OSRS Jagex Account Migration Begins Nov 17: Who Must Switch, Steps and Deadlines

Jagex finally put a date on it. In a news post on October 16, 2026 titled Jagex Accounts: Migration Begins Nov 17, the team confirmed that November 17, 2026 is the day every Legacy account has to make the one-time move to a Jagex Account. If you still type a username or email and password straight into the old login screen, this is about you, and the cost of ignoring it is simple: from that date you will not be able to log in until you upgrade.

This guide is the practical version. What Jagex actually said, what changed since the June heads-up, who has to act, the exact upgrade steps from Jagex's own support article, and the handful of mistakes that turn a five-minute job into a support ticket. Everything here comes from Jagex's posts and support pages linked throughout. Where Jagex has not said something, I say that too rather than guessing.

What Jagex Announced on October 16

The October 16 post is short, and most of it is a reminder of the June plan. The new parts are the date, a bigger character cap, launcher news for Mac and Linux, and one change to how Steam and mobile logins are treated. Here is the core of it in Jagex's terms:

• The date: November 17, 2026. "On this date, all Legacy accounts will need to make the one-time jump to Jagex Accounts."
• What you need: your Username or Login Email and Password. Nothing else is listed.
• If you miss it: "If you haven't upgraded by this date, you'll be unable to log in until you've upgraded."
• Reminders: if you have not upgraded yet, you will start seeing new reminders when you log in to RuneScape or Old School RuneScape.
• Character cap: raised from 20 to 50 characters per Jagex Account.
• Mac: an Apple Silicon version of the Jagex Launcher will release by the end of October.
• Linux: the Jagex Launcher for Linux Beta is out now.
• Adoption: Jagex says over 89% of active players are already on Jagex Accounts.

There is no list of phases, waves or regional rollouts in the post. It is one switch-over date for everyone on a Legacy login. Jagex also does not give a time of day for the switch on November 17, so I would not plan to upgrade at 11 PM on November 16 and hope. If an hour is announced later, it will be on the official OSRS news archive.

Who Has to Migrate and Who Does Not

This is where most of the confusion comes from, because the answer for Steam, Apple, Google and Game Center users changed slightly between June and October.

The table is built from the October 16 post and its FAQ. The line that matters most is the Steam and mobile row. Back in the June 12 announcement, Jagex answered "Should I be on a Jagex Account?" for those players with a flat "No." The October FAQ now says "Yes and no." You can keep logging in through Steam, Apple, Google or Game Center after November 17, because Jagex says those routes are "paired with extensive, modern security methods." But you will need a Jagex Account if you want to play through the Launcher, or if you need website services such as Support.

That second part is easy to skip past. If you play OSRS through Steam and never touch the website, nothing breaks on November 17. If your account ever gets into trouble and you need to open a ticket or use Live Chat, you will want the Jagex Account in place before that day comes, not after.

The post also covers both games. Jagex refers to logging in to "RuneScape or Old School RuneScape" and lists separate bonuses for each, so RS3 Legacy accounts are on the same November 17 date.

What Changed Since the June Announcement

If you read the June post and tuned out, these are the differences worth knowing:

• A real date. June said "around November or December." October says November 17.
• 50 characters, not 20. The June benefits list said one login gives access to "up to 20 characters." The October post says Jagex "recently upped the Jagex Account Character cap to a whopping 50 Characters" after feedback from players with lots of alts.
• Steam and mobile logins. As above, June said they did not need a Jagex Account. October says you do if you want the Launcher or website features.
• Third party clients go through the Launcher. Both posts say Approved Third Party Clients like RuneLite stay available. The October wording adds "through the Launcher."
• No old email needed. October adds an FAQ saying you do not need to verify the email on your Legacy account to migrate.
• Platform support filled in. June promised a route for every platform with "more information later this year." October points to the Linux Launcher Beta and the coming Apple Silicon Launcher.
• Launcher stability. October answers the Leagues question directly. Jagex says early "teething issues" have not come back during "plenty of high demand launches in the past year or so."

How to Upgrade to a Jagex Account, Step by Step

The October post links to Jagex's support article, Upgrade your RuneScape character to Jagex account. These are its steps, with the notes I give anyone doing it for the first time.

Before you start

• Pick the email you will use long term. Jagex's support page warns: "Once you've upgraded your character there's no going back, so make sure you create a Jagex account with a secure, accessible email address." Use an inbox you will still control in five years, not a throwaway or a work address.
• Lock that inbox down first. The October FAQ says: "Remember to set up 2FA on whichever email inbox you use to keep things extra secure." Your email becomes the key to every character on the account, so its own two-factor matters as much as the game's.
• Have your current login ready. That is your username or login email plus your password, depending on how you log in today.
• Decide which characters belong together. Up to 50 characters can sit on one Jagex Account, but the support article says "they can't be removed once they're linked." If you keep a main and a few alts, think about whether they should all share one login.
• Go to the site yourself. Jagex's support page says "Log in directly to your Account settings to upgrade" and not to enter your details "into any other websites." Type the address or use a bookmark. Do not click an upgrade link from Discord, a DM or an email you were not expecting.

The upgrade itself

• Log in to the RuneScape Account settings for the character you want to upgrade, then press the green Upgrade Now button.
• Follow the prompts to create a brand new Jagex Account. You set up two-step authentication, choose your Jagex Account name and set a password.
• Import more characters or move on. Once it is done, you can choose to import another RuneScape character or continue.
• Download the Jagex Launcher and log in with your new Jagex Account email and password, then select the character you want to play. If you already have the Launcher installed, log out and log back in with the new credentials.

That is genuinely it. Jagex keeps saying "it only takes a few minutes," and the flow is short when you already know which email you are using. The time sink is people creating an account on one email, importing a character, and then realising they wanted a different address.

After the upgrade

• Your old login details stop working. Per the support article, "Your old RuneScape login details will become invalid," and you use the new Jagex email and password for every imported character.
• Store purchases work through the Jagex Account. You log in and pick which character the purchase is for.
• On desktop you play through the Jagex Launcher with your client of choice. The support page lists RuneScape, Old School and RuneLite.
• Turn on an authenticator app and save your backup codes. More on that below.

The support article also notes you "will be unable to import your character if it is not eligible to play." It does not spell out every case, so if an upgrade attempt fails for that reason, go through the official support channels rather than a third party "recovery" service.

Two-Factor, Backup Codes and Recovery

This is the part that actually protects your bank, so it deserves more than a footnote.

Your old authenticator gets replaced. The October FAQ is clear: "Upgrading will replace your existing Multi-Factor Authentication for your character." If you had an authenticator on your Legacy account, do not assume it carries over. When you create a new Jagex Account, MFA is set to email codes by default. Jagex says you can then "turn on an Authenticator App & Backup Codes in your settings," and its Jagex Account two-step authentication article covers the setup. The upgrade article names Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator as examples.

My advice, in order of how much it matters:

• Move from email codes to an authenticator app as soon as the upgrade finishes. Email MFA is only as strong as the inbox behind it.
• Store the backup codes offline. Jagex lists backup codes as the way "to help you re-access your account if you lose your MFA." A note in your phone does not help much when the phone is what you lost. Paper in a drawer is fine.
• Keep recovery details current. The email on the Jagex Account is your recovery route. If you change providers, update it on the account before you close the old inbox.
• Watch the notifications. Jagex Accounts send email notifications for logins and account changes. If you get one you did not trigger, act on it straight away.
• Never share your login. Not with a "pure builder," not with a clanmate who offers to do your daily tasks, not with anyone claiming to be a J-Mod. Jagex staff will not ask for your password, and one shared login is how most of the recovery horror stories start.

If you want a wider checklist covering email hardening, bank PINs and session hygiene, our OSRS account security guide goes through it in order.

Characters, Names, Bank Space and Membership

These are the questions I get most from players worried that migrating will cost them something.

A few notes on that table:

• Names. Jagex's FAQ: "Your character names are safe!" You log in with the Jagex Account, then pick the character, which keeps its existing name.
• Bank slots and boots. The listed in-game bonus for OSRS is "20 extra bank slots per associated character and Fancier Boots." RuneScape players get "a 5 minute logout timer extension." These are the same bonuses listed in June.
• Multi-logging. You can still play multiple characters at the same time, except the same character in both games at once. Jagex points out that is also a limit on Legacy accounts today.
• Membership and bonds. The October post does not describe any change to membership, bonds or how your progress is stored. It lists "Manage your subscriptions and account more easily" as a benefit, and the support article says store purchases are made by logging in and choosing the character. Beyond that, Jagex has not published anything new about bonds as part of this migration, so I would not read anything into it.
• Hiding characters. Since linked characters cannot be removed, Jagex's July Linux Launcher post explains how to hide and re-order them. Open Account and Character Settings in the Launcher or go to Jagex Account character management, click Edit Characters, drag them into order, and click Hide on any you do not want in the drop-down. You can unhide later.

Launcher, RuneLite, Mac, Linux and Mobile

The other big worry is platform support, especially for people on RuneLite or on a non-Windows machine.

RuneLite and third party clients

Jagex's answer is "Yes!" You will keep access to Approved Third Party Clients through the Launcher and can use RuneLite plugins as you do now. The practical change is that your entry point is the Launcher, not a standalone login screen.

Mac and Apple Silicon

The October post says the Apple Silicon Launcher will release by the end of October. Jagex says this future-proofs the Launcher "before the requirement kicks in next year with MacOS 28," and that the game clients will get Apple Silicon support afterwards, "well ahead of the cut over date."

The catch is a higher minimum spec. Jagex's September 14 post, Checking In: Jagex Launcher On Mac, says Mac minimum spec will move from macOS Big Sur (macOS 11) to macOS Monterey (macOS 12). If you are on macOS 11 or earlier, you will need to update your OS to keep using the Launcher once that update is live. The same post says the current Intel-based Launcher relies on Rosetta. Rosetta is not installed by default on macOS 27, so the first launch may fail and show a one-time prompt to install it. Windows stays at Windows 10 minimum, and Windows 7 and 8 are already unsupported.

Linux

The Jagex Launcher for Linux Beta has been out since July 16. It lets you log in to your Jagex Account and play OSRS through RuneLite, which it installs on your first click of Play Now. During the beta, login sessions persist up to two weeks before you re-log and authenticate. The October FAQ says RuneScape support for the Linux Launcher will "follow later this year."

Mobile and controlled devices

Jagex Accounts are supported on mobile, and Jagex recently added Mobile Character Switching for OSRS. RuneScape is getting it "in the near future." For school or work machines, Elevated Permissions are no longer required to install the Launcher.

VPN players

One thing the October post does not mention is VPNs. In July, Jagex said it knew the transition "could block a small number of players" who rely on a VPN to play, that it was "looking into possible solutions," and that it would share where it landed. I could not find a follow-up in the October post, so treat this as unresolved. If you need a VPN to play, upgrade early so you find out now whether you can log in, not on November 17.

What Happens If You Do Not Migrate

Nothing gets deleted. Jagex's FAQ says: "Your accounts and characters will be safely stored. Once you next attempt to login, you'll be prompted to complete the upgrade process before you can continue playing." The June post said the same thing in nearly the same words.

So the real risk is not losing your account, it is timing. You are locked out until you finish the upgrade, and you will be doing it on the day thousands of other players are doing the same. Jagex's own wording is to sort it out "whenever it best suits you now just to avoid any unwanted disruption after this date."

For anyone returning in a few years: you can still log in later and upgrade then. As long as you still know your Legacy username or email and password, that is all the migration asks for.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the problems I would expect to see in clan chats over the next month.

• Clicking a phishing link. Upgrade deadlines are perfect bait. Expect fake "your account will be deleted on Nov 17" messages. Your account will not be deleted, and the only place to upgrade is your own Account settings on the official site.
• Using an email you do not control. You no longer need access to the old email to migrate, which is great if you lost it years ago. It also means the new email is the whole security model. Pick it carefully.
• Linking an alt you did not mean to link. Characters cannot be removed from a Jagex Account once linked. Hiding is available. Unlinking is not.
• Assuming your old authenticator carried over. It does not. Set a new one up.
• Leaving it to the last night. No switch-over hour has been published, and launch-day support queues are never short.
• Forgetting Mac requirements. If you are on macOS 11 or older, update before the Apple Silicon Launcher lands so you are not stuck the week of the cutover.
• Steam players needing Support later. Your Steam login keeps working, but website services like Support need a Jagex Account. Set one up before you ever need to send a ticket.

Why Jagex Is Doing This Now

Jagex's reasoning has not changed since June. The Legacy system "lacks a lot of the modern features to protect your characters," and the team points to phishing and social engineering "both in our games and across the gaming world." Jagex Accounts launched as an open beta in 2023, and Jagex says it spent three years improving them. Adoption went from over 85% of active players in June to over 89% at the time of the October post. Jagex also says that keeping two account systems running blocks future improvements, because they are "just not possible today" with the current split.

From a player's point of view, a forced migration is annoying for about five minutes and then it is just how you log in. The bigger win is the support side. Jagex lists Live Chat with a real J-Mod and better ticket management as Jagex Account benefits, and anyone who has tried to recover a hacked Legacy account knows how much that matters.

What Else Is Happening in OSRS This Month

The migration is landing in a busy stretch. The Fractured Archive raid is targeted for October 20, with Hardcore Worlds following, which we covered in our Fractured Archive and Hardcore Worlds guide. November also brings Quest Month, and the Quest Month rewards poll breakdown covers what is up for vote. If you skilled through the last surprise patch, our More Gathering Efficiencies guide has the full list of changes. Getting your account upgraded before a new raid and a new game mode go live is one less thing to deal with when the servers are busy.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Jagex Account migration deadline?

November 17, 2026. Jagex announced the date on October 16, 2026. From that date, Legacy accounts cannot log in until they complete the one-time upgrade to a Jagex Account. Jagex has not published a time of day for the switch.

Do I need to migrate if I play OSRS on Steam?

Not to log in. Jagex says Steam, Apple, Google and Game Center logins keep working. You will need a Jagex Account if you want to use the Jagex Launcher or website features such as Support, which is a change from the June post that said those players did not need one.

What do I need to upgrade to a Jagex Account?

Your current Legacy username or login email and your password. Jagex says you do not need to verify the email currently attached to your Legacy account, and you can use your preferred mailbox for the new Jagex Account login.

What happens to my account if I do not migrate before November 17?

Your account and characters stay safely stored. The next time you try to log in, you will be prompted to finish the upgrade before you can keep playing. Nothing is deleted, but you cannot play until you upgrade.

Will I lose my character name or bank when I switch to a Jagex Account?

No. Jagex says character names are safe, and you pick your character with its existing name after logging in. OSRS characters linked to a Jagex Account also get 20 extra bank slots per associated character and Fancier Boots.

How many characters can one Jagex Account hold?

Up to 50. Jagex raised the cap from 20 to 50 after feedback from players with many alts. Jagex's support article warns that linked characters cannot be removed, though you can hide and re-order them.

Does my old authenticator carry over to the Jagex Account?

No. Jagex says upgrading replaces your existing Multi-Factor Authentication. New Jagex Accounts use email codes by default, and you can turn on an authenticator app and backup codes in your account settings. I recommend doing that right away.

Can I still use RuneLite after the Jagex Account migration?

Yes. Jagex says you will keep access to Approved Third Party Clients through the Launcher and can use RuneLite plugins as you do today. On Linux, the Launcher Beta installs RuneLite for you the first time you press Play Now.

Does the Jagex Account migration affect RuneScape 3 too?

Yes. The October 16 post covers logging in to both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape on the same date. RuneScape players get a 5 minute logout timer extension as their Jagex Account bonus.

Can I upgrade if I lost access to my old email?

Yes. Jagex says you will not need to verify the email on your existing Legacy account. You only need the username or email you log in with and your password. Set up two-factor on the new inbox you choose.