They finally released a tool on xbox.com that allows you to transfer your downloadable content licenses from one console to another. This is huge. I used to have to wait months (yes, plural) to get this to happen after repair, and people who bought new consoles (upgrade to Elite?) were out-and-out hosed.

That said, there are some important points they blog about on the Gamerscore Blog and there’s a FAQ about the tool. The two big points for me:

• When you get your console repaired by Microsoft, they’ll do this for you so you won’t need to do it yourself. That’s important because…
• You can only do this one time every 365 days.

Apparently this will work with all content but movies because movies aren’t “download-to-own.” I don’t rent movies over Xbox Live, so I’m not too concerned here.

The last time I got my console repaired, which was about a month ago, they did not automatically transfer the licenses even though they said they would. I called Xbox Live Support and it took about a week for them to do the transfer (as opposed to the months it previously took). I’m gathering that if I get another repair and need the licenses transferred, this won’t be the avenue I’m supposed to take - I’ll still need to call them. This is more for folks getting new consoles or getting repairs from non-Microsoft facilities. That said, now that we know there’s a tool, maybe they can do the transfer right there while I’m on the phone rather than waiting a week.