Some Xbox 360 users currently cannot sign onto Xbox Live [Update: It's back]

Some Xbox 360 owners have not been able to sign onto Microsoft's Xbox Live service since Friday evening in an extended period of down time for the service. Microsoft says it is working to restore Xbox Live but there's no word on when that might happen.

In an update on the Xbox Live status page, Microsoft says:

"Xbox members, are you experiencing issues signing in to Live? We want you to know we're aware of the issue and currently hard at work to find a fix. Thanks for being patient during this process. We'll update you when more information is available."

There's also apparently a problem if Xbox 360 owners attempt to download or launch some apps. Online hacking group Lizard Squad claims responsibility for the downtime, but Microsoft has not commented on the veracity of that claim.

Again, Microsoft says it is working on a fix. When these problems are solved, we will update this post.

Update: Microsoft has discontinued the Xbox Live alert for the Xbox 360 but the app download and launch problems are still listed on the status page.

Source: Xbox Live Status

John Callaham