Can my grandson play Minecraft offline?

I bought an Xbox One and Minecraft (retail) for my grandson. I set up the console and loaded the Minecraft disk. Then, I turned off the internet, and now can't play Minecraft.

I'm not comfortable with this 9 year old being on the internet; what can I do so he can play Minecraft offline?

Solution 1:

You need to log in and enter the game at least once before you can play it offline.

(Added as an answer for posterity)

Solution 2:

I went through this recently with a used Xbox One bought off eBay.

To initialize the Xbox, it must connect to Microsoft Live, where you enter (or create) a Microsoft email and password (Xbox Live account). You then are assigned a player name and symbol for Xbox Live/your Xbox, and must choose a 6-digit security code. You then go offline, turn off your network in Xbox settings, shut down and restart.

Now, take a game disc which has not been installed yet, and insert it in the drive. The game will install, but because you are not connected to Xbox live, it won't ask to download an update. It may ask you to sign in as your player and enter your 6-digit passcode. You can then play the game, shut down, restart and play again without connecting to the internet.

Unless you know this, you might install the game while connected to Xbox Live, decline the update, play, then get an error saying to reinsert the disc the next time you try to play. The error code means "not connected to Xbox Live". You must then uninstall the game and follow the above instructions.

Solution 3:

I have played Minecraft before and I also had the same problem.

You need to run Minecraft on the internet at least once.

After that, when you start the game at another time, you will get a message that says you need to be connected to XBOX Live. Press continue offline and you're done.