Minecraft split screen with xbox live

In order to cancel an account, you have to call Xbox Support. I did that once after a trial period with Halo 2 on the original Xbox. They really tried to keep me on the service, but I suspect that won't be as annoying as you explain your situation to them.

I think I remember something about the gamertag you cancel being unavailable for a certain number of days or months in order to give you a chance to reactivate your account should you want to. That's probably automated too so I doubt they can make exceptions.

I know this is a late answer, so if you figured this out please tell us what you did as it's an interesting question!

I have the exact same problem with one of my XBOXs using a wireless connection. I originally though it was the connection so I boosted the router's signal strength but that didn't fix the problem. I then connected a wired connection and the problem persisted.

I checked my gateway's DHCP settings and it turned out that the XBOX was trying to use an IP that was no longer available and wouldn't accept a new one. My other XBOXs don't have this problem so it might be a firmware problem with a certain line of them.

The only solution I have been able to use is restart the console when it happens. I know it's not elegant but it usually works.