Troubleshoot connectivity problems

If you have problems when you sign in to Windows Live Messenger, try any of the following troubleshooting techniques to correct the issue:
Check your Messenger connection settings:
If you can't sign in to Messenger, the connection settings (Settings associated with your Internet connection.) in Messenger might be preventing you from connecting to Windows Live ID or .NET Messenger Service.


1. Select Tools, and then click Options.
2. Under Connection, click Advanced Settings.
3. In the Settings dialog box, click Test in the HTTP section. When the test results appear in the Connection Tester dialog box, click OK.
4. Click OK, and then click OK again.
5. Use the test results to determine which settings are causing the connection issue.


Check your Internet connection settings:
Visit another website to confirm that you're connected to the Internet. If the website does not open, contact your ISP (Internet service provider. A company that provides access to the Internet.) for assistance in connecting to the Internet. If you previously connected through a dial-up network, check your Internet connection settings.

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. Click the Connections tab.
4. Click Dial whenever a network connection is not present.


Check your firewall settings:
If your firewall (A security feature designed to help protect a computer from unauthorized external access. It can be hardware, software, or both.) is set to block Messenger, you'll be unable to sign in to Messenger.
To resolve this issue, try the following:

1. Visit the MSN Web Messenger website.
2. Click Start MSN Web Messenger, and then try to sign in.
3. If you can sign in to MSN Web Messenger, Messenger may be blocked by a firewall.
4. If your computer is running third-party (non-Microsoft) software or firewall software, make sure that the software is set to allow Messenger to operate, and then try to sign in to Messenger again.


Clear Windows Live Messenger proxy settings:

1. Start Messenger.
2. Select Tools, and then click Options.
3. Under Connection, click Advanced Settings.
4. Under SOCKS, delete the entries.
5. Click OK, and then click OK again.

Adjust the Windows Internet Explorer proxy settings:

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. On the Connections tab, click LAN Settings.
4. Clear the Automatically detect settings check box.
5. Click OK, and then click OK again.

Notes

* If this is the first time you've logged in to your computer, you may have no contacts listed, but you will still be able to send instant messages.
* If you add a contact, then access your account from another computer, the contact may not show up on the other computer, but you will still be able to send instant messages.
* If your firewall or hardware doesn't support Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) (A popular standard for connecting computers to devices that allows compatibility among a wide variety of networking devices.) , then manually activating outbound port 1863 can sometimes help establish a direct connection to some Microsoft .NET Messenger Service servers.