It might seem like your computer has no programs open, but there may still be some running in the background. Your gaming mouse, graphics card, or browser might have software that starts running as soon as you boot up your computer.

These are called background applications (apps) or programs, and they aren’t always visible on your taskbar when they’re running.

Every application that’s running on your computer uses up some of its resources, like processing power and memory. 

Your computer can slow down if you have a lot of apps running at the same time. This can result in slow frame rates or laggy gameplay, and it can lead to more serious issues like limited connectivity or game crashes.

If your games are running slowly or have lag, try closing as many background apps as you can before launching the EA app or your game to help improve your gaming.

If a program seems to be causing problems with your games or the EA app

• Close or disable the program(s).
• Add the EA app and your games individually as exceptions to your security applications so that they can run together at the same time with fewer problems. Exceptions can also be called "safe" or "allowed."

Add the EA app and your games as exceptions

The steps to add exceptions can vary, depending on the security software you use. Check with the manufacturer of your firewall and anti-virus programs to see how to add the EA app as an exception.

1. Find EADesktop.exe in C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\EA Desktop\EA Desktop. If you installed the app in another folder on your computer, look there instead.
2. Add EALauncher.exe and EABackgroundService.exe, also found in this folder, to your exceptions, too.
3. Go to C:\Program Files\EA Games\"Game Name" to add a specific game as an exception.
   • Find the game’s .exe file, which is usually either the game's full title or an abbreviated version.

If you've had issues booting up your games or using the EA app, make sure to fully close these or similar kinds of programs:

Anti-virus applications

Anti-virus programs, like McAfee or AVG, can sometimes block game access.

If you keep having trouble after you add the EA app and your games as exceptions, disable or temporarily uninstall the anti-virus to help pin down the cause.

Anti-spyware programs

Just like anti-virus programs, anti-spyware applications, such as Ad Aware or or Spybot – Search & Destroy, can mistakenly block the EA app or your games while trying to protect your computer.

If you keep having trouble after adding exceptions, disable or temporarily uninstall the anti-spyware to troubleshoot.

Firewall and other security applications

Firewalls and any other security measures you have on your computer, like Windows Defender and Peerblock, try their best to keep only the most important information coming through to your computer. This can cause interference when running the EA app or your games.

If you keep having trouble after you add the EA app and your games as exceptions, disable or temporarily uninstall your firewall to troubleshoot.

Peer to Peer applications

Peer to Peer (P2P) programs, like uTorrent and Limewire, can use up both your net-bandwidth and your computer’s processing power—especially if you’re downloading lots of things simultaneously.

Close out any P2P apps or limit the number of active downloads/uploads while playing your games or using the EA app.

If you’re on a shared network, make sure no one else is torrenting while you’re playing, too. 

FTP and other web server programs

Much like P2P software, FTP or other Web Server programs, like Cyberduck and Filezilla, can eat up a lot of your Internet bandwidth. This affects your online play and can take up a lot of your system's resources, which can cause slowed-down or laggy gameplay.

Exit any FTP or similar program completely before playing, or make sure that no downloads or uploads are active.

Download management applications

Download management programs, like Internet Download Manager or Download Accelerator Plus, may affect your game downloads or updates.

Before opening the EA app, close your Download Management software.

Virtual Private Network applications

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) give users access to private networks, like business intranets. VPNs take up extra Internet connection bandwidth as well as computer processing power. Private networks may also have extra security measures that can limit game playability.

Disconnect from any VPN you're connected to before starting up your game.

Proxy, IP Filtering, and IP Masking programs

Using a proxy, IP filtering, or IP masking software can affect how your computer and your games connect. Disable these before jumping into the EA app and your games. 

Programs that have visual overlays

Any program that tries to place a filter, picture, or Graphical User Interface (GUI) on top of a running program can cause problems for EA Desktop and your games. The EA app has its own In-Game Overlay feature, so multiple running at one time can cause issues.

VoIP programs, like Ventrilo or Mumble, and game progress monitors, like Raptr, have these kinds of overlays. Close these programs or disable their overlay before running the EA app or your games.

Origin

If you use both Origin and the EA app, you can run into problems when trying to run a game. This is especially true if you’re trying to launch a game through Steam or Epic Games. For a smoother experience with the EA app, make sure Origin Web Helper isn’t running in the background.

Closing Origin and Origin Web Helper completely through Task Manager will help with launching games through the EA app. 

Launching your game through the EA app the first time will make it possible to launch it through Steam or the Epic Games launcher next time.