problem of Live Messenger 2009 signing in, showing my contacts status then disconnecting - but only when connected to the company network (either directly or through VPN). From suggestions on other forums, I tried using my son's Live ID to sign in with the same result, then I tried using my youngest daughter's Live ID (which I have severely restricted with various bits and pieces) - the connection stayed UP!!!

After looking into this further, I realised that some time ago I had accepted an invitation from my son to join a Live Group he had set up for the family (his younger sister hadn't been able to accept the invitation because of the all the restrictions I had on her account).
I went into the Group options and left the group and Hey Presto! my Messenger now stays connected even within the company network.
Hope this helps someone.

I fixed my messenger problem.

It made sense. About a week before this problem started, I had created a Live Group on Messenger Live. It was the second group I created, the first being created over a year ago. Since I didn’t do anything with this second group, I deleted it and tried going online again. It didn’t work. However, the group still appeared in my Messenger contact list. I shut down Messenger and re-launched it. The group was now gone… and I was able to go online and stay online.

Perhaps something did change on our network, or perhaps it had to do with not having any members in the group I created. Who knows? I’m just happy it’s fixed.

I blogged this with the hope that the solution spreads around to others who are experiencing the same problem.